Not in California.
He’s got no foothold here.
That you know of.
God, she really hoped he didn’t. It was annoying that she had to work harder than she wanted to to convince herself that she was imagining things. Even harder was believing that there was no point in second-guessing herself. She already knew she’d go over and over the decisions she’d made every single time she closed her eyes for freaking months. It sucked so bad to be this—ugh, what was the word—insecure, stupid, crazy, all the above?
Her instincts said to get to where there were other people, and to do it fast. She’d be all of those words if she didn’t listen to it. Rose turned in the direction she was meant to be going and prayed it wasn’t deserted when she got there.
Just make it to the bus stop.
There will be people at the bus stop.
I hope.
Please let there be people at the bus stop.
He’s not going to do a damn thing if you are around people.
She glanced at her watch and picked up speed. If those footsteps she could hear behind her were from a regular person rather than one of his goons, then hopefully, they would think she was just sprinting for the bus and not because she was a weirdo. If it was his goons, then hopefully they too could see the lights of the bus stop and would leave her alone. She recognized how futile it was to wish he’d leave her alone. He’d never stop hunting her. She snorted in her head at herself for wishing for things that would never come true.
It’s time to move on.
When you get home, pack your stuff and leave.
You can email the photos to Indy. She’ll understand.
The footsteps behind her sounded as if they had moved from a fast walk to a jog, and in response, she also increased her speed. If she could just make it to the bus stop, she may be safe.
Please let there be people there.
Please.
She glimpsed someone’s outline in the bus stop shelter and thanked any god who might be up there for looking after her. “Did the number fifty come yet?” she asked breathlessly as she skidded to a stop.
Act normal, for heaven’s sake. Act fricking normal.
Yeah, I checked the receipt for you. You didn’t take the ‘act normal’ upgrade.
Shut up.
Her hands closed into fists, and she made an attempt at not making herself stand out by acting twitchy, which was difficult for her at the best of times. Twitchy should have been her middle name.
“Not yet.” The older gentleman glanced at his watch. “It should be here in about five minutes, though.”
Five minutes. She could hopefully keep her collective crap together for five minutes, right? “Thank you.” She sidestepped away from a man in a dark hoodie who joined them from the direction she’d come from.
Were you following me?
She shifted her feet, getting ready to bolt just in case he had been chasing her, and made a move toward her. If this was one of her nemesis’s goons, then the man waiting for the bus with her was in danger. She’d never forgive herself if he got hurt because of her because one old man would never be strong enough to take on killers like the ones who hunted her.
You should have thought of that before you bolted down here.
Idiot.
The man in the hoodie stepped closer to her. Every step she took, he took one too, until she stood on the edge of the sidewalk. Any minute now, she’d have to step onto the street. Was that what he wanted? To have her step into traffic? She didn’t want her life to end under the wheels of that dark gray pickup truck driving past. As if the driver heard her talking to herself in her head, the driver hit the brakes, and the reversing lights came on a split second before the truck returned to the bus stop. Rose eyed it warily as the window on the passenger side came down.
“Can I give you a ride, Rose?”
