Under His Influence (Love Under Lockdown)

It also wasn’t like I’d had to hack into her account. It was information she had freely volunteered to the company when she applied for the internship.

I could have looked her up in the phone book, but the risk of imprecision was far too high. The last thing one wanted when trying to do a romantic overture was to show up at the wrong house. So, I had been forced to get her address from her employee file.

There was still no guarantee that my plan to get her back would work, but I tried to cover all the bases I could. I was determined to do everything I could to claim her again as my own, forever, and not let her go this time.

When I arrived at the apartment complex that had been listed as Jonna’s address in her file at work, I saw that the occupants were listed by their last names first. I scanned the list until I got to “M” and once I found hers— Morris— I entered the corresponding numbers in the call box hastily.

The buzzer rang out as into the void, with only my ears there to hear it. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say. It was something of a new situation, and I was still trying to find my footing, but that didn’t stop me from marching steadfastly ahead in my plan— or at least as much as my plan as I’d managed to come up with.

I usually planned everything, but I hadn’t planned this last part.

The part in which I say the right thing to get Jonna back.

I had to be convinced that the right words would come as soon as I heard her voice again.

Chapter Eleven - Jonna

The space had run out, even if the same could not quite be said for the time, the floor coming up to meet me like an old friend.

“Ow.”

With an assist from the coffee table, which I dearly hoped was as strong as it looked, I rose again, embraced by the dark.

“Rolled off the couch again?” Stephanie asked me.

“Yeah.”

“I keep telling you, sleep on your side, and then you’ll just roll onto your front.”

Stephanie really knew a lot about couches. She’d spent a good amount of time couch-surfing after college. Right up until an awesome job more or less fell into her lap.

Sometimes I thought she had inherited all the grace and decision-making skills she needed to get ahead easily in life. Or it could just be pure, blind luck that Stephanie ended up being such a Mycroft to my Sherlock.

“Ah, get it away,” I cried, as she threw open the curtains, letting the daylight in.

“Come on Vampirella, time to get you home,” she pressed.

“Can I eat first?” I asked her.

“Are you sure you just don’t like my cooking better than the food that’s at your own place?”

“Not at all.”

“Well, I suppose there’s something to be said for honesty,” she said, laughing.

As a final mercy for the sake of family ties, Stephanie did a fry up before sending me on my way. My job, or any hope of one in my beloved industry, had basically ended when I left Seth’s house. I had some skills, but the question was how to use them, in a professional capacity.

Research was an option. It was possible that someone would hire me for it if I was very creative with my resume. Seth might even help me out with a recommendation letter. He was a lot of things, but he never struck me as vindictive.

“Any plans for what you’ll do now?” Stephanie asked me.

“A few,” I said with a sigh.

“Good, though if you need some direction, I hear our second store is looking for staff,” she told me. “You would have to wait after the lockdown to start working, though.”

“I’ll let you know.”

I sighed.

“Please do.”

With breakfast eaten and the dishes done, we went out to her car.

“Are you sure you have time?” I asked her.

“Always. Besides, I have the week off of work for a ‘family emergency.’ And I’m only supposed to be working remotely, anyway.”

“Okay. Thanks again for all your help,” I told her gratefully.

“No problem. That’s what sisters are for.”

Getting our masks on, we ducked into the car and drove directly to my building, sticking to the back roads to avoid police attention.

And once we got to my building, we were greeted with a surprise that made my heart beat faster and my stomach lurch, both at the same time.

“Oh shit,” is all I could manage to get out.

“Who the hell is he?” Stephanie demanded to know.

“That would be Seth Black.”

It was like watching a lioness leap on a gazelle. Stephanie stormed up to Seth with all the rage of the Furies burning in her eyes.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here? There’s a lockdown on, you know, or do you think that doesn’t apply to you?” she yelled. “I know, I know, I’m here, but I’m here bringing my sister home after what you did to her, so don’t you dare try and bring that up. We don’t know what you're playing at, but she doesn’t deserve to be jerked around.”