“Hey, what’s up, baby?” He says.
“Are you still in Timberline?” I ask after his greeting.
“Is everything ok?” he asks, immediately in protective mode.
“Are you?” I ask again.
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
“Who are you talking to, Sloane?” the voice behind me taunts, and I walk even faster.
“Who is that?” Beckett asks.
“I’m almost there, please just say you’re still at TPD?” I whisper, trying to stop the tears that have welled up in my eyes.
“Yeah, I am,” he says. I hear rustling and the jingle of keys. “Where are you?”
“About three blocks from the cafe,” I say, trying to drown out the voice coming from behind me.
“Ok, stay on the phone, keep walking, and whatever happens, don’t stop. Stay on the sidewalk, I’ll meet you,” he says. I nod even though he can’t see me.
Mocha barks again. It causes me to jump, and I walk faster, tugging on his leash so he doesn’t stop.
“Please hurry,” I whisper into the phone. I’m not even sure he can understand me.
“I’m almost to you.”
“You stupid bitch, do you treat all your loyal fans like this? You can’t even take time to take a picture or a video with me. Just wait until the whole world sees how stuck up you really are.”
“Is someone following you?” Beckett questions, his voice being the only thing keeping me grounded.
“Yes,” is all I can manage to get out. Tears streaking down my face, making it hard to see, but I know where I’m going. The one upside to growing up in a town as small as Timberline is that I could walk its streets blindfolded if I had to.
“Sloane, come on, I bought you a drink. This is how you repay me, by being a bitch and walking away? It’s just a picture.”
“Ma’am, are you ok?” Beckett appears right in front of me, and I all but run to his arms.
I shake my head and hide behind him, pressing my forehead into his back, even though he has a police vest on.
“What’s going on here?” Beckett asks the guy.
“Hey, look, nothing is happening here, officer. My girlfriend and I just had a bit of a disagreement.”
Girlfriend.
The word makes me physically nauseous.What is his plan? Sweep me away and hope that we live happily ever after? Lying to a police officer, trying to convince him that all I am is some disobedient little girl?
I hang up my phone and put it into my pocket, since I’m safe now; Beckett won’t let anything happen to me. I keep my face pressed into his back as I try to calm down.
“Miss, do you know this man?” Beckett asks.
It takes a few moments to register that he’s talking to me. I shake my head against his back, one hand clutching my stupid drink, and the other tangled in Mocha’s leash, who stands on guard right beside Beckett. His ears are pointing straight up, his stance is low and crouched, as he could lunge at any moment.
“Honey, come on. Don’t be like that, it was just a simple misunderstanding. Let’s go home, and we can talk about this,” the guy says, using the same sweet voice he had with me when we were at the cafe.
Mocha barks aggressively when the guy reaches for my arm.
“Don’t touch her,” Beckett says firmly, in a tone I’ve never heard. His tone leaves no room for disobedience; it would be hot if I weren’t so scared right now.
