She sniffles and shivers beside me, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing her soaked dress over her thighs. I let myself look just once, and then I fix my stare ahead at the road.
I knew trouble wasn’t the only thing blowing into town tonight, and turns out I was right. I have no idea yet if this Violet woman is trouble—but I have a feeling I’m gonna have a good time finding out.
2
Violet
I’m more than a rule-follower.
I’m a rule-follower’s rule-follower.
I’ve never had a parking ticket. Never shoplifted or even been tempted to steal. I’ve never cheated on a test, and I’m pretty darned sure that the closest I’ve come to telling a lie was telling this terrifyingly huge, bearded man that I have a boyfriend.
Well, I did have one—so it’s not a complete lie. I just don’t anymore. But since this guy is driving me to places unknown so I can spend the night with him… I think I can be forgiven for stretching the truth a bit.
Once we’re inside the car, the reality of the situation hits me. It’s pouring down buckets of rain, and unless this guy decides to pull over and live out a serial killer’s fantasy, he’s gonna have to use all of his attention to navigate the roads safely. My little sedan’s in decent shape, but between the wind and the roads starting to flood, the car fishtails, and I swear I’m gripping the towel he gave me with all my strength just to calm my racing heart.
I squeeze my eyes shut when an empty plastic water bottle tossed by a sudden gust of wind strikes the windshield. I jump so hard that the man I’ve somehow trusted with my life looks away from the road to glance at me.
“We got this,” he says, his voice even and oddly reassuring. “We’re almost there.”
“What’s your name?” I ask, nervous energy making me feel fidgety. I know I probably shouldn’t trust this guy, but I don’t get any weird vibes from him. In fact, he seems oddly distant, like he doesn’t want to put up with me any more than I want to be stuck with no better options than accepting his charity.
“Told ya,” he mutters. “Shadow.” He doesn’t tear his eyes from the windshield when he answers my question.
My sister’s not going to like that one bit. “Your real name?” I press. “If I’m murdered, it will be a lot easier for them to find you by your legal name.”
He flicks a fast look at me, and a slight grin peeks through his dark brown beard. “Johnny.” He looks vicious and tough, but he’s got a voice as smooth as honey. The sound of it calms me, oddly. “Johnny Butcher,” he finishes.
Well, darn. I can’t exactly convince my sister that a guy named Butcher isn’t a serial killer about to make me his next victim. “You couldn’t have been John Smith, could you?” I grumble.
“What?” We stop at a red light, even though there are no other cars at this intersection, and Johnny turns to look at me. His eyes are a surprisingly light shade of green, and when he lowers his brows, he looks dangerously sexy.
I swallow hard and start punching away at my cell phone. “You could have a slightly less sinister name if you’re going to pick up women off the street,” I say softly.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “You think my name is bad, you won’t wanna tell your sister about this.” He pats the leather vest he’s wearing.
I gasp. He’s carrying a gun. I shouldn’t be surprised. Florida is a concealed carry state. Half the mall-walking old ladies probably have weapons in their handbags. But he wouldn’t have revealed that he had it if he intended to surprise me with it. Use it on me, even. Would he?
“Great,” I mumble under my breath. “Definitely a serial killer.”
He laughs, and the warm sound fills the car. I want to trust him. What option do I have at this point? “It’s only for my protection—and now, yours.”
The light turns green, and we lurch ahead, the wind changing direction and literally shaking the body of my car.
“There,” he says, pointing ahead.
Not that it matters. The rain has picked up again, and I can’t see anything through the torrents of water streaming over the windshield. I fire off a quick text to my sister, including Shadow’s full name, and just hope this isn’t the worst mistake of my life.
A one-story building is ahead of us, as best as I can make out, and Shadow pulls right up to a door that has a single lighted bulb overhead. He turns and faces me.
“You got an overnight bag? Change of clothes?” he asks.
I don’t reply right away, definitely not sure I want to commit to staying here. But just then, the door of the building opens, and two girls stumble out into the storm.
That’s a good sign. There are other women inside, and they don’t seem to be here against their will.
Quite the opposite, actually. They are laughing, and they have their arms around each other’s bare shoulders. They’re both wearing really revealing cutoff tops, and even in the rain, I can tell they’ve got more cleavage and skin showing than covered. They have wild hair, too, blown around by the rain. But they don’t seem to care. One looks as if she tries and fails to light a cigarette behind a cupped hand, while the other bends over, puts her hands on her knees, and pukes a big puddle of something into the grass.
