Sassy Claws

LARISSA STALLED AS long as she could, popping into every store and taking her time looking at everything she could pick up. At one point, they stopped at the small play area the mall set up for children, probably to give parents a break while their children ran amuck in the small, confined space, hoping the parents wouldn’t leave before they spent some more money. Clint followed along, carrying most of the bags and helping with the children as much as he could so Larissa could shop. She used the time to purchase at least a few things she would be able to take with her, some outfits for the children, a couple of new bottles for Trent, and a baby doll for Darlene. She didn’t worry about herself so much. There would be time enough for that later. Right now, she needed to focus on the kids. Her kids. That was a notion that meant more to her now than it had since they were first born. Alanna wouldn’t believe it, of course, but Larissa knew she had changed since she last saw her cousin. She knew there were more important things than herself, more important people, such as her children. At one point, she thought she spotted Alanna following her, but it was in her peripheral vision. As she turned to double check, however, someone bumped into Clint, jostling him as bags rattled against each other. “Sorry, sorry,” the man said as he helped Clint right himself. “My apologies. I shouldn’t have been looking at my phone while walking.” He held up his hand, an apologetic expression on his face. “My bad.” He kept his hand held up as he walked away. Clint shook his head, blowing out a breath as he stood straighter. “People and their phones,” he grumbled, shaking his head as he turned back to Larissa. “All good. Nothing broken.” She nodded as she raked him with her gaze, making sure he wasn’t lying to her. “You sure?” He nodded, holding up the bags so she could see for herself. “All good.” She smiled back at him, nodding. “I only have a couple of more stores I want to look into,” she said. He nodded once. “Take however long you want,” he told her. “It’s your day.” And the way he smiled at her warmed her heart in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. She bit her lower lip as she shifted Trent to her other hip and turned around, a blush warming her cheeks. She couldn’t read too much into Clint’s attention. He was merely being nice to her because she was married to Kiran. Still, she wondered what would have happened if she met him before Kiran proposed to her. Her life would have been so much different. Almost an hour later, she realized she had stalled as long as she could, and they headed back toward the car. Clint had not complained once the entire time. He simply carried the bags and kept a close eye on Darlene. Larissa wasn’t sure what Alanna figured out, if anything, and kept darting her gaze around in the hopes—or fear—of seeing someone coming for them. Surely, someone would have to intervene and get them out of there before they reached the outside. She worried that Alanna would hurt Clint while attempting to get her and the kids away from him, not seeing another way to free them. As she stepped out into the early afternoon warmth, she noticed flashing lights bouncing off the walls around her and the vehicles in the parking lot. Two sheriff cars lined up in front of the mall, and Larissa watched as two deputies walked over to her, one pulling out handcuffs as he did. “Excuse me, sir, can you step over here?” the female deputy asked as she gestured to one of the vehicles. Larissa felt her brows pinch as she stared at the deputy and then glanced around in the hopes of seeing Alanna. This couldn’t be what they had in mind, could it? How could Alanna bring the law into this? Larissa had begged for discretion. However, her redheaded cousin was nowhere in sight. “What’s the problem here?” Clint asked as he shot his gaze back and forth between the two deputies, confusion covering his face. Larissa didn’t blame him. She was equally confused. Darlene clung to her leg, her fingers digging into her pants. “What’s happening, Mommy?” Another deputy, a tall, muscular black man stretched out an arm, his palm up to stop Clint from moving any closer toward Larissa, separating him from the others. “Stop right there, sir,” the male deputy said as the female guided Larissa off to the side and out of the way. “Why are you stopping us?” Larissa asked as she glanced around her some more. “What is going on?” Was this part of the plan? This wasn’t what she wanted. “We had a phone call about a man fitting your description shoplifting from a jewelry store inside,” the male deputy said as he lowered his arm to his side but still blocking Clint from Larissa and the children. “Shoplifting? Are you f*****g serious?” Clint cried out. “I don’t need to steal things, I assure you. I can afford to buy whatever the hell I want.” “What do you mean someone turned him in?” Larissa asked, panic now wrapping its cold fingers around her heart since she had no idea what was happening. There was no way Clint would have shoplifted. “This is a mistake. Clint wouldn’t do that.” The male deputy ignored her, however. “Well then, you wouldn’t mind me looking inside your bags, would you?” he asked, already reaching out for the bag in Clint’s left hand. “If it’ll get you off my back, then sure, search till your heart’s content,” Clint said, shoving the bag into the man’s hand. “This is ridiculous.” Larissa stood there, watching, not sure what exactly was happening. Clint would never steal anything from anyone. This had to be a case of mistaken identity. However, she had not seen many men in Melbourne who looked like Clint. The man had muscles on top of his muscles. “Do you have a receipt for this, sir?” the deputy asked as he pulled out a gold necklace, the price tag still dangling from the clasp. Larissa stared at it, not sure where the necklace came from. Clint had not purchased anything. He never even pulled out his wallet or picked up anything to get a better look. Hell, all he even touched were the bags she collected while shopping. “I’ve never seen that necklace before,” Clint snarled, barely controlling his anger as he stared at the gold chain. “We never even went into a jewelry store. How the hell did that thing get into my bag if we never went near where it was bought?” He pointed to the necklace as he glared at the deputy. “You planted that thing in there. What the hell is going on here? What are you trying to prove?” The male deputy shook his head. “I’m sorry sir, but you’ll have to come with us,” The man held the bag down at his side as he gestured for Clint to move closer to the deputy’s car, pulling out the handcuffs. “I will not,” Clint spat. “That isn’t mine.” “Nope, it’s not,” the deputy said as he reached out and snatched Clint’s arm. “It belongs to the store you stole it from. I’ll tell you what; we’ll go inside and see if the store will simply take it back with an apology. If you’ll come with me, we can straighten this out.” Clint turned to Larissa, confusion etched on his face. “I didn’t steal that thing,” he assured her. “I promise.” “You’ll need to go home now,” the female deputy told Larissa as she tried to usher her away from them. “You don’t want the kids involved in this. It’s best they don’t see their father in handcuffs.” “Their father?” Larissa stared at the woman, not sure what was actually happening. “Not their father. He’s a friend, and we can’t leave him like this,” she said. “He didn’t steal that necklace. It’s my bag for crying out loud. All he did was hold it.” She had to get them to understand. Clint would never steal anything. “Go home, ma’am,” the female repeated. “Maybe he’ll get lucky, and the store won’t press charges once their necklace is returned.” “But we weren’t in any store where he could have picked up that necklace.” She didn’t understand anything that was happening. None of this made sense. “Then how did it get in the bag?” The female deputy shrugged and then turned and followed her partner. “Go home.” Larissa stood there and said nothing. What the hell just happened? “Is he going to be all right, Mommy?” Darlene asked. “He’ll be fine,” a voice came from off to the side. “Now, we need to get out of here. Come on.” She turned and saw Alanna step from around a couple of bushes. Two men she didn’t recognize accompanied her. “Are you going to just stand there?” Alanna asked.