“Oh, I’m not much of a reader. Just out for a stroll.”
Of course she was. I could practically see the hole where information was missing in her head. I was a little mean when I was defending my friends, but this bitch didn’t deserve my sympathy.
“Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
I walked away, grinding my teeth in irritation. I would not walk over there and punch the smug look off that woman’s face. I wouldn’t do it. Never.
Luckily, the bell rang as she left the shop, making me a little less cranky now that her negative aura had vacated my shop.
Alyssa popped her head around the corner, and I gave her the all clear. That could have been really bad. Everyone in townneeded to be aware of the leech walking around, disguising herself as the happy Brit. This was one piece of gossip I was happy to spread.
“You thought you could hide?”the man sneered, pressing the knife into her throat. “I found you, bitch. You’re coming home with me.”
Tears poured down Alyssa’s cheeks as she stumbled along with the man, trying to keep from slicing her own neck on the knife. “Will?—”
“Shut up!” he hissed.
I took a step back, peering over my shoulder. If I ran hard, I could get to the police station across the street and get help. The man was distracted, barely paying any attention to me.
I caught Jeff’s eye and nodded as he looked in the same direction I just had. With one more step back, I turned on my heel and took off at a sprint across the street.
Bright lights blinded me as tires squealed. My breath hitched in my chest as I realized a car was headed straight at me. I dodged back to the sidewalk, but the car followed, his headlights pointed at my body.
For just a second, the lights were too close, and I saw directly through the windshield, right into the evil eyes of Austin Callahan as he grinned at me. My heart stuttered in my chest as I realized what was about to happen. There was nowhere to go, not as the car barreled down on me.
I could have sworn I heard my name shouted just as the car made impact and slammed into my hip. Pain shattered my body as I rolled over the hood and crashed into the windshield.My vision swam as I was thrown from the vehicle and hit the pavement with a crushing blow.
In the distance, I saw Sam pulling Alyssa from the man’s grip before towering over the man and slamming his fist into his face. She was safe.
I woke in a cold sweat,reaching for Sam in the darkness, but his side of the bed was empty.
Flinging the covers off, I shuffled to the edge of the bed and grabbed my crutches. My stomach churned as images of the car careening toward me flowed through my mind on repeat.
Making my way through the house, I looked in the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. Having exhausted all my options, it was clear. He wasn’t home.
With my cast off and my mobility easier than what it had been, Sam had been spending more and more time at the gym. I couldn’t blame him. He was trying to get back into shape and ready for a match his manager had set up for him. In a few months, he would be back at it, fighting in the ring and living a very different life than he was now.
And where would I be?
Over the past few weeks, since the cast was removed, I was nothing more than a roommate to him. Sex had nearly been non-existent. Exhaustion had him hitting the pillow from nearly the moment he walked through the door.
But I was proud of him.
Terrified of what this meant for his career. I saw the footage from his last fight, how the other fighter had played dirty and taken him down. I even zoomed in on his face, watched the pain shatter everything in his body. There was nothing as terrifying tome as that moment, watching the man I was falling for hurt so badly.
Even if it happened before I ever knew him.
“He’s going to leave,” I murmured to myself.
Tears pricked my eyes at the realization. I had known it for a long time now, but waking up from such a horrible dream, only to reach for him and find his side of the bed empty, only reminded me of the inevitable.
It wouldn’t be long before he was gone, and the sooner I got used to being on my own, the easier it would be when he was thousands of miles away.
After I calmed down, I headed back to bed, thinking of anything other than the accident, though that did little to help. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those headlights. Those evil eyes stared at me, taunted me. I tossed and turned until I heard the front door open, but instead of getting up to greet Sam, I rolled to my side and feigned sleep.
It took Sam no time to drift off after showering and climbing into bed. While I stayed up most of the night, plagued by visions of the accident, Sam slept soundly beside me, completely unaware of the torment in my head.
And that was the way it was going to stay.
