Chapter 7: Surprise

"Ok Enora, just calm down. Maybe this isn't something bad," she said aloud to herself.

The air felt heavy. Goosebumps crawled up her body and made her tremble. The box was a dark wood with a hinge and latch on the top. Her name and cafe address were typed in a creepy, thin font that was too small for the label.

Until now, Enora's paranoia had been low. Not that she wasn't afraid, but after the first three days of being transported back and forth in black SUVs and getting used to the new routine, she was able to relax. And aside from the excessively expensive things being used for her, life was still ordinary. There were no mysterious people jumping out to scare her, no threatening letters in her mailbox, or suspicious cars tailing them.

In this moment however, things felt far from normal. What if this was Victor's rival making his move? What came next if it was? What if this was a distraction and Victor was going to be ambushed?

She hurried to the front of the café where Gil and the other men were waiting in the cars. She gestured to them subtly as to not have customers notice, but they spilled out of the cars in an orderly and suspicious fashion.

"Enora, what's wrong?" Gil asked, signaling the other guys to check the area.

"I don't know. Something was delivered to me, and I thought..."

"Alright, where is it?"

She pointed to the office and hesitantly followed behind him. He held up a hand to make sure she kept her distance while he examined the box. He tapped it lightly a few times, slid it across the desk, tested its weight, and even sniffed it. When he pulled out a pocketknife to pry it open, she held her breath.

A loud pop sounded, followed by scraps of paper shooting out and scattering in all directions. Gil instinctively shielded her body with his, turning back when it no longer moved. He approached it again and pulled out a card; it was an invitation to her best friend's Halloween party.

They both began to laugh, and Enora went to her knees with a relieved sigh, shaking her head in disbelief. Of all the times for this to be the party theme.

"I'm going to kill Caitlyn. I completely forgot about the murder mystery theme," she chuckled.

"It certainly has the mystery aspect down," Gil said, taking a seat beside her. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, but I wasn't a minute ago. I thought it might be..."

He placed a hand on her arm in comfort, "That's why we're all here. We're ready to take on the danger and protect you. This will be over before you know it." He grasped her hands encouragingly.

She took a deep breath, squeezing back in silent gratitude.

"Don't tell Victor about this by the way. I'm not to touch you unless it's absolutely necessary."

Enora smiled, "Are you joking?"

"Nope."

"Wow, I did not think he was so jealous and possessive," she laughed.

"Oh, you haven't seen the half of it. Let me tell you about one time in high school..."

***

HOURS LATER

The line rang in Enora's ears as she swept the floor, the café closed for the day. Her friend's voice answered a minute later with a screechy tone, "Ennyyyyy! Hi!"

She flinched at how loud it was, but laughed nonetheless, "Hello to you too Cait."

"So, what's up?"

"I think you know what I'm calling about."

"Haha, did you not enjoy the surprise?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

"No! It was super creepy. I thought it might be something weird."

"Huh? But we talked about the invitation weeks ago. Did you forget? Besides, who else would something like that be from?"

Enora bit her lip. She forgot that her friends weren't aware of what was going on. There were too many factors to consider for her to be able to tell them. Along with her barely being able to navigate it all, it was best they be left out of it.

"Well, I don't remember us deciding it would be so creepy," she answered instead.

"Ha! Nadine said the same thing. Man, I wish I could have seen your faces," Caitlyn cackled.

"I should have known you would do this. You enjoy watching us suffer, don't you?"

"Me? No way. I would never."

She could feel the sly smile in her voice, "Of course. How could I suspect the most innocent one? My mistake," she replied with pure sarcasm.

"Glad you understand." They burst into a fit of giggles.

Enora saw Gil leaning against the car out front, throwing a ball as he waited for her. She got his attention to gesture five more minutes and went to the back to grab the mop.

"Oh, did you get your masquerade mask for the party yet? Or did you forget that was also a part of the theme?" Caitlyn asked.

"No, I remembered. I am going to pick it up once I'm done here. Lucky for me, the shop doesn't close until eleven."

"The perks of being in the city that never sleeps. I was wondering if you could pick up an extra one for me. My sister arrived early to help me set up for Saturday, but of course forgot her mask. I swear, she'd forget her head if it wasn't attached to her neck."

"Oh, come on, she's not that bad. And sure, does she want anything specific?"

"Don't try and defend her! I'll send you a picture of what she was thinking. Anything similar to it will work too."

"Thank you!" she heard her sister shout in the background.

"Got it. I'll talk to you later Cait."

"Cool. Bye!"

She hurried back to the front where Gil was already at the door.

"Sorry, took longer than I thought."

"No problem. As long as we get you home on time," he replied.

"About that, I have to make a stop if you don't mind."

"We can send a guy."

"Listen, I know you have orders, but this is driving me nuts. I can't go out for lunch, buy my own groceries, or even walk into my apartment first. I need to do something for myself."

He made a face, "You're going to get me in trouble."

"You can tell him it's my fault. And we may still make it on time if we hurry, come on!"

***

IN AN ALLEY TWO BLOCKS AWAY

The camera shutter clicked in succession as the cars drove off. They clicked through the photos in the gallery of Enora next to Gil and selected the ones to be emailed.