Tucking it into my back pocket, knowing I have to throw it away for her safety, I give her a brittle smile. “I always do.”
***
As the alarm goes offon my phone, I stretch, my knuckles immediately smacking into the car door. With a little finagling and a grimace, I climb out of my backseat into the parking lot beside the city’s central park. After two hours of wrestling with my guilt of whether or not to shoot Stone a text what town I was stopping in, I opted for the latter. He already knew I was leaving, and ultimately, it’s a good test to see if the nice guy act the three of them have going on is a crock of shit.
An innocuous, white paper bag with a note taped to it sits on top of the hood, taunting me with the fact that my sixth sense is broken. Someone was close enough that they could have been watching me sleep through the windshield, and I was none the wiser. Cracking my stiff neck, I feign bravado and pluck the note off.
––––––––
Yes I followed you, but for the obvious ‘please don’t get hit by a truck’ reason, not because — there’s no good way to phrase this that doesn’t sound terrible, is there? I’m planning on spending the day between my hotel and the coffee shop on Milburn so that I’m out of your way, but nearby in case something comes up. Let me know if you need anything.
-Stone
Shaking my head with an amused exhalation, the relief lasts all of two seconds. I... don't know how to process this. I spent my entire childhood in hiding, a year in captivity that I refuse to think about this sunny spring morning, and the rest of my adult life running from a fucking psychopath. Now I suddenly have three more stalkers that are even bigger threats than Malcolm is, yet the anticipated spike of fear at knowing Stone is nearby doesn’t come.
Inside of the bag is a chocolate chip muffin and a mini bottle of water. “Unless he’s got a Romeo and Juliet fetish, at least I can assume it’s not poisoned.”
Could still be drugged, though,my inner cynic points out.Knock me out so that he can swoop in and cart me off to his lair without a fight.
My growling stomach makes weighing my options more difficult than usual, but I haven’t gone this long without making my fair share of mistakes along the way that I know I was damn lucky to survive. Getting my drink spiked by that son of a bitch in Khalida? Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, and those are the ones that really stick with you. Silver lining, the memory ruins my appetite, so I set the bag on the floor of the backseat and quickly pull myself together.
Locking the car, I clip my keys to my belt loop and head out on foot, soaking up the fresh air and sun beaming down on my face. Main street is far too backed up with traffic anyway, parking spaces scarce under the best of conditions, and pay-by-the-hour in the worst of them. Going down the line of shops, I fill out application after application on autopilot while caught in a heated debate with myself. My only saving grace is the fact that I’m aware I’m doing it to cope and not because I genuinely hear voices in my head, so I know I haven’t tipped past the point of no return yet.
With therapy out of the question, all I’m able to afford are fantasies. It doesn’t hurt anyone to indulge in my delusions, but it sure as hell hurts to give them up.
To be fair, I can’t really fault Stone for following me here. If the roles were reversed and some rando was holding my fate in their hands, I’d want to make sure they weren’t the kind of reckless idiot that didn’t look both ways before crossing the street. Or worse, theywerethat kind of idiot. Then I’d be forced to always be hovering nearby, ready to shove them out of the way if necessary, or pull their drunk ass out of some back alley bar before they pissed off the wrong person.
“Keep your distance, Amara, or you’re damning them to a fate even worse than the one waiting for you,” I mutter to myself. “It’s the only way to survive.”
Pressing the tip of my tongue into the sharp point of my tooth, I set my pen down and pass off the application to the teenager behind the counter. Leaving the ice cream shop behind, I glance at the time, surprised that it’s already nearly six. Nine solid hours of walking around begging for minimum wage; every adult’s wet dream.
Feet screaming, I call it for the day and make my way back to the car. Throughout the day I’ve picked apart my thoughts, dissecting them down to their cores in order to create a solid game plan to deal with this new complication. I can see both sides of our situation, and I hate each of them. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, though, it’s that life isn’t fair; for shifters more than anyone. All we can do is pick the lesser evil and find a way to make our peace with the outcome.
But I can’t ignore that just because Stone, Raiden, and Kodiak may have different intentions than Malcolm, it doesn’t mean that both paths won’t end up in the same place; with me locked away. Whether that’s out of fear, a warped belief that it’s for my protection, or for more twisted reasons, it doesn’t really matter. I may not be able to shift, but I’m still a dragon at heart. Now that I’ve experienced a sliver of freedom, never feeling the rain on my skin again, the electric charge in the air as a storm rages around me? It would kill me as effectively as slitting my throat.
My stomach lets out an audible rumble that draws the eyes of several people on the sidewalk. Heat flares in my cheeks from the unwanted attention it draws, but not embarrassment. I’m hungry, it’s not like I pissed my pants in public.
Maybe that’s the compromise I’ve been looking for. Avery can keep me company and fed, and the guys can rest easy knowing their spy is keeping me alive.
Two blocks later, I finally find a grocery store and quickly pop in to snag a bag of apples. Devouring a couple on the way back to my car, my steps slow as the note taped to the driver’s side window flutters in the breeze.
“So much for an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” I grumble, rolling my eyes. Plucking it off as I take another bite, I flip the folded piece of paper open with my free thumb.
––––––––
This city isn't safefor you, darling. Keep going. Don’t worry, I’m never far behind.
-M.
