Chapter 12
Robyn
I walk out of my office with Ridge right behind me. I can feel him there, even though he doesn’t make so much as a sound.
Carla looks up from her desk as we pass reception. She tries hard to hide her smile and fails. I shoot her a warning look that she completely ignores.
“Goodnight, Carla.”
“Night, Dr. Keller. Night, Ridge.”
“Night.” His voice is deep.
The hospital at this hour is in that in-between state where the day shift is thinning out and the evening shift hasn’t fully taken over.
A few nurses move through the hallway with that end-of-day energy, chart tablets tucked under their arms, heads ducked toward their screens. Someone laughs in a side room.
I nod at two of my surgical nurses as we pass the lifts. One of them bites down on her lower lip as her eyes move behind me, and the other raises her eyebrows.
Ridge is causing quite a stir.
We get to the side exit, and I push it open. The warm evening air hits me. I breathe it in, relaxing a little.
“How far is your car?” he asks.
“The staff parking is around the back. Where did you park?”
“Out front, but I’ll come with you as part of my assessment.”
“Okay, then.”
We cross the little courtyard between admin and the main hospital, then take the path that curves behind the building and down the slope toward the staff lot.
Ridge falls in next to me.
His head moves from side to side, taking everything in. He glances up at the lights along the path. He looks at the bushes on my left. He looks at the little service road that cuts down toward the delivery bays and the dumpsters.
“Is this the route you usually take?” he asks.
“Mostly. It’s the shortest way.”
He makes a noise that tells me he’s taking note.
We turn around the last corner, and the staff lot opens up in front of us. It’s maybe two-thirds empty at this hour. The lights are on. Dave is in his booth at the boom gate, head bent over a newspaper. He waves as he clocks us.
I wave back.
My car is in its usual spot, third from the end, next to the concrete pillar with the chipped paint.
I point at it.
“That one. The dark blue Audi.”
“Wait here a second.”
I stop walking.
He moves past me and does a slow loop around my car.
He’s looking at the ground. He’s looking at the pillar.
He’s looking up at the ceiling of the covered section, where a camera is mounted on the corner of the concrete overhang.
He traces its angle with his gaze and then turns his whole body to see what it can and can’t see.
He makes a small sound. I think he’s probably making more mental notes.
“Do you have a designated spot?” He is looking at the faded parking line and the chipped pillar.
“It’s not official, but yes, that’s my spot.” I shrug. “My staff know not to park there.”
“Until we can get the staff parking more secure, I want you to use a different spot every day. One that is closer to the entrance and under a working light.” He points at the area he’s referring to.
“Sure. I’ll do that.”
“Who’s on the gate tonight?”
“Jeff. He’s been here for years. He’s a good guy. Probably one of yours, actually.”
“Is there access control into the lot?” He points at a boom gate.
“Yep, there’s a badge swipe at the boom. After hours, we need a badge plus a code.”
“How often do the codes change?” he asks.
I make a face. “I’ve used the same one since I started here.”
“That needs to change.” He nods a few times. “It could be better, and it could be worse. I’ll get it sorted out.”
I’m sure he will.
Ridge finishes his slow loop and comes back to the driver’s side of my vehicle.
“Okay, then. I have what I need. You get into your vehicle and lock it. Then give me five minutes to get to my vehicle, and then I’ll fall in behind you. I’m in a black Range Rover with tinted windows.”
“Got it.” I nod.
“Wait for me,” he says. “Don’t pull out until you see me. Make sure you lock yourself in. Call me if you’re worried about anything. I hope you took down my number. It’s in the email the Council sent you.”
“I still haven’t read it.”
“Robyn…Dr. Keller, this is important.”
“I’m sorry, I had more pressing issues to attend to. I’ll save it to my cellphone as soon as I get home.”
He takes out his device and taps the screen a few times, and my phone rings.
“That’s me. Save it now.”
“Thank you. I will,” I tell him. “By the way, I need to go to the grocery store on the way home. I’m out of milk and a couple of other things. Should I meet you back at my place, or do you want to tag along?”
He gives me a dirty look I feel low in my belly.
“I’ll tag along.”
I smile at him, and he scowls at me.
“Suit yourself.”
He turns and walks away, and I watch him do it.
“Get into your vehicle, Dr. Keller,” he tells me without turning back.
I roll my eyes and do as he says, locking the door even though it feels stupid.
I’ve never felt unsafe a day in my life. The vaccination center incident rattled all of us, but it isn’t the norm on Draig Island.
While I wait, I pull down the visor, looking in the tiny mirror. My mascara is a little smudged under one eye.
I look tired.
I also don’t much care right now.
I flip the visor back up and start the engine to keep the AC running. Three minutes later, his black Range Rover noses out of the general lot and pulls up on the road outside, idling. I can just make out the shape of him behind the wheel.
I ease out, giving Jeff a wave as I pass the booth. Then I turn onto the main road.
Ridge’s SUV slides in behind mine.
I head for the store that’s around the corner from me. I flip the indicator and make the turn into the parking lot, picking a spot close to the doors. Ridge parks one row over.
I’m out and walking before he can come over to me.
“You’re welcome to wait in the car,” I tell him as he falls into step beside me. “I won’t be long. I need a few things. I can manage.”
“I’ll go with you,” he tells me. Then he opens the door and waits for me to go in first.
I grab a cart. “This is going to be super boring.”
“I think I’ll survive. Let me take that.” He reaches over for my cart, and I let him take it.
“I can push a cart.”
“I know.”
Why is he insisting on all of this? I think it’s overkill, but whatever. I’m going to pretend he isn’t even here.
I head for the produce section first. I pile in salad greens, two avocados, a couple of lemons, and a bag of baby tomatoes. Ridge pushes the cart next to me.
We walk through, aisle by aisle, and I toss in the things I need. He looks into the cart and then ahead. Into the cart and ahead.
“Have you worked at Draig Security for a long time?”
He looks at me and then shakes his head.
“What?”
“I’m still not a fan of small talk.”
“It’s what people do,” I tell him. “If you’re going to follow me around, we should at least be able to talk.”
“Pretend I’m not here.”
Like that’s remotely possible.
We pass by the feminine hygiene section, and, after a quick scan of the shelves, I select the biggest box of tampons I can find. The kind with the bright pink packaging that screams SUPER PLUS ULTRA ABSORBENT across the front in lettering that can be read from space.
I’ll pretend you’re not here, alright, asshole!
I examine the box with great care and drop it into the cart.
“Better get two,” I say. “Just to be safe.”
I watch him out of the corner of my eye.
He doesn’t flinch or blink, which I hate. Instead, he pushes the cart around the corner when I move on.
Nothing.
Arghhhh!
I make my way to the next aisle over. The pharmacy aisle.
I stop in front of a large display and take my sweet time picking out an economy box of condoms. Not the regular size, but the extra-large box with XXXL condoms that are ribbed for her pleasure.
Then I toss in a banana-flavored box of them as well.
His brows lift for a millisecond, and then the mask drops back into place.
Hah!
I got him there.
Pretend I’m not here.
What an asshole.
How am I supposed to pretend he’s not here when he’s the size of a linebacker and smells that good after a whole day at work? How?
I scan the aisle for something else. My eyes land on the book display at the end, and a slow smile spreads across my face.
Jackpot.
I saw a book just last week that I was tempted to buy and decided it might be a little over the top, even for me, but I’m buying that bad boy today.
Oh yes!
There it is!
Taken by the Lizard Man.
The cover features a muscular, shirtless man who has distinct lizard-like features, from his green scales to his slitted golden eyes. He even has a large set of horns and a smoldering expression.
I open the book and read a page or two, letting my eyes widen. Then I put a copy in my trolley.
“Is this going to take much longer?” Ridge looks at his watch. “I have somewhere to be tonight.”
Asshole.
“A date?”
Why did I ask that? Whhhyyyyyy?
“It’s none of your business.”
Now that hurts.
“Do you need anything?” I ask him.
“I’m good.”
“You sure? I’m happy to grab whatever.”
“I’m sure.”
We head toward the checkout.
I’m sure he has a date. Maybe he’s even seeing someone. I would be surprised if he were still single. Then again, he doesn’t make small talk…ever. It’s hard to be with someone if you never actually talk. Maybe it’s just me.
There’s a queue at the checkout with two people ahead of me. I push up behind the shopper in front and wait, rummaging for my card.
“This is it,” the woman at the checkout says; she has a milk carton in her hand. “It’s that news story I was telling you about.”
The lady at the checkout stops what she is doing and turns up the volume on the television to the right of her.
It’s playing the news, and the volume is turned up way past normal. It’s loud enough that the woman in front of me has stopped digging for her loyalty card. Everyone in the immediate vicinity has gone still.
The view pans across the Council building. There is a crowd gathered there.