DOUBLE EDGED A Harper's Book. (Book 10)

Paper Trails

As the plane wheels touched the tarmac an overwhelming excitement raged through me. I was back home in Vegas and moment's from seeing Frankie. Instead of returning to my place first, I had my driver take me to Frankie's apartment. I'm certain my appearance would be a surprise to her but I couldn't wait any longer.

Before the driver had properly pulled over to the curb I had the door already open. Instructing him to wait, I rushed into the building. Too anxious to wait for the elevator, I took to the stairs in a sprint. By the time I reached her floor I was a breathless, sweaty mess but nothing would keep me from getting to her.

With a bright smile I knocked on her door in a rather cheerful tune. It wasn't long before the door creaked open and a middle aged lady cautiously poked her head out. "May I help you?" She asked a bit concerned.

" Yes, I'm here to see Frankie". I replied politely.

The older lady's brows drew together in confusion. "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong apartment" .

Craining my neck back, I peeked at the bold black lettering on the door to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. "No, I'm at the right door."

Still giving me a confused look the lady spoke. "You should recheck the address you're looking for again. I can assure you that no one by that name resides here."

Assuming that Frankie may have intentionally instructed this lady to lead me off, I slowly begin to retreat. "Sorry for disturbing you".

Frankie is still at her game's I see. No bother, She has to come out sometime and I'll patiently be waiting for her. As my back was retreating down the corridor the older lady's voice rang out. "Wait Sir. I've only lived her for a short time. Perhaps who you are searching for was the previous tenant" .

Smiling brightly at her, I snapped my fingers. "Perhaps you are right. Thanks for your help".

That makes perfect sense. If Frankie would go through the trouble of changing her phone number I'm sure she would pull this as well. It's now very obvious that Frankie was serious this time about never seeing me again. Still smiling, I slid into my waiting car. Little does Frankie know that it doesn't matter where she's gone there's no hiding from me. It's just a matter of time my little ginger snap.

Upon entering my apartment my eye's had to refocus to the brightly painted purple wall's compliments of Frankie. Which made me also recall that I needed to purchase new clothes so I didn't look like smack daddy pimp, not to mention my car was still safely tucked away at Severo's home. Not bothering to do all of that myself, I summoned my aid and had them go purchase a few necessary thing's. Sitting behind my desk I let the search begin. First I tapped into her previous apartment contract to see if she had listed a new residence but came up empty handed. Hardest part about this all was that Frankie could be using any of her fake alias 's.

Before I knew it hour's had went by and my stomach begin to grumble for food. I was just about to call it a day when something caught my eye. Just when I was about to log off I spotted another credit card number on the screen. Assuming that my eye's were tired from all of the searching I must have overlooked it. Pulling the card up I begin the ritual of hacking into the information. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. Most of the purchases were made in the Vegas area but the last few transactions told a different story. There had been a rather large purchase of swim wear at a store located in the coast of North Carolina. Also a few grocery bill's near the same location. Either she's on vacation or trying to stay away from me. Shutting my laptop down I grinned and mumbled. "Never leave a paper trail behind ginger snap".

However this was also devastating news. I've been away from my business far too long so I couldn't just up and leave again. Frankie would have to wait for now. Once again in a gloomy mood, I sat off to pay Severo a visit and get a briefing on what's been going on.

Severo met with me out by his pool. As soon as he approached me he gripped my hand in a fist like shake and gave me a pat on the back. "So glad to hear about your mother's reappearance. I hope all is well with the family now".

" It is and thanks. I'm glad she's back to".

From there we dug right into the business world. Nearly an hour swept by before our discussion came to an end. Rising to go I told Severo that I would be back in the office tomorrow morning. "Don't bother King. You've been through a rough road as of late. Thing's are running smoothly now so take a few week's off. You deserve it".

My ears couldn't believe what they were hearing. Severo has never been the one to take time from work. Something was off but it didn't take long for it to click. "My mother called you didn't she?"

Severo broke out into laughter. "She did".

Shaking my head in annoyance Severo continued. "She's worried about you King. You need to go find this girl and have some fun for a change. This will all still be here when you return and you know that I will contact you if I need you".

After thinking it over for several seconds, I nodded my head. "I'll only be gone one week, two at the most".

" Run on King. Live a little and be young". He smiled.

The following morning I was back on my jet and North Carolina bound.