Chapter 40 Haven #2
I was going to say no, but if Kai’s headed down there, I could try to speak to him face to face. Maybe change his mind about sending me the video.
Or I could try to snatch his phone.
I picked up quite a few skills in my youth. Stealing wasn’t something I did often, but when I needed money for food and Dad wouldn’t hand over his wallet, I had to get creative.
Of course, Kai’s going to be a lot harder to pickpocket than a nodding meth addict, but if I could distract him, I’m sure—
I happen to glance across the field, and notice Bastian heading for the food trucks, too.
Damn it.
Melissa takes a big slurp from her cup. A gust of wind blows strands of hair into my face from my messy bun, which was all I could be bothered with when we left GAZ. But Melissa’s hair doesn’t move an inch under her beige Gucci bucket hat.
“Well, I’m hungry, so—“
“Yeah, fine, twist my rubber arm,” I grump.
We keep stalling as more sports fans join the mass exodus from the bleachers, and by the time we get downstairs, there are people everywhere. The clouds are even darker now, and I catch several people glancing up as if they’re expecting rain.
“Haven!” A familiar voice yells over the noise.
I turn, giving Teagan a double take as she pushes her way through the crowd to join me and Melissa where we’re waiting in line at a burger truck.
“Hey!” I hug her, stepping back to hold her at arm’s length. “What are you doing here?”
She scoffs. “Why wouldn’t I be here? You know I love guys in tight pants. Question is, why the hell are you here?”
I laugh. “It’s a requirement for my funding, apparently,” I joke. The smile I give Teagan feels stilted, and fades when Bastian’s words play back to me.
…conscious or comatose, you belong to me now, girl…
I introduce her to Melissa, and we stand in awkward silence for a beat or two before I say, “Thought I’d see Milo here. He’d have made a killing.”
“Milo?” Melissa takes a sip from her cup.
“Oh, he’s such a nice guy. And he makes the best tacos!”
“He makes too much money at the strip mall,” Teagan says, shaking her head. “I spoke to him the other day. He’s there like every day now.” She gives me a hip bump. “He’s thinking about hiring some help on the weekends. Hours will be a lot less than at the diner. You should think about it.”
It’s not a bad thought. A weekend-only gig would leave me enough time during the week to study. And I wouldn’t have to rely on other people’s charity to get by. Win-win.
“I’ll go speak to him tomorrow,” I say, nodding decisively. “Thanks, Teagan.”
A group of people moves away from us, and I spot Kai’s beanie-clad head bobbing through the crowd up ahead.
I pat Teagan’s arm. “Be right back.”
“I’d never be able to work around food,” Melissa says to Teagan as I slip away. “Tracking my calories is already hard enough. Can’t imagine…”
I don’t hear the rest.
There are only a few people between me and Kai now. Looks like him and his friends are waiting in line for loaded fries. Thankfully, all three of them are facing forward, allowing me to get really close without being spotted.
As I’m trying to figure out whether Kai’s got his phone in his hand, or in his hoodie’s pouch, he reaches behind him and shoves said phone into his back pocket.
He tugs his hoodie down, but I guess he’s too drunk to realize that the hem hooks on the corner of his phone, leaving it exposed.
One of his friends lets out a high-pitched giggle.
Too drunk and too stoned, then.
I tug my hood low over my face and creep closer. I catch snatches of what they’re saying, but not enough to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Not that I’d want to. God knows what college guys talk about.
“Haven?”
I jerk, staring around wide-eyed.
Another familiar voice, but I have trouble placing it right away with so many people all talking at once. I’m probably just hearing things.
But when I turn back, Kai is looking toward the sound as if he heard the voice calling, too.
So not my imagination.
I freeze and try to ignore my pounding heart as I wait for Kai to face forward again. I feel like a lion on the savanna, freezing low between the tall grass whenever the prey they’re stalking looks in their direction.
The guy beside Kai tugs on his sleeve, and he returns to their conversation, saying something that earns more laughter from his friends.
Look at you, Kai. Should’ve become a motherfucking comedian.
A gust of wind chases through the crowd, forcing people to snuggle deeper into their puffer jackets and coats.
I reach for Kai’s phone, gingerly grasp it, and slowly start pulling it out of his pocket.
“Haven!”
My hand jerks up, the edge of the phone hooking on Kai’s hoodie. He spins around, clapping a hand to his empty pocket, green eyes narrowed. The instant he sees me crouching behind him, those same eyes go wide.
“The fuck?” he bellows, making a grab for me.
I skip backward, phone hoisted above my head as a surge of adrenaline floods my body.
I don’t know why I laugh like we’ve just started a game of tag and I’m it, but I blame the brain chemicals and Melissa’s strawberry-flavored turpentine. Screeching with delirious panic, I spin around and try to dart through the crowd.
Not that I get very far.
Too many people, too close together.
And one of them grabs my sleeve, almost jerking me off my feet before I can catch my balance.
“Fucking knew I’d find you here, you little cunt.”
I don’t know what steals the air from my lungs first. Recognizing that croaking voice, or turning to see it’s the same person who just grabbed my sleeve.
My arm falls to my side. I feel a big, warm hand wrap around mine, holding me still as Kai pulls his phone out of my numb fingers. Then he turns and sees the man standing in front of me, and a jolt goes through him like he’s just gotten the shock of his life, too.
No wonder.
I didn’t have ‘a surprise encounter with someone from your past’ in my horoscope this morning…and I’m guessing neither did Kai.