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Langston chuckled. “It can if we set the rules. Listen, I don’t want you to think I’m holding out on you. But I need you to understand that I sometimes have to work through my problems without your guidance. Okay?”
Cynthia took a deep breath and moved away from the counter, exiting the suite, and walking toward the escalator. “If you say so.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. Can you come over for dinner tonight?”
“Is it okay if I bring Lisa?”
Cynthia’s eyes twinkled. “Of course! I like her.”
“I’m glad. So do I.”
“That makes me so happy.”
“We’ll see you a little later, Mom.”
“Okay. Bye, honey.”
She hung up the phone and slipped the device into her purse just as the lights inside the mall flickered and went out. A white odorless gas filled the area—it seemed to be seeping through the ventilation system.
Cynthia frowned and looked around her as people started to cough. She gasped, “Is something on fire?”
The woman standing near her shook her head. “There’s no alarm…” she managed to say before she passed out.
Cynthia gasped again.
As she took another look, everyone fell to the floor, one after the other.
She realized something more sinister was going on when her head felt light, and everything went black.
* * *
Same day
1:40 p.m.
Langston hungup the phone with his mother and slid the phone into his pocket.
“Is she okay?” Lisa asked.
He rubbed his bearded chin and nodded. “I believe so. She’s more excited now that we will be joining her for dinner. She loves to cook for a group.”
Lisa’s smile swelled his heart, and he slipped his arm around her and leaned to kiss her face. “If I’m too touchy-feely, let me know. I may have a habit of wanting to be close once I love someone. But I’d like to know your limits for that.”
“Limits?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why?”
“Who would have limits on being loved?”
“It sounds simple, but it’s not as simple as you think. People enjoy love differently. Mostly they call it a love language. Like me, some people prefer touch, while others prefer time spent, prepared food, or communication.”
Lisa thought about it. “What about the people who enjoy all of those things?”
