Spinning toward the voice coming from behind her, Orianna dropped her hand to her thigh and the knife she had sheathed beneath her skirt. The instant her eyes landed on the man, fear rippled in her throat. There was something eerie about him, and not merely in the creeper sort of way, either. There was a menace that seemed to surround him like algae, thick and nasty.
It wasn’t so much his appearance. Aside from the fact he was wearing all black and his face seemed oddly pale, he looked relatively normal as far as facial features went. Maybe even a bit more attractive than was usual for men. However, that underlying ominousness did nothing for his appeal.
“Sorry, buddy, not interested,” she told him, grateful her voice was stronger than her wobbly knees.
Feigning a casualness she didn’t feel, Orianna turned around and continued walking. Heavy footsteps sounded behind her and she knew the man was following. It took everything in her not to take off at a run.
“Where you headin’ off to in such a hurry?” he taunted, his voice closer than before.
“To see my boyfriend,” she lied. “He’s up here waiting for me.”
The man chuckled, the sound dripping with contempt. “Sweetness, didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to lie?”
Without looking back, she called out over her shoulder, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to be an asshole?”
“Ah, honey, I’m just trying to be friendly. Don’t you want to be friends?”
Hoping he’d leave if she ignored him, Orianna quickened her pace, grateful she’d opted for her leather high-tops tonight.
The main street was only two blocks up. Not that there were many people out yet, considering it was still relatively early for a Friday, but if she was lucky, a car or two would drive by and send this guy elsewhere.
She cleared one entire block, her destination so close she could taste it when she caught sight of another person stepping out of the shadows. From this distance, she couldn’t make them out, but based on their smaller, thinner build, Orianna got the feeling it was a woman who was now heading straight for her.
Shit.
Had she been anyone else, anywhere else, Orianna might’ve considered this a good thing. However, luck had never been on her side. Not once in all the time she’d been alive, so why in the world would it be now?
“You did well, Harlan,” the woman crooned, her face cast in the shadow from the streetlamp behind her. “She’s certainly lovely. I can see why they’re looking for her.”
They? What the hell was she talking about?
Orianna stopped on the sidewalk, considered her options. Directly in front of her was the woman, behind her the man. To her right an abandoned warehouse, its identical twin across the street on her left. She had nowhere to go unless she went around or through one of the two people who were getting closer by the second. Her odds of laying them both out at once were slim to none, but taking one out wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
“Look how pretty she is,” the woman said as she approached.
Doing her best to keep her distance but hoping to get a glimpse of the woman, Orianna sidestepped, moving into the street. The woman turned with her, stopping as though gauging her next move. The man, on the other hand, was still advancing, only a few yards separating them.
“I don’t have any money,” she told them, attempting to move toward the main street and keep a safe distance between her and these assholes.
“We don’t want your money, honey,” the man said, his voice ringing with amusement.
Of course he would get off on intimidating a woman, wouldn’t he?
“We just want to talk,” the woman said.
“About what? The weather?” she snapped, feeling a rush of adrenaline now that she was gaining ground to the main road.
“Funny,” the woman retorted.
“I wasn’t going for funny,” Orianna bit out.
She turned to run, but before she could get her feet to meld with the pavement, the man was in front of her.
Likedirectlyin front of her. Without passing by her.
Frowning, she peered over her shoulder. What the fuck?
Her feet faltered, causing her to stumble as she tried to put space between her and Harry Houdini here. And if that hadn’t been weird enough, Orianna blinked and the woman was standing beside her. As though she’d abra-cadabra’d to her side.
