AN: This story is almost complete I have already written 19 chapters so you don't have to worry about it not being completed which can be a problem for me as an author. Please note the first chapter might seem like a mary sue but I promise the female character is merely a plot device. Please review! All ideas criticisms are welcome as I am not an experienced nor a professional writer and just do this for fun.
_
Chapter 1: The road to hell is paved with good intentions
"Hey look, its your future boyfriend" came a teasing voice from behind Soleil.
Glancing out the window Soleil caught sight of the attractive man approaching. He was dressed in comfortable looking grey henley and dark jeans cuffed at the bottom revealing a pair of scuffed and well worn leather boots. His gait as always was confident and carefree, a feature Soleil found mesmerising, and for a few seconds she let herself get caught up in it. As he approached the door he paused momentarily to pull his dark sunglasses up atop his head and Soliel instinctively looked away not wanting to get caught staring.
"You're drooling . . ." Her co-worker whispered, teasing as she passed behind her friend.
"Shut-up Amber, I am not." Soleil chided with laughter in her voice, rolling her eyes.
The brunette giggled and turned away, but not without giving the African-American girl an impish look.
"Shhh" Soleil commanded the still laughing girl, as the gentleman in question strode through the door.
"Hey." He greeted coming up to the counter.
Amber who had been writing an inventory list, and who was the closest to the register turned her head to acknowledge him, "Hey there, Jonas" She greeted and then looked to Soleil who was busy cleaning up after a small spill.
"Hey, um, Sol, can you help at the register, I'm suuuper busy." she said exaggerating her vowels.
'Subtle' Soleil thought. Throwing her co-worker a look of faux contempt she put her rag down and went to the register.
"Good morning." She greeted, giving the cute guy a wide grin "Your regular today or do feel like being more adventurous? We have the pumpkin spice latte out, now. It's very popular." Soleil sold futilely, as she knew his answer would be the same as always.
"Uh, thanks for the offer but i'll stick with the green tea." He responded, pulling out his wallet. "Has it been busy this morning?" He asked as he gave her his card.
"Nah, not really, Saturday mornings at 6:00 a.m. are typically pretty slow, people like to sleep in . . . well most people anyway," she said with a wink, as she processed his payment.
"Yeah, I'm still getting used to that." He replied with a smile.
"What people in Kelowna don't sleep in?" She asked teasing him.
A look of panic crossed his face, only to be replaced a split second later, with an adorable smile. "Oh Canada, yeah well, uh, well working with the military hasn't really provided me that luxury." he stumbled in reply.
She ducked her head to hide a mirthful smile, assuming his stutter was brought on by nervousness. "Ah I see." She finally responded looking up, her amusement successfully hidden. "Well, I get that, barista-ing isn't very partial to that particular luxury either." She said, commiserating as she handed him back his card and receipt.
"Yeah, I guess not." He acquiesced with a bit of chagrin realizing they were open early because of people like him.
"It's cool though," Soleil continued moving fluidly to make his tea. "I'm a morning person, how about you?"
"I like mornings . . . " he said with a pause, "especially recently." he finished a coy smile playing on lips as he looked at her.
Soleil blushed realizing he was giving her a sideways compliment and quickly turned away making an attempt to seem focused on his drink order all the while grinning stupidly to herself.
His flirtation was obvious, and made her happily embarrassed. As she finished preparing his drink, she made a purposeful effort to ignore his awkward charm. Forcing composure she brought over his completed order.
"Hey one benefit of being early is my favorite spot is always available." He pointed out trying to make the friendly conversation last a bit longer.
"That's true," Soleil agreed. "You do always sit there. Why? Is it really comfy or something?" She asked.
He caught her eyes as he took the proffered drink. "Yeah it's comfortable, but personally. I like to think it has the best view." He responded in tone that clearly indicated he was not talking about its proximity to a window. Soleil blushed outright as she heard a giggle from her eavesdropping friend in the back.
Seeing her fluster, he decided to stop harassing the pretty woman for the moment. "Anyway, uh, thanks." He said tipping his head to her in gratitude before turning to the aforementioned chair near the registers and settling in with his magazine.
Soleil quickly retreated to the back in fully embarrassed now, but elated regardless.
Amber gave her a jesting look and poked her in the side teasingly, happy to have been proven right about her earlier affirmations.
Soleil, attempted to give her a look of annoyance in response but it was defeated by the grin she couldn't seem to keep off of her face.
...
As the next hour went by Soleil busied herself with work, taking every opportunity to steal a quick glance of what her admirer was doing, hoping to catch him looking at her. Her efforts were fruitless however as he seemed immersed in his magazine.
He was reading, The American Journal of Evolutionary Medicine he brought in all the time and she wondered if he was really reading it or if it was just a prop to impress her. Almost everytime he came in, he had a different book or magazine each on an impressive subject and he 'read' through them with a speed that was altogether suspicious. She sighed at that thought and turned back to her current order. It was beginning to get busy and it was getting harder to daydream and still get the orders right. She decided to stop allowing herself to get distracted by the attractive man and focus on getting through the next hour.
Finally, after what seemed like a million orders later, the coffee shop fell into another lull. Soleil glanced up to see her favorite regular's seat was now empty and felt a pang of disappointment. She wondered if he would ever just ask her out. Perhaps he was just a flirt and was only toying with her emotions. The thought made her feel suddenly annoyed and she decided she would take out the rubbish bin that was overflowing from their last rush.
"Hey, I'm going to take out the trash I'll be right back." She called to Amber before heading to the back with an overfull bag.
Soleil opened the back door that faced the alley and immediately wished she'd put on a jacket as the crisp fall air hit her exposed arms. Bending down she was about to throw the bag into the dumpster when she heard heated voices coming from further down the alley. Her interest piqued she turned to look for the source of the noise and saw a strange group of men arguing. Curious, Soleil quietly set the garbage bag down and snuck around the dumpster to get a better vantage point.
When she looked again, she was alarmed by what she saw. Her favorite regular, Jonas was being restrained by two burly men. She watched him struggle futilely against the men as they pinned his arms behind his back and forced him painfully onto his knees in front of a tall man. Soleil couldn't make out the faces of Jonas's attackers but their body language sent ice through her veins. Freaked out by the scene playing out in front of her she inched back a bit to remain out of sight, but she strained to hear what was being said.
"You'll never get away with this" Jonas said as he continued to fight his restraint, his voice tight with anger.
"That's where you are wrong Mr. Quinn, we will . . . in fact, we already have." The other man replied, pulling something small out of his coat. She strained to make the small object out, but the man in front of Jonas moved too quickly for her to get a good look at it. Before she could blink the man raised his hand and plunged the object into Jonas's neck. She watched helplessly as Jonas's fighting body slowly stilled until his frame fell lax in his captors grip.
Realization hit her like a punch to the gut. Jonas had just been drugged! Soleil gasped in shock, she had no idea what was happening or why, but one thing was for sure she'd be damned before she let anything else happen without trying to help. Fearful but determined, she pulled away from the scene intent on getting help. She felt her apron for her cell phone and realized she'd left it inside. She knew time was running out she had to get to a phone so she could call the cops, but before she could take a step, strong hands grabbed her painfully from behind followed by a stabbing pain in her neck, then nothingness.