He hummed and sealed our agreement with a kiss that had my soul singing for him.
Chapter Sixteen
ATLAS
Thirty minutes into wandering around the corn maze, we realized just how grand the sheer size of this thing was. Sam had texted me, verifying they were still inside, too, so I was determined to find our way out first.
We’d passed a few signs with letters declaring the zone we were in and a phone number we could call if we needed help to get out, but I was determined to solve this maze ourselves.
The path widened into a larger open space with two more path choices. A few people were standing around chatting with each other. They looked up when we approached, their faces lighting up when they saw us.
“Hey, aren’t you the owner of Hector’s? Hector in the flesh,” one of the men said.
Wariness was written all over his face, but I squeezed his hand in support. They were unfamiliar faces, but we got a lot more tourists around these partsafter Wren’s vlogs, and they didn’t look like they had bad intentions.
“The Diner,” Hector corrected, which only made me smile. Nobody besides us really used its official name. Everyone just called the placeHector’s. “But yes, I’m Hector.”
“That’s sick, bro!” The same man who spoke first looked excited as he ribbed his group of friends. “Wren raves about your place in his vlogs, and we got the chance to try it the other day. I never knew a hole-in-the-wall could have such good food.”
“Is it true there’s a secret menu, and that menu being we can ask for anything we want?”
“Well, sometimes. If the diner isn’t too busy and I have the ingredients and know how to make the dish, then I’m not opposed to making it,” Hector replied shyly.
“He’s being humble. There isn’t a dish Hector has failed to make yet,” I said truthfully.
Hector once told me that since his parents were usually too high to take care of him and they never bothered making sure he had food, he had to get creative in making meals with the random ingredients he found in the house. It was probably the reason he was such an excellent chef now.
“That’s amazing, bro!” The same guy spoke up and nudged one of his friends. “He’s aspiring to be a chef. Do you have any tips for him? Maybe you can give him some advice?”
His friend was a lot shyer, but his eyes were shining as they looked up at Hector. Hector frowned, probably caught off guard by the enthusiasm, but I nudged him forward so he could share his experience. I knew he’d want to help, regardless.
The group crowded around him as he spoke, like he was some sort of celebrity. I moved to the side so they could chat. Hector looked so out of his element, but it was nice that people recognized him without it being a negative experience.
It was nice hearing him talk about something he clearly loved, but a lot of it went over my head. Cooking wasn’t my thing, and I found myself super lucky to have snatched a man who knew his way around the kitchen.
I let them continue the conversation and wandered a bit further away. Hector glanced my way with a worried expression, but I waved him off. I wanted him to have his moment, but I also wanted to see if I could figure out our next route.
We’d been sticking to all the right paths because I’d read somewhere that you’d eventually find the way out if you did that, but now I was wondering if we’d been heading in the wrong direction.
I went over to the right path first, just to take a look. I wasn’t planning to go far without Hector. This path was a straight line forward that split into two directions. I turned right again to be met with a dead end.
There went that plan.
Returning to the open space, Hector looked relievedto see me. The group of friends was still chatting animatedly, asking Hector questions about his experience opening the diner. I could tell he was answering each question with the seriousness with which he did everything.
I smiled in his direction and made my way to the left path. This one immediately curved left, right, and left again, but it was only one route that led straight after that. I had a good feeling about this direction and planned to return to tell Hector.
Rustling came from behind me, and I figured Hector was done with his conversation and had come to find me. Before I could turn around to face him, arms wrapped around me.
I smiled for a brief second before I sensed something was wrong. These weren’t Hector’s arms. They were too thin, and the body pressed against me was too frail. A sinking feeling went down my spine.
I tried to turn around and push the stranger away, but something hard pressed against my back. A gun?
“Don’t move,” the stranger said, and I knew in my gut that this washim.
The stalker.
“Who are you?” I asked, proud that my voice didn’t tremble. There was nobody besides us around, and the curves in this path made it harder for people to see us. I was alone without any help.
