by Lila Kane
I checked the impulse to look at my phone—especially when the patio came into view. Someone sat just at the edge, a dark ball cap on. I could tell by the hunch to his shoulders it was John.
Taking a shaky breath, I straightened and pulled the strap of my purse tight over my shoulder. If anything happened, I had to keep my purse close. It had Finn’s phone.
I moved back into the sunlight and went to talk to John.
He stood when I reached the table, eyes hidden beneath dark sunglasses. But he smiled slightly and gestured. “I got the most secluded table I could find.”
He looked around and there were only two other patrons minding their own business on the other side of the patio. A few cars were parked in the back and one was probably John’s. I found myself wondering where he’d come from and where he was going after this.
“Please, sit,” he said, polite invitation in his tone. “I’m glad you made it. I thought it might be difficult. Did anyone see you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Sit,” he said again, more insistent this time.
I slid into the chair, my back to the alleyway. I didn’t want to sit; it made me feel trapped. But I also didn’t want to anger John.
“I ordered you a chai latte.” He slid the mug on the table closer to me.
My favorite. How did he know? I wrapped my hands around it but I was afraid to drink. What if he put something in there?
His gaze caught on something. He pulled off his glasses, staring at my hand.
“What is that?” he asked quietly.
I looked down, uncertain. “What?”
“What is that?” His voice rose. He pointed to my hand—no, to my ring—eyes blazing with anger. “He asked you to marry him?”
“I—it—” I automatically tucked my hands beneath the table, itching to pull out Finn’s phone. Or to yell for the waitress. Or run.
“I told you he was no good for you, Charlotte. Don’t you understand?”
“Please. I’m trying. It—”
“I told you,” John said again, returning his glasses to his face. “I don’t want to be like your ex. He’s crazy, you know? Had me following you everywhere and that’s not how I would treat you. And Finn, he’s exactly the same. Always needing to know where you are. But he doesn’t know where you are now, does he? You don’t even have your phone. I can tell. I checked.”
I blew out a quiet breath. The longer he sat there ranting, the better. Either someone was going to notice or someone was going to come.
“You can’t marry him,” John said. “Take off the ring.”
My lips parted in protest. “Listen, John—”
“This is a dangerous game. If I can’t trust you, then what?”
“You can trust me.”
“Take off the ring.”
I bit back the response I wanted to give him and ordered myself to do what he wanted. Play along. It was better this way. Just for now.
Slowly, I pulled off the ring, reaching for my purse to tuck it inside.
“No.” John held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
“But—”
His jaw hardened. I’d never seen him look so dangerous. He was always this young geeky computer guy who was supposed to be protecting the residents of Oasis, not spying on them.
Holding in a sob, I dropped the ring in his hand. He slipped it into his jacket pocket and then said, “We don’t have any time to waste. We should be on our way.”
“What?”
“You want to keep your friends safe. And Finn.” He clenched his hand into a fist. “You want him safe, right? After today, we don’t have to talk about him anymore. I promise. You can leave them behind. You don’t have to stay here, where you feel scared hiding from Mark. I have somewhere safe you can go. We can go. And we can start over.”
“I can’t go anywhere. I—I—my job, and people will know—”
“I’ve got it figured out. Don’t worry. I’ve thought of everything. I have enough money to take care of us.” He glanced to the alley and then the inside of the coffee shop. “But we need to go now.”
He stood, extending his hand to me again. “Charlotte?”
I squeezed my fingers on the arms of the chair. “Can’t we just stay here and talk? I think—”
“You need to get out of the chair. I don’t want to be angry with you, but we don’t have a lot of time.” He opened his jacket just slightly, revealing the butt of a gun. “I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t—I won’t—but if we don’t go, someone else might get hurt.”
Oh, God. Who? Someone at the coffee shop? Or would he go back into Oasis and find someone I care about?
When I heard sirens in the distance, I tensed in my seat.
“Someone is going to get hurt,” John murmured.
“No.” I stood slowly. “No one is going to get hurt because we’re going, right? Somewhere safe.”
His face relaxed just slightly. “Right. Somewhere safe.”
He continued to hold out his hand. I swallowed down a wave nausea and set my hand in his. It was cool—not warm like Finn’s. Smaller, too, not the hands of someone who could hurt people. But that didn’t fool me. He’d been crazy enough to stalk me and follow our group to the cabin in the mountains.
You still have Finn’s phone, you still have the phone. With that mantra repeating over and over in my head and the hope they were somehow tracking me right now, I walked with John to a nondescript sedan and climbed inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Where are we going?” I asked after we’d been on the road for ten minutes.
It looked like we were heading out of town, farther from the ocean and toward the hills.
“A place you’ll like,” John answered. “You seemed to like the cabin in Colorado.”
I shifted in my seat, hand clenching on the seatbelt at the mention of Colorado. The cabin. How long had he been there, watching us? My mind went to the rabbit in the forest when Finn and I had been having our picnic. Had the animal been spooked by someone rather than another animal?
My stomach churned with possibilities and I crossed my arms against the idea that John had seen me so many times without me knowing. In more compromising positions than this.
When I didn’t answer, he continued. “Don’t worry, it’s safe.”
I wasn’t worried about safety. I was worried about Finn. I was worried Curtis and Shane and Dustin wouldn’t find me. Had they called the police? Was the phone tracking me right now?
As if to punctuate his words, he set his hand over mine Just a light touch. I fought the urge to cringe but I couldn’t do anything except for stare straight ahead.
If they were tracking us, wouldn’t they know where we were right now? Wouldn’t there be cops and sirens?
John turned off the highway soon after. “It’s close,” he said. “Just for tonight. And then we’ll make a plan, okay? We’ll figure out where to go next. Anywhere you want.”
I forced a nod.
John turned off the main road. I searched the sky for helicopters, listened for sirens, but didn’t see or hear anything. We wound a few hills and the trees started to thicken. The longer we were in the car, the more uneasy I grew. My hand fidgeted on the strap of my purse and I had to fight to keep it still. To not reach inside and take out the phone.
Another five minutes and we arrived at a small trailer, nestled on a quiet lot. No neighbors.
“I know,” John said as he slowed. “It’s not the penthouse.” He smiled. “But it’s just us. We don’t need anything bigger, do we?”
“No.”
He parked beside the trailer and pulled off his jacket, exposing his weapon. When I didn’t move from my seat, he shook his head. “No, Charlotte, no, I’m not going to hurt you. I just need this in case someone else comes. Please get out.”
I opened the door, standing from the seat and keeping myself safe on my side of the car. The afternoon sun beat down but I still felt a chill.
<
br /> “I have everything we need,” John said, gesturing to the trailer. “Come inside.”
My eyes took in the front of the trailer. It was worn down, probably at least twenty years old, but it looked like it had been washed recently. John came around the car and touched my back, making me tense.
He frowned. “No one is going to bother us here, okay? You don’t have to be afraid. Forget about them. Forget about Finn.”
No way in hell that was going to happen. John had stolen my ring and I wanted it back. But he was seriously on the verge of losing it. It was like he thought I wanted to be here. Like he was rescuing me. He was unstable, and even though he kept saying he didn’t want to hurt me, he had a gun. If I didn’t cooperate, things could get sticky.
“It’s nice,” I said, walking up the two short stairs to the door. Keep him calm and happy. Make him think you’re on his side.
John opened the door for me and nudged me in first. The air was a little stale but inside the place was immaculate. Uncluttered. Clean and organized.
I backed up, eyeing the door as he locked it behind us. Shutting us inside his little retreat.
“Have you been staying here?” I asked.
He nodded. “For a bit. Sit.”
I looked at the small booth across from the sink and refrigerator. The seats were reupholstered in cheerful yellow material that clashed with the turmoil I was feeling.
“You really can relax. No one for miles.”
Sitting, I squeezed my hands together in my lap, my purse still secure on my shoulder. No one for miles? Then how in the world was anyone supposed to find me?
The phone. The phone had to be on.
Summoning courage, I said, “Is there a restroom?”
John angled his head. “Of course. That door on the right. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just—I just…” I took a breath. “I’m tired. I thought splashing some water on my face might help.”
“Makes sense.” He waited as I stood and then said, “You can leave that.”
“What?”
His fingers wrapped around the strap of my purse, making me cringe when he touched my shoulder. “Leave this.”
I let him take the purse, my false smile wobbling, and walked to the bathroom. Heart racing, I closed the door, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over. I stood in front of the mirror, my whole body shaking. Now what? I had to get out of here. I had to convince him I was okay with being here—trick him—and then get the gun from him. Or run. Or—
He yanked the bathroom door open, startling me. In one hand he held my purse and the other, he had Finn’s phone.
“What the hell is this?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “It was just in case I needed—”
He dropped it on the floor and then slammed the heel of his boot onto it, shattering the phone into dozens of pieces.
“No,” I whispered, pressing a hand over my mouth.
He opened the door wide. “Come on.”
“John, I think you’d better take me back. This isn’t—”
“I’m not fucking taking you back. Don’t you understand?” he shouted. He pulled the gun from his belt and I ducked automatically. When he saw my face, he shook his head. “No, no, I don’t want to hurt you. Charlotte, please.”
With a trembling hand, he reached out, fingers brushing my hair and then my shoulder as I backed as far as I could against the wall of the bathroom.
My chest heaved with sharp breaths. If he didn’t want to hurt me, why did he keep saying that? Why did he keep having to repeat that? To convince me or himself?
“Come here,” he said, stepping back, letting me out of the bathroom. “We need to go.”
“Go where?”
He snagged my arm. “I saw the app. They’re probably tracking us right now.”
I played dumb. “What app?”
His smile almost transformed his face. “You had no idea, did you? See, I told you Finn wants to know where you are all the time. It’s okay, he won’t anymore.”
He handed me my purse. “Back to the car. We’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
“No, I don’t think—”
“The car!” he shouted.
And then we heard the sirens. His eyes widened and he dashed to the window, parting the curtains. “Shit, shit.”
I backed to the counter, my hands fumbling for the first thing I could find. A skillet.
He turned around, gun still in hand, eyes flashing with panic. “We need to—”
I swung the skillet as hard as I could, getting him right in the temple. He grunted and collapsed on the ground, the gun clattering from his hand.
“Oh, God, oh—” Not letting myself think, I scooped up the gun and went for the door.
I yanked on it, remembered the locks and fumbled with them with my free hand. John groaned, rolling onto his side and putting a hand over his head.
“Open,” I sobbed, flipping another lock. “Come on, come on—”
“Charlotte.” John’s voice was hoarse. “What are you doing?”
My hand closed over the knob and the door opened, letting in a blinding ray of light. The sirens got louder, and through the trees, I spotted the flash of red and blue.
“Charlotte!”
John’s voice propelled me down the stairs in an awkward stumble. I fell on the gravel, my arm scraping against dirt and branches. The gun rolled from my hand and another sob slipped out.
I glanced behind me, spotting John exiting the trailer.
“Don’t,” he said, voice tortured.
Leaving the gun, I shot to my feet, racing straight for the road. I rounded a tree and heard the skid of gravel when a car slammed on its breaks. The siren was so loud it nearly split my eardrums.
“Help!”
Two other cars pulled up after them and there was a rush of movement as people began exiting cars and running to the trailer.
“Hold it,” the police officer in front of me said.
I lifted my hands, voice breaking when I spoke. “I’m Charlotte—please, he has a gun.”
“Charlotte!”
Finn’s voice hit me from out of nowhere. I looked for him, my eyes frantically scanning faces and cars. I spotted him behind two other officers, who held him back.
“Miss,” the police officer said, “you need to step over here.”
He took my arm as I heard another shout. John’s voice. Police officers swarmed him, forcing him to his knees. But he resisted, his eyes meeting mine.
“He’s coming for you!” he screamed. “I can’t help you if you don’t stay with me! He’s coming!”
Curtis appeared behind the police officer. I broke free of the officer’s grip. “Curtis—”
“It’s okay, Charlotte,” he said in his usual soothing voice.
I hugged him, desperate to cling to something solid and safe. “I’m sorry. I had to—”
“I understand. We’ll work through it,” he assured me, “but I need to get over there.”
Curtis gestured to the officers blocking Finn and they released him just as my knees started to buckle.
“Charlotte.” He caught me up, arms like a vice around me, and I held on, unwilling to let go. “God, are you okay?”
“Finn,” I sobbed. “I’m sorry. I had to.”
John continued to shout, and Finn turned me in the other direction. “You don’t need to see this—come here.”
He half-walked, half-carried me to the back of the row of cars, to a van. Dustin appeared, concern on his face, and opened the passenger door. “Sit,” he said. “Do we need paramedics?”
Finn tried to ease me into the seat, but I kept my arms locked around him.
“Charlotte,” he whispered. “Are you hurt?”
Another sob escaped. “No.”
He glanced at Dustin and then his hands were on my arms. “Charlotte, help me out here, sweetheart. I need you to sit a minute so I can make sure you’re okay.”
I released his neck and let him ease me into the seat. Dustin leaned in, touching my arm.
“Just a scrape,” I said.
“Anything else?”
“No.” He didn’t look convinced, so I tried again, infusing strength into my voice. “I promise. I’m not hurt. Can we go?”
Dustin frowned. “They’re going to want to talk to you.”
“They can talk to her later,” Finn growled.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He walked in the direction of chaos, and through the windshield, I saw John in handcuffs. His eyes locked with mine. Finn’s hands clenched on the doorframe.
“Don’t,” I whispered. “It’s over. Finn.” My voice broke. “Please.”
His jaw flexed but he pulled his eyes away. “What was he talking about? When he said, ‘He’s coming for you.”?”
I took his hand, pulling him closer. “I don’t know.”
But I did. He was talking about Mark. At some point, when I had no idea, Mark was coming. And unlike John, he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t get caught.
“You look like you’re going to be sick,” Finn said, touching my cheek. “I’m making them let us leave. You don’t need to be here.”
I nodded, emotion swelling in my throat. “Take me home.”
“You sure you want to do this?” Finn asked as we stood in the hallway outside our new apartment at Oasis.
We hadn’t gotten back as quickly as we hoped, but the police were willing to let me go in and give the rest of my statement tomorrow. The sun was sinking close to the horizon and all I wanted was to get off my feet.
“We can book a room for tonight,” Curtis said, standing behind us. “Just say the word.”
I smiled at him. “No. I want to be here.”
Finn used the key card to let us in.
“I’ll be right out here if you need anything,” Curtis said.
“Thank you, Curtis.”
“My pleasure.”
Finn nodded at him, more unspoken words passing between them, and touched the small of my back to lead me in. Inside, I turned to him, resting my cheek against his chest and listening to his heartbeat.