“Well, he wasn’t a looker, that’s for sure. He was kind of scary. The dude was big, but not in a muscular way, had dark hair, and was tall. His voice was gruff and he seemed to be in a hurry.” She squinted and then snapped her fingers. “Oh, and he had a scar on his cheek.”
I saw Emily shudder and I did the same as she rattled off the description.
“Thank you. I have no clue who that would be and I don’t think I want to know.”
She had a concerned look on her face. “Be careful, girl.” Then she turned and walked back the way she’d come.
I stood frozen for a minute as I pondered if I should call Lyric, but he was on duty and then had a meeting with theNo Surrender menafter work before he’d be heading home. Even though he’d told me to message or call him if things felt off, I decided to wait until we were home so I didn’t stack more on his plate or cause worry.
Even if I was alarmed.
I’d thought that whoever had taken an interest in me in some way had changed their mind and given up.
I wasn’t so sure now.
* * *
I wasglad to be heading home.
Getting through the rest of the day after the news of the man who’d been looking for me was so disconcerting that I’d had trouble focusing. As a nurse that wasn’t a good thing at all.
I clocked out and grabbed my stuff. As I headed to the underground parking lot I thought about calling Lyric, but once again decided not to. He texted me between getting off his shift at the police station and meeting the guys, but I’d been with a patient so it wasn’t until I got a break that I’d text back to tell him I would see him at home.
I’d also told him I loved him, adding a heart at the end of the message.
It was his reply I was staring at as I reached my car, pulled open the door, and got inside. When I reached for the keys in my pocket, I froze. My head had been in the clouds as I read Lyric’s text over and over, caught up in the blissful feeling it provoked in me, that I hadn’t even paid attention to my surroundings.
Or the fact that my door was unlocked.
Panic gripped me and I tried to flee the vehicle, but it was too late.
“I don’t think so, Ruby,” a deep, intense voice said from behind me, as a big arm wrapped around my neck.
Is this the guy?
“We’re going to take a little drive and you’re going to do exactly what I say. And don’t even think of looking in the fucking mirror.”
I felt something cold and sharp against my throat. All the air in my lungs seized at the realization that it was a knife. I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d learned in my self-defense class that was going to help me at that moment.
“W-why are you doing this?” I asked, desperately trying not to move even a centimeter for fear he would cut my throat. “P-please let me go.”
I should have called Lyric and I should have been paying attention. I needed to get home to my family but knew if I drove off with the guy I might never see them again.
“Shut up, bitch. Now turn the damn car on and don’t try anything stupid.” With his glove-covered hand, he pressed the metal harder against my skin. Something warm and wet trickled down the column of my neck.
Blood.
What was I supposed to do? I took my chances and tried pleading with him again. “Please, I have a family. I won’t say anything, I promise.”
I assumed this was the guy that Emily told me about and he’d been waiting for me, but I couldn’t be sure. It was also early evening so it was already dark and I couldn’t see anything. Not that I had tried when he’d made it clear not to look and had a knife to my throat. I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid walking through a dark parking lot, face in my phone, and clueless after everything that had happened already. I’d asked for help and I’d got it. But what good had that done me if I wasn’t going to use my head and do my part to stay safe?
“Get your fucking keys and drive,” the main growled. “Or you won’t see your old ass grandpa, brother, sister, or that sweet little thing you got living with you and her baby ever again. And I will kill that dickhead you are so wrapped up in.”
My heart stopped beating. He knew about everyone and he said he would kill Lyric. I couldn’t let that happen. With trembling hands, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys. Tears started to stream down my cheeks.
This was it.
I was going to die.
