Troubles and Treats (Chocolate Lovers #3)(25)

I watch as they quietly and slowly open their doors and slink out of the car. They shut their doors without a sound and crouch down, moving across the parking lot toward the building. I immediately feel nervous and double-check the bush to make sure the guy is still hiding behind it and not paying attention to my friends.

I turn on my walkie-talkie and hold down the talk button.

“Hey,” I whisper. “It’s Jenny.”

I let go of the button and within seconds hear Liz’s voice. “No shit, Sherlock. We just made it to the back of the building,” she says softly, the sounds of her heavy breathing coming through the walkie-talkie. “Don’t watch where we’re going. Don’t act suspicious. Just keep an eye on stalker guy and let us know if he changes position. Over and out Mrs. Pink.”

I stare at the device in my hand in confusion.

“Mrs. Pink?” I ask into the speaker.

“Yes, Mrs. Pink. I’m Mrs. Black, Claire is Mrs. Brown, and you’re Mrs. Pink,” Liz explains.

I hear Claire snatch the walkie-talkie out of Liz’s hand seconds later. “I don’t want to be Mrs. Brown. I want to be Mrs. Pink.”

“Yeah, I don’t get why I’m Mrs. Pink. I don’t even like the color pink,” I complain.

“Ooooh, I like the color pink. I’ll be Mrs. Pink and you can be Mrs. Brown,” Claire tells me.

“No, brown makes me think of poop. I want to be Mrs. Blue. Blue is pretty.”

Suddenly there’s a scuffle and some cursing coming through the speaker.

“You guys are such dicks. We’re not changing secret names. Claire is Mrs. Brown because of chocolate and you’re Mrs. Pink because pink makes me think of victims and now if anyone is on this channel they’re going to know what we’re doing,” Liz explains in irritation.

“So why are you Mrs. Black?” I question.

“Because I’m going to blacken your face if you guys don’t shut the f*ck up. We are supposed to be commandeering a suspect, not having a coloring contest.”

I sigh and rest my hand with the walkie-talkie in my lap, glancing out of the car window to see if my stalker is still behind the bush. I can see the bush rustling and what looks like a pair of black boots peeking out from underneath. Suddenly, I see Liz and Jenny running full speed from the other side of the building, straight at the bush. Without thinking, I throw the walkie-talkie onto the passenger seat and scramble out of the car, rushing across the parking lot towards them.

As I’m running, I see Liz dive behind the bush and tackle someone. I can hear Claire screaming at the top of her lungs, aiming her taser at the tangle of arms and legs I see flying out from the edge of the bush.

I finally get close enough to hear what’s going on and see a quick flash of light burst out from the end of the taser followed by a high pitch scream.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU FUCK FACE. YOU JUST TASED ME!” Liz screams at Claire while her body spasms and yet, she still manages to straddle the stalker’s back. She’s got him face-planted into the ground and her elbow wrapped around his neck the whole time the electric voltage from the taser is ripping through her. She’s like Rambo on crack.

“OH MY GOD! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! SHIT!” Claire yells as she yanks the taser back toward her to get it off of Liz.

“AAAAAHHHHHH! IT’S STUCK TO MY SKIN, YOU CUNT WHORE! CUT IT THE FUCK OUT!”

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” Claire mumbles as she drops the taser to the ground and rushes over to Liz while she bounces up and down on the guys back and tightens her hold on his neck.

“Oof, GET, oof, OFF, oof, ME!” the guy wheezes with each bounce as Liz lands on him.

“Tell us why you’ve been following our friend or I am going to mace you, you sick f*ck,” Liz yells as Claire gets behind her and gently removes the taser hooks from her ass.

The guy has on a baseball cap and dark sunglasses and I can’t see his face, but there is something familiar about his voice. I don’t know what to do at this point except just stand there helplessly and try to figure out how I know the man’s voice. I know I should get in there and help Liz out, but I’m kind of afraid of her right now. She might mistake me for the enemy and break my face.

While I just stand there, Claire reaches into the waistband of Liz’s leggings and pulls out the can of mace, holding it out in front of her as she circles the pair on the ground as they continue to struggle and Liz continues to lob insults at him.

“Just say the word, dude, and I will waste this mother f*cker!” Claire says excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to say that!”

“Last chance, buddy. Why were you following our friend?” Liz asks as she arches her back and brings the guy's head up at an awkward angle since her arm is still locked tightly around his neck.

“I’ll never talk. You can’t make me!” the guy says brokenly as he pants and struggles to get Liz off of him.

I can’t just stand there anymore. I need to do something. I walk up behind Claire and tap her on the shoulder. She must not have noticed I joined them because as soon as my fingers touches her arm, her body jolts in fright and she lets out a scream, the action causing her finger to slip and press down on the red button on the can of mace.

Within seconds, streams of liquid fire are hitting everyone in the face, including Claire herself as she screams and panics, her arms flying all over the place. I immediately drop to the ground coughing hysterically, tears running down my face. This burns worse than the time Drew ate hot wings and then went down on me. It feels like my eyes are bleeding and I can’t stop coughing.