My heart slammed against my chest when I got the unmistakable scent of panther shifter. I turned my head slightly, just enough to see the man's face. "I know."
"If you want to get away from him, follow me out of here when I leave." With that, the man stood and continued to the bathroom.
I don't think I started breathing again until the man came back and sat down with his friends. I tried not to stare at the three of them, but it was hard not to. They were just sitting there chatting it up as if one of them hadn't dropped a bomb in my lap.
Now I needed to decide if I trust the stranger enough to follow him. He wasn't my father or Roger, so that bumped him up the list right there. That still didn't mean I should trust him. This was my life and that of my son we were talking about.
Everyone was a potential threat.
"Get the check," the man said in a little bit of a louder voice. "We need to head out."
I waited a minute before grabbing Tommy's jacket. "Baby, it's time to go."
After helping Tommy into his jacket, I pulled mine on then reached down and grabbed my bag. I pulled some money out, enough to pay for our meal and a small tip. The old man had been extra nice to us when he didn't have to be. I just wished I could leave him a bigger tip, but money was precious right now.
"Finish your juice, and then we'll visit the bathroom before we go."
Tommy was three. He was out of diapers, but accidents happened. It was best to make sure he had regular bathroom visits.
I tossed the money for our meal down on the table then scooted out of the bench. I slid my bag onto my back then held my hand out to Tommy. When we turned, the old man was standing there.
"Oh, thanks for the meal." I reached over and grabbed the money I had tossed on the table then held it out to him. "I hope this will cover our bill."
"Oh yes, this is more than enough. Let me get your change."
"No, please." I smiled. "Keep it. The food was wonderful."
"Well, thank you."
I saw the man grabbing our dishes as I walked away with Tommy. Once inside the bathroom, I directed Tommy to one of the stalls. I helped him with his pants then stood against the stall door as he did his business. Once he was done, I helped him do his pants back up.
"Ready?"
Tommy nodded.
I turned and opened the door and came face-to-face with probably the biggest man I had ever seen in my life. He was one of the men dressed in black. He shoved me back into the stall then closed and locked the door.
He pointed to the corner of the stall between the toilet and the wall. "Get down there."
"Please, we don't want any trouble." I shoved Tommy behind me and backed up. My mind instantly started going through every horrible thing I could think of to get us out of this mess.
"Get down and don't make a sound."
I pushed Tommy into the corner then squatted down in front of him. I held my finger to my lips when I glanced at Tommy. He was becoming well aware of what that gesture meant.
I was shocked when the man pulled his large leather jacket off and tossed it over the top of us. I moved the edge out of the way so I could see what he was doing, but when he started to lower his zipper, I quickly pulled it back. There were some things I didn't need to see.
My nose crinkled with disgust when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone peeing then a zipper going back up.
"Hey, man!" the guy shouted. "What's your problem? Back the fuck off."
"I'm just looking—"
Oh my god. I knew that voice.
It was all I could do not to start shaking.
"You ain't looking at shit, man. Get the fuck back."
