“I’m going to. I don’t want you walking out there with him waiting for you.”
She noticed that Cy stood away from her. He wasn’t trying to close the distance or get closer. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“I try.”
The dry delivery of his words made her chuckle. “Thank you. Last I knew, he was driving a white car.”
His eyebrows rose as if he expected more. “Any idea what make or model the car is?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t ever pay attention to that stuff, even when I know I should. Honestly, I just don’t care.”
His lips quirked up in a smile. “Okay. But you know what it looks like, so if he’s following you, you’ll know, right?”
“I do know what it looks like. There’s a dent on the back left side.”
“Okay. I’ll remember that.” He glanced down at the floor, making her think he was unsure about something. “I’m taking off. Please be careful.”
“I will be careful.” The words came out of her mouth, but she had little confidence in them. Would she be okay? Robert had followed her here. How far would he go to get her back?
4
Cy studied the cars as he left the bar. He didn’t see too many small white cars in the lot, but that didn’t mean Robert wasn’t watching. He’d parked down the street from the bar, and by some chance, he had a decent view of the lot. It didn’t look like anyone was waiting for Willa to leave, but he wasn’t positive.
When he dropped into the driver’s seat, he pulled out his phone and checked his email instead of leaving. He had an email detailing the tensions brewing in South America. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. He loved his job, but sometimes the absolute violence that people brought to the surface wore on him. If he could get people to just shut up and pay attention to their own houses, life would be so much better for so many people.
He was about to start the engine when he glanced out the front window and spied a white car driving past slowly. What was that about?
Cy sat for a moment, wondering if he should stay. Minutes later, the exact same white car passed by again, and it had a dent where Willa said there would be a dent. No way someone withgood intentions passed by this bar twice, driving as slowly as that car had been going. Robert certainly wasn’t smart.
The door to Aces opened, and two people came out. Willa was with another waitress, and they were both headed to their cars.
It took a few seconds for Willa to get in and start her car. He watched, and sure enough, the white car pulled out behind her. He had to do something to stop this.
The night had been good.The people celebrating tonight were more than decent, and she’d received loads of money in tips.
The only downside had been when Robert had shown up. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? She’d broken up with him seven months ago. Surely that had been enough time for him to find someone else.
She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw a car behind her. Were they following her? Panic hit, and she sped up, but wasn’t able to get far because the lights changed to red. She slowed for a stop, wishing she’d run the light.
She studied the mirrors, realizing that the white car she thought was following her was still back there. It was what she remembered Robert’s car looking like. Maybe she was mistaken. One time, when she’d told someone that Robert had been stalking her, they’d told her she was being way too extra. Stating that since Robert hadn’t attacked her that one time, she obviously was exaggerating everything.
That conversation had made her wonder if she was overreacting. But then he kept following her around and started banging on her windows at night. That’s when she realized she had to move.
When she’d been in a relationship with him, Robert had hit her more than a few times. She knew he was dangerous andcouldn’t be trusted, but that didn’t mean he was following her at the moment. It could be a totally different white car.
Why was he here in San Diego? It wasn’t like he’d just stopped by on his way home from work.
The light changed, and she took off, then changed lanes. Sure enough, the white car followed her movements. Panic rose. Would Robert try to force her off the road?
Cy didn’t likehow closely the white car followed Willa. He pulled up beside the vehicle and could easily see it was Robert. The man didn’t need to know where Willa lived.
During training, they’d spent a few days learning from professional drivers how to stop a following car without causing an accident. The without causing an accident part relied heavily on the person in the other car not being too much of an asshole. He wasn’t sure exactly how much of a jerk Robert was, but he was about to find out.
Cy moved into position, waiting for just the right moment to slide in front of Robert’s Honda Civic. He only had to wait about thirty seconds before he could move his car into position.
He slid in front of Robert’s car, slowing ever so slightly. He had to maintain a speed that would keep Robert pinned in and unable to move around him. Thankfully, the cars in the other lane were playing along. It was almost like he’d orchestrated the whole thing. Cy barely noticed Willa had pulled into another lane seconds before she turned down a side street.
Cy slowed enough that the light changed to yellow. Instead of rushing through, he stopped. The car behind him, Robert’s car, laid on its horn, bringing a slow smile to his lips. There was no way Robert would find Willa, at least not tonight.
