14
It was the day of the Valentine’s Ball, and Lonnie was looking forward to getting to work. Training with the group wasn’t the same as being in on the action. While they didn’t expect much to happen that night, it would still be a fun event.
Lonnie put on his tux. It was one he had specially made for events like these. He could move easily in it and still look classy. Then he tucked his gun into the holster under his jacket.
The ball was taking place at the Gilded Hart Hotel, so he only needed to go down to the ballroom from his hotel room. It was part of the reason he stayed there.
Alexis would show up at any time with a delivery of cupcakes for the event, and he was excited to see her. She would also attend the event with Melissa.
He had gone to her store the night before, which was uneventful aside from them working quickly to prepare all the cupcakes for the event tonight. He joined them again early that morning to help more. Despite not being much of a baker, he enjoyed spending the time at Alexis’s shop and would miss it after the event ended.
Despite Lonnie keeping an eye out for the weird guy who came into the cupcake shop, they hadn’t seen him or his van that morning. Nor had Lonnie found anything on the license plate of the vehicle. All he could tell was that it was a rental.
Alexis: I’m here.
Lonnie: On my way.
He took the elevator down to the main floor and walked through the ballroom to the service entrance, where Alexis would deliver the cupcakes to the kitchen. He smiled at the kitchen staff and stopped at the back door, propping it open just as Alexis opened her delivery van door.
“Hey, beautiful,” Lonnie said.
“Hey, look at you, handsome,” Alexis said. She wore a long red dress that hugged her down to her waist and then flared out.
Lonnie stepped closer to her and pulled her into a hug. She felt great in his arms, and he only hoped he could spend more time with her before he needed to head back to Texas.
Melissa hopped out of the passenger side of the van wearing a long white dress. “Are we ready to do this?”
Alexis and Lonnie pulled apart. “Let’s go.”
Lonnie stood near the back entrance of the van and looked around. There was a dark van down the street that looked like it had people in it. But it wasn’t the same van they saw outside the bakery. His hair stood on end as if they were being watched. He made a mental note of the license plate number and then held out his arms.
“Fill me up,” he said.
Alexis laughed and set two large boxes of cupcakes in his arms. “Please don’t drop these. I might cry.”
“Never.” He winked.
He waited for the women to walk inside before following them. They deposited all the boxes on the kitchen counter before walking back out to the van. The other van was still at the end of the street, and Lonnie couldn’t help but get uneasy over it.
They made two more trips out to the van, grabbing more boxes before finally finishing.
“I’m going to go move the van to a parking spot,” Alexis said.
Lonnie held his hand out. “How about you let me do that? You can start setting up the dessert table.”
She smiled and handed him the keys. “If you’re sure?”
“Very.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He smiled and waited for her to walk off before turning and walking out the back door, making sure it locked behind him. He closed the van doors and then slid behind the wheel and pulled out his cell phone, putting it on speaker in his lap.
“What’s going on?” Clint asked.
“Can you run a plate for me?”
“Sure. Things are already happening? The event doesn’t start for another hour.”
