Get used to it, girl. Providence doesn't have any stop lights, remember?
Lights flashed in her rear-view mirror. The red Nissan, flashing its high beams. Damon waved his hand in the air as though he wanted her to pull over.
"Don't hospitals have back-up generators?" Paige asked, pulling Grace's attention away from the Nissan and its driver.
"Yes, but they're meant for emergency, life-saving equipment. Apparently, the elevator was supposed to have a back-up battery, but it failed, lights and all."
Mom gasped. "You were stuck in the dark that whole time? That must have been terrifying."
"Were you alone?" Paige asked.
"No, there was one other guy in the elevator. And as it turned out, my coworkers gave me a gift basket loaded with all kinds of things, including a candle. Thank goodness, the guy happened to have a lighter." Grace glanced in her rear-view mirror as she made the turn to head to the freeway.
The red Nissan stayed behind her. Its high-beam lights flashed again.
Was Damon trying to get her to pull over just so he could get her number? Talk about desperate.
He'd sounded so confident when he insisted therewasa chance they could meet again. She thought he was just being upbeat, like he was in the elevator, but maybe he meant something more sinister by it.
Grace continued to talk to her family on the phone for a few more minutes before ending the call. Her feelings of unease flared when the Nissan pulled up in the lane beside her on the freeway. She glanced over to find Damon frantically waving, pointing to the side of the road.
No way, creep.
She shook her head and sped up.
Because of a slow car the Nissan fell back, but before long, it was beside her again. Damon pointed to the back of her car this time then to side of the road again. He kept repeating the gesture, but no way was Grace going to pull over because some stranger wanted her to.
Okay, so he wasn't a total stranger, but the fact that she kissed him, and now he was following her, made it ten times worse than if it was a complete stranger.
Damon stayed behind her. Sometimes directly behind her, sometimes three or four cars away, but always behind her. He stayed with her when the 240 turned into the 395, then he was right on her tail when it merged with the 182. It was back a few cars when the freeway split again, and she headed north to Providence, but he took the same exit.
The sight of the ever-present red Nissan in her rearview mirror made her stomach clenched as though in competition with the tightness seizing her chest.
What have I done?
Was Damon a stalker? Would he have followed her anyway, even if she hadn't kissed him? Did he ride elevators for hours on end looking for his next victim?
The farther they got from city limits, the more the traffic thinned, and before long, the Nissan was beside her again. This time, Damon had his window down, yelling something at her. He kept motioning for her to roll hers down.
Driven by fear, she flipped her visor to the side to block him out and increased her speed again. Getting pulled over and being issued a ticket seemed like a much safer bet than letting this crazy stalker get any closer.
She grew more nauseous with each passing exit when the Nissan stayed in her rear-view mirror. It was like a nasty cold she couldn't shake.
What if he followed her all the way to Providence?
Panic set in as she passed the last exit before Providence, and she belatedly realized she should have exited to mislead Damon. Was that even his name? Now, she didn't have any other option besides leading him to her new hometown. She wouldn't lead him to her house though.
Her hand shook as she picked up her phone to call Paige.
"Hello?" Paige answered on the first ring.
"Hey, will you give me your cousin Robert's phone number?"
"Is everything okay?" Worry filled Paige's voice.
"Everything's fine. I just have a question for him, and I figured no time like the present."
"Oh," Paige rattled off the phone number, but Grace's hands trembled so badly she nearly dropped her phone and had to have Paige repeat it. "Are you sure you're okay, Grace?" Her voice was quiet now, as though trying not to be overheard by Gabe and their mother.
