Free The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby Page A

gadget, and then pressed it.
    The trunk door flew open and the gunman pulled out the jewelry bag and fled to a car that was waiting a few feet away. When he jumped in on the passenger side, they sped off like nothing had ever happened. Alicia could barely move, but she looked around and didn’t see a soul. Not one person had witnessed what had happened and while she was a nervous wreck and terrified for her life, she knew she could never report this. She couldn’t call the police and she would never tell her husband because if she did, she’d have to disclose exactly what the gunman had taken from her. She’d have to confess to Phillip that he’d taken her newly purchased, five-thousand-dollar, princess-cut diamond earrings, and there was no way she could do that.
    She stood there a few more seconds and finally burst into tears. Then, she slammed down the trunk and sat inside the car. This was insane. She’d been robbed right in the heart of Mitchell and in the parking lot of a quaint little Chinese restaurant and there was nothing she could do about it. Then, the idea that someone had cased the jewelry store, watched her make her purchase, followed her out to her car, saw her place the bag in her trunk, and trailed her back to Mitchell and even to the bookstore sent chills through her body.
    She was beyond upset, but she started her engine and slowly drove away.
    She drove but she couldn’t help thinking…why couldn’t the gunman have taken her purse, with the little bit of cash she had inside of it, and just been satisfied? Why couldn’t he have taken something that she hadn’t even spent a thousand dollars on?

Chapter 8
    N o matter how many times she replayed the entire scenario, Alicia still couldn’t fathom what had just happened to her less than an hour ago. She’d actually been robbed. What were the chances that today would be the day she’d choose to stop at a restaurant that normally had very few customers during the weeknights? On top of that, it had just gotten completely dark only minutes before she’d gone inside of it. Although, that would explain why the gunman hadn’t confronted her at the much busier bookstore while it was still light outside and had decided to wait until later.
    On her way inside her house, she was glad she’d thought to stop at the pharmacy to get a bottle of eye-makeup remover and cotton balls so she could fix her face before seeing Phillip. She’d bawled all the way to the store, and the last thing she needed was Phillip asking her what she’d been crying about. She was also glad she never left the house without her eyeliner, mascara, pressed face powder, and lip color and liner. During college, she’d gotten in the habit of always carrying them in her purse and today that habit had paid off.
    Alicia set the bags of food on top of the counter, dropped her goldish-tan Coach handbag, the one that had cost her nearlyeight hundred dollars, across the back of one of the island chairs and gathered her composure. Then she called out to Phillip. “Honey?”
    But he didn’t answer.
    “Sweetheart, I’m home.”
    Phillip finally walked into the kitchen, holding a document in his hand. “Alicia, what in the world is this?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “This. This Visa statement and all these charges you made last month.”
    “Oh, not tonight. Pleeease, not tonight.”
    “Why do you insist on trying to ruin everything for us?”
    “I’m not doing this with you right now. I’m not, Phillip.”
    “Just tell me why. Why do you keep buying all this unnecessary stuff?”
    “I needed everything I bought, but don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”
    “How?”
    “I’ll pay it by phone through my checking account. It’s only eight hundred dollars.”
    “Only?”
    Alicia turned away from him, but then it dawned on her that she’d already spent the last five thousand dollars she had to her name on those stupid earrings.
    “How many