Wilders: The Complete Trilogy

by Cass Kim

  Whenever she’d get almost close enough to snag the back of his coat, he’d dodge and make another turn. If Holly hadn’t been running track for years, she’d have been left in his dust minutes ago. He was fast. Her side was starting to stitch, each breath sparking a ball of fire under her right ribcage.

  With a grunt she sucked in air, digging deep to push through the pain and put on one last burst of speed. Holly swung around the next corner after him, dashing blindly into a dark alley. Hidden in the shadows, the kid slipped through a hole in a rusty fence at the back. She ground to a halt, unwilling to cross the fence that was plastered with warning signs.

  “You asshole!” She yelled at his back through the fence, hands on her knees, bent over and heaving in air.

  Chapter Four

  “Hey, are you okay?” The voice snapped Holly into a standing position. She was acutely aware that she was stuck midway down a shadowed alleyway, with the only exit blocked by this strange man talking to her.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” Her heart rate kicked up a notch again as she started toward the mouth of the alley, preparing to shove past this guy and yell for help if she had to. Of course her pepper spray was somewhere in her shoulder bag, now lost to her forever.

  The guy held out his hands in an “after you” gesture and stepped aside.

  She eyed him warily. Was this part of some plot to get young women? What was that called again? Trafficking? First, they stole the woman’s purse, then led her here to this less populated area. With no way to be tracked by a phone, they could just snatch her and go. Or maybe pretend to be nice and get her somewhere inside, even less noticeable.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you!” The words burst out of Holly as she skittered out of the alley and back down the street that way she’d come. She was pretty sure it was the way she’d come.

  He coughed hard as he watched her. Based on the half smile tugging up one corner of his mouth Holly guessed he was laughing at her. Great. Now she could be lost, penniless, phoneless and made fun of. Could this day get any worse?

  “Look,” he started, his voice a rich tenor, “I wasn’t actually going to ask you to go somewhere with me.” His dark eyes scrunched up for a moment, the heavy brows furrowing deeply “But, I mean, I could see where you’d be used to that kind of crap from strangers.”

  Still backing away, Holly called, “I’m not sure what you mean, but I’m going to walk away now and you’ll just be talking to yourself. Just shoo on back to your little thief friend.”

  The corner of his mouth dropped, “My little thief friend? What are you… oh.” He dug around in his pocket for a minute and Holly dug her feet into her boots, ready to take off at a run again. “Do you need to call somebody? Did that dude steal your phone or your purse?” He held up a cellphone.

  She hesitated, unsure if she should trust him and get close enough to use his phone, or if this was some elaborate ploy. His concern seemed genuine. Then again, if he was any good at kidnapping people, acting would be a great skill. She bit her lower lip. She should just try to get back to the townhome. Surely Aunty Mir would run back to check on her when she didn’t show up for lunch. She might not have her key anymore, but she could wait on the doorstep, sheltered from the wind.

  She swallowed thickly, shivering hard against an icy gust that cooled the sweat on her lower back. “I’m good, thanks.” Tucking her arms into her chest, she turned and started briskly away.

  The soft scrape of steps picking up into a light-footed patter echoed behind her. Holly sped up in response, tears starting to prick her eyes.

  “Hey! Wait!” He wasn’t far from her now.

  “Stop chasing me! Help, somebody!” She looked around, picking up her pace to a light jog. There was only a homeless old woman, hunched and wrinkled, slowly wheeling a cart toward the cross walk. Cars were cruising past on the street, but not even one slowed. The footsteps behind her stopped.

  “I’m not chasing you! I just… you shouldn’t go that way. It gets really rough a few more blocks down.” His voice rose and became slightly screechy at the end. It was followed by an embarrassed throat clear.

  Holly paused, gaze darting wildly. The buildings here did look a bit run down. The paint on the signs was chipped and faded. A few of the storefront windows were dark, their insides dirty and barren. The next block over she could see bars and grating over windows. She inhaled and scrunched her nose.

  “Oh.”

  The astringent smell of urine had replaced the warm smell of the hotdog stand. Breathing through her mouth to avoid the stench, she swiped an angry hand across her eyes to clear the start of tears.

  Reluctant, she headed back toward him. “Well, alright. I’m just going to go that way, then.” She pointed past him, to the direction she must have chased the purse snatcher.

  He nodded affably. “Yeah, that’s probably better. Look, you really can use my phone.” He held it out to her, careful to stay an arm’s length away.

  Gingerly, she took the phone with fingers numb and shaking from fading adrenaline. She held it for a moment before sighing and handing it back. “Wow, I feel stupid for saying this but… I don’t have a single phone number memorized except my own.”

  “Ah,” He took the phone back, eyeing her. “Look, I promise I’m not a creep. I’m Luke, by the way, and I go to college at Lake Forest, that small school a couple miles from here. If you’ll tell me where you’re going, I’ll help you get there.”

  “I’m not telling some strange dude where I live.” She tucked her hands under her armpits and ducked her chin into the folds of her scarf.

  Luke groaned in exacerbation, looking up at the sky, “Why do I have to be so darn nice all the time?” He looked back down. “Look, let me at least call the police for you. We should go to a store or a diner somewhere that you can wait a while inside. Trust me, the response time for a mugging with no death or injuries will be… long. You’re going to have to report this. Identity theft is a real thing. I would know, I’m in the Criminal Justice program.”

  Holly hadn’t even thought about the fact that her wallet had her school ID, her parent’s emergency credit card. She couldn’t cancel their card when they were on vacation; they’d have no way to pay for things. But she couldn’t just let some criminal use the card and spend all of their money. She had no idea what to do. The wind whipped litter across her feet as she stood staring at the ground, thinking.

  “Uh..yeah.” he continued. “Okay, so maybe you want me to just go ahead and call them right now? So that you know I’m not a bad guy?” He paused, and when she didn’t respond right away, “I mean, because no criminal mastermind would call the police himself, from his own cell phone, right?”

  Holly’s head snapped up, studying his open face. It couldn’t hurt to let him call the police for her. She wasn’t sure how to get back to her aunt’s house, or to the restaurant. Craning her neck around, she studied other people on the street. Most of them had closed off faces or were a block or two down. She nodded. He thumbed around on his phone for a minute.

  “Let me just look up the station number. I don’t want to call 911 and get in trouble since the emergency is not very emergent right now.”

  She nodded, not really sure how to respond. He talked like such a nerd. A few moments later he held the phone out between them on speaker phone. She leaned in closer to hear, keeping her eyes trained on him.

  After two rings, “Chicago Police, department 768, this is Officer Brady speaking, how can I assist you?” The voice female, brusque.

  He cupped the microphone from the street noise and brought it up to his mouth, “Uh, yeah, hi. My name is Luke Townsby and I’d like to report a purse snatching.”

  “Are you calling to report a theft, Mr. Townsby?”

  He flushed pink, making a face at Holly, “Yes. Yes, a theft.”

  “Okay, I’m going to need to know if this is the best number to reach you at?”

  “Yes Ma’am.”

  “And wher
e did this robbery take place?”

  Holly stood by helplessly as Luke gave the officer the cross streets they were at. She wouldn’t be able to answer more accurately anyhow. When the officer asked where to send the responding officers, giving a wait time of over three hours, Holly offered her aunt’s restaurant.

  “Mir’s Eatery.” She figured it was fine. The police had this guy’s name and phone number now.

  He raised his eyebrows at her but repeated the name back to the police officer. When the officer asked for the address Holly put both hands up and shrugged wide eyed.

  “One moment, let me look up the address.” His thumbs flew across the screen, then he was reading off the numbers. Holly recognized the street name and blew out a puff of air in relief. She tucked her hands back into her armpits and hunched down to make herself smaller. She really should have worn her coat.

  He wrapped up the call, with the officer reminding him again to please wait at the address he’d given.

  “You probably don’t really have to wait with me.” Holly offered, starting to feel guilty for the way she’d treated him earlier. He seemed pretty harmless now that the adrenaline had faded. And he could’ve just walked away earlier instead of insisting on helping.

  “I don’t mind. Besides, they only have my number to call if the wait time changes. I was going to find a coffee place to study for a while this afternoon. This Mir’s place have good coffee?”

  “Yes. I can definitely promise good coffee.” She was sure when her Aunt Miranda heard the story, she’d make sure he ate a full meal and didn’t pay a dime.

  “See, it’s a plan. I’ve always wanted to feel like a knight in shining armor.” His grin was boyish and oddly charming on his heavy features.

  “If you were a true knight you would’ve stepped in and stopped the guy.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could take them back. Holly flushed and shook her head wildly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

  His smile faded a little, but he held it in place, “Well, perhaps this knight can offer you his coat, Milady?” He began shrugging out of the heavy wool coat he had on.

  “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly take your coat.”

  “I insist. I’ve been really noticing the warmer weather this past week. The coat’s a bit overkill. I’ll be fine in my sweatshirt.” He pulled his other arm out and held it at arm’s length, jiggling it at her until she reached out and took it.

  “Thank you.” She wrapped the coat around her, the silk lining delightfully cozy from his body heat.

  His grin widened again. “The pleasure is all mine. Now, Milady, lead us to the castle.”

  She eyed him. “Can we maybe not do the whole old timey nerd speak thing?” What was wrong with her? “Er…uh. Please?” He was being so nice to her, and she was being snarky back. Maybe her Mom was right when she said Holly’s mouth was out of control.

  He blushed pink again, looking at his feet and clearing his throat. “Uh, sure. Except, I don’t actually know your name yet. We didn’t exactly explain to the police that is was your purse that got stolen, so they didn’t ask. And now I’m a little afraid to.” He peeked back up at her, eyes crinkled with a gentle smile.

  “Holly.” She held out a hand to him, “and I really am sorry. And I do appreciate your help.” She smiled tentatively back.

  “Nice to meet you. It’s really no problem. Pay it forward and all that. So, Holly, shall we be on our way?”

  Holly huffed a breath out, ruffling the bangs tufting out of her hat. “Yeah, about that. Um, can you use your GPS on your phone to get us there?” She gave him a tense little smile. It turned into a full smile as he bit his lip, looking like he was dying to make another knight in shining armor comment.

  Using his phone, they found the restaurant easily, just a few blocks away. They’d walked briskly, mostly quiet on the way, with Holly hunched down in his coat, and Luke setting a pace that her shorter legs had to scurry to match. When they rounded the last corner, Holly sighed with relief at seeing her aunt’s name in shining gold letters on the wide windows.

  “Oh, hey! I’ve walked by this place a couple of times.” Luke held the door for her as she hustled into the warm hostess area of Mir’s little restaurant. She hadn’t been to this place yet. Guiltily, she thought of when Aunt Miranda had sent an invitation to her grand opening in this nicer location a year ago. She’s refused to go. She’d told her parents it was because of the big track meet she had that week, but really it had been to go to a barn party out at Chuck’s house. It was right before he and Joanie had started dating, and she’d had an enormous crush on him.

  “Table for two?” The older man at the hostess desk had carefully combed over white hair and a pert green bow tie.

  “Yes, please.” Holly couldn’t decide if the matching emerald green suspenders were too much, or adorable on the little old man. Why was he still working anyhow? Shouldn’t he be retired at his age?

  There were five smaller tables and two lager round tables in the little eatery. It had an old-world Italian look to it, with checkered tablecloths and warm terracotta colored walls. The back wall had a gorgeous mural of a grape field, dappled in golden sun. There was a small group of men in business suits finishing small plates with cannolis and tiramisu. The rest of the place was quiet, as it was now solidly between lunch and dinner time.

  At a small table in the corner, the old man spread two menus and placed cloth wrapped silverware next to them. He waited, hands folded in front of him as they settled into the chairs. Then he flipped the delicate water glasses over and produced a water pitcher somehow. Holly hadn’t even noticed him grabbing it.

  After he poured, he eyed Holly for a moment. “You wouldn’t happen to be the young Miss Holly Miranda’s been fretting over, would you?” His bushy white eyebrows danced as he spoke.

  “Yes! Oh no, has she been worried?” Holly glanced around, looking for her aunt.

  “She’s in the back,” he said in a reassuring voice. “She’s been a bit worried, but I’ll tell her that you’re here. I don’t think she was expecting you to bring a young man…?” He let the question hang in the air for a moment. “Ah, well, I’ll get her, and you can explain whatever it is to her. It’s none of this old geezer’s business.” He let out a hoarse chuckle as he walked toward a door marked ‘Staff Only’.

  Luke was watching her across the table, “I take it you know the cook?”

  Holly shrugged, pulling off his coat now that she was thawing out. “She’s my Aunt. She’s actually the chef and the owner.” She offered him a half smile, “and I promise she makes fantastic coffee.”

  When she turned around from draping the coat across the chair back, she saw him scanning the menu, eyebrows raised. He let out a low whistle.

  “This place is pretty fancy, huh? No wonder I’ve never been in here. Not exactly in a college kid’s budget.”

  She waved him off, “I’m one million and ten percent sure that you can have whatever you want for free today.”

  “Giving away my food before you’ve even tried it?” Aunt Miranda grinned at them as she walked over the table, pulling out a chair to sit. “Jeffers said you brought a boy, but I thought he must have made a mistake and I’d see two strangers sitting out here. I have two questions: Why didn’t you answer your phone? And where’d you pick this fellow up?” Her smile deflated immediately when she took in Holly’s expression. “Aright, spill it, Kid.”

  Holly thunked her forehead down on the table and spoke into her lap, “Somebody stole my purse. And they have my phone. And my wallet. With Mom and Dad’s credit card.”

  Miranda nodded slowly, eyeing Luke carefully. “I’m assuming it wasn’t this guy?”

  “What?” He protested, eyes wide, “What is it with the women in this family? No! I’m the one who helped her afterward and called the police.” He stuck both thumbs into his chest, “Me. Good Guy.”

  “Okay, okay. Well, thank you. I’m… we’re grateful for that. We can definitel
y show you our thanks by feeding you.” She leaned over to peek at Holly’s face, still hiding on the table edge, softly clucking her tongue at her. “Maybe you could sit up and we can talk about this?”

  Holly rolled her eyes, flinging herself back into sitting position. “I don’t even know how to deal with this. I mean, do I cancel the card? Can I cancel the card? Do the police do that? How will Mom and ad pay for things on vacation? Erg! How could I be so dumb! I set my bag on the sidewalk, in a city street. You see, Aunty Mir? I can’t do anything right.” She scowled at her lap, embarrassed by her outburst.

  Her aunt patted her back and stood up to say goodbye to the businessmen as they left. When she turned back to them her smile faded into what Holly always thought of her adult face. The serious expression that meant she was going to be taking care of business.

  “Okay, Kid. Here’s what we’re going to do. You said you already called the police, so that’s perfect. I’ll try your parents and see if they have left the port yet or not. If not, they can cancel the card.”

  “But how will they pay for things?” Holly interrupted.

  “Come on Kid, they have more than one card. You’re the only one who had just one card.” She continued ticking off on her fingers, “If they’re already out to sea I’ll call the Mastercard main line and explain to them, maybe text them a photo of the police report later so that they can freeze the credit or watch for fraudulent charges. So,” she smiled down at Holly, “not much you can do while you wait for the police. Let’s focus on feeding you two.”

  Holly looked across at Luke, who was watching her aunt with a little bit of excitement, probably for the food, and a slightly awkward I’m-not-sure-I-should-be-hearing-this shifty look to his eyes. She smiled tentatively at him as her aunt bustled back into the kitchen. She was still feeling childish and embarrassed. Holly vowed that she was going to learn to think before blasting her thoughts out in one thoughtless wave. Especially with her parents.