Chapter 26 #3
‘Mellie told me you were hurt.’
‘I’m fine now. You want drink?’
He arches an eyebrow at me and stares intently. I can tell he’s not going to let that go so easily. ‘Sure. Latte. But tell me what happened.’
I flip him off, but he continues to glower, so after I finish his latte, I lean on the counter. ‘Remember my stalker?’
His eyes go wide. ‘Yes.’
I take a deep breath, then carefully recount all the events leading up to now while surgically removing Archie and his family from involvement.
At least as much as I can. I don’t mind calling Archie my boyfriend.
Everyone around here thinks the brothers are a little odd, so I don’t need to explain that.
But Rome listens intently, his eyes following every sign, and when I’m done, he looks almost furious. ‘I had no idea this was still going on.’
‘I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger.’
Rome’s jaw ticks. ‘The police are handling it this time?’
And now comes the part where I have to either lie or expose Archie’s family, and the choice is obvious. ‘We have someone on the case. Don’t worry.’
Rome is clearly going to worry. ‘Maybe I should stay here until someone shows up to help you.’
I wave him off. ‘No, no. Percy will be here soon, and Dex is waiting for you. Wait, why are you here again?’ I can’t remember if I ever even asked.
‘Kitty litter.’ Oh god, I’d almost forgotten about Dennis. ‘Honestly, Milo still owes me for forcing me to take home that rude cat.’
‘You love Dennis.’
His face softens, and he shrugs. ‘Sometimes.’ I follow him out to the lobby and step behind the desk as Rome glances over at the cat room. ‘He said it was in his office, so I’ll grab it.’
I let him go, disappearing behind the other door. My eyes drift to the outside, glancing at the sidewalk and the darkening clouds. I don’t see anyone out there lingering, and my heart settles slightly.
Rome appears a moment later with the litter under his arm, and he cocks his head at me. ‘Sure you don’t want me to stay?’
I check the clock. Percy’s a little late, but that’s not really a big deal. If the stalker was going to come after me, he would have done it by now. ‘I’m fine. Promise.’
Rome shifts restlessly, then says, ‘Drinks soon.’
I nod because I know I can’t avoid him and the rest of my friends forever, and that satisfies him enough to shoot me a quick wave before he jogs out the door so he can get home to his boyfriend and cat.
Silence and stillness settle heavily around me, and I turn to head back into the café. I need to rinse the metal pitcher out before it starts to go sour, and honestly, a latte for myself sounds kind of good right now. I turn around and flip on the faucet when I feel a presence behind me.
It has to be Percy, and my lips curl up as I start turning around to make a snarky comment to him about being late, but before I can get a good look, the figure lunges at me over the counter, hands grabbing onto my shirt and pulling me forward.
I go with a scream, my fingers clawing at the man and breaking flesh.
My legs kick out, and I’m sure it’s creating a commotion, but it doesn’t do much good.
I scream again, but a gloved hand stops me, pressing over my mouth with such force that my teeth rattle.
Then I smell something strange, and a moment later, everything goes foggy, and all the fight drains out of me.
My limbs go limp, and the moment I can’t properly move, the person grabs me under my arms and begins to drag me down the hall.
My shoes catch on the ground as I try to find the strength to stop this, but my body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I open my mouth to shout, but the only thing that comes out is a hoarse cry as they pull me toward the back door.
My leg knocks into the corner as we turn into the hallway, and I let out a soft sob as pain pulses through me. Everything in me wants to close my eyes and go unconscious, but I know I can’t do that. I don’t know what they gave me or how long it’s going to last, but I can’t give up.
I have to stay alive for Archie. I can’t lose it all now. Not now, not when we just found one another. And he’ll blame himself for not being here, for taking off when he didn’t want to. And then he’ll kill Milo for leaving me alone.
This will tear their fragile family apart.
I can’t let that happen, but I don’t know what I can do.
I’ve been immobilized and overpowered. Everything feels even foggier as I’m dragged outside, and I feel rain start to fall on my face, and it makes my vision even worse when I’m thrown up against the wall of the café.
We’re behind the building, shielded from the road, and I squint, trying to make out the face of the person crouched in front of me.
I can make out pale skin and dark eyes, but nothing else. And then the world narrows when the person puts their gloved hands around my neck and starts squeezing. My limbs still refuse to move as all the air is stolen from my lungs, and it’s in this moment I think that it’s finally happening.
I’m about to die.