Chapter 7
Fifteen minutes later, Eve found herself back behind the steering wheel of her little car. A myriad of emotions left her exhausted, and she rested her head on the hard, worn leather. Her day had been filled with enough anxiety, terror, relief and disappointment to fill the Grand Canyon.
Maybe she should take the night off work. Soak in a hot bath with a glass of wine before cuddling up with a book. Something with dragons and badass women who fought for what was right. A story to remind her she didn’t need a man in her life.
A reminder she didn’t need Reid.
At least not in this new, almost overwhelming way she wanted.
A deep ravine of regret split her in two. She’d spent the last year keeping Reid strictly in the friend zone, a place where they both seemed happy. Now that she’d lowered her guard, she wasn’t sure she could resurrect those walls.
Strengthening her resolve, she straightened and started the engine.
It didn’t matter what box she wanted to put Reid in, he was clear as crystal about what he wanted.
And a relationship with her—or anyone else—wasn’t an option.
She was just raw and vulnerable from the attack, and the last thing she needed was to let her emotions get in the way of what really mattered.
And what mattered right now was focusing on her business and making sure everything was in place for tomorrow night’s event.
She drove out of her parking spot, and a quick glance at the clock on the dashboard told her she had a little time before she needed to head to work. A shower and a cup of coffee called her name. Once she indulged in both, her head would be back on straight.
With a plan in place, she maneuvered away from the brightly colored awnings shading the mom-and-pop shops lining Main Street. A few people moseyed from store to store, carrying to-go cups and pastry bags, but it wouldn’t be long before the dinner crowd swarmed the town.
She turned onto her quiet neighborhood street. Ancient trees bathed the road in shadows. The stamp-size front yards were empty of playing children or men mowing their grass. A perfect picture of a small-town lull she’d experienced a thousand times.
Her car shook as if she was suddenly driving over marbles and veered to the right. A flapping sound penetrated her closed window, and the shaking increased.
Great. How much more crap could her plate handle right now?
Forcing herself to keep calm, she pulled to a stop along the side of the road and flipped on the hazard lights. Chances were high she had a flat tire. Something she could change herself but would cost her time and that relaxing shower.
She pushed the button to pop the trunk then stepped outside, snatching her phone from where she’d placed it in the cup holder before slamming the door.
She’d have to let Becca know she’d be late for her shift.
If not, her best friend would worry. As she rounded her car, she scrolled through her phone to Becca’s number.
“Hey, change your mind and taking the night off?” Becca asked when she answered.
“I wish,” she said, crouching next to her now-deflated tire. “I was on my way home to get ready and I got a flat. I have everything I need to change it, but I might be late. I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“You’ve had the worst luck,” Becca said. “Take your time. We’re holding down the fort. Dinner crowd won’t be in for a few more hours.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted on when I should get there.” She disconnected and sighed. Becca was right. Luck hadn’t been on her side the past twenty-four hours. But at least this was something she could fix, so she might as well stop lamenting her misfortune and start changing the flat.
A low whistle skittered down her spine like a pack of angry ants.
She glanced up, and a ball of terror lodged in her throat.
A man wearing a dirty cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes and an overgrown beard strolled down the empty sidewalk.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans and kept his gaze locked on her as he moved.
She lunged for the trunk and yanked out the tire iron.
This asshole might have caught her off guard last night, but she wouldn’t be a shrinking violet.
Wouldn’t stand and wait for another attack.
With the hard metal in her hand, she used her shaking finger to call for help then ran for the driver’s side door.
She dived inside, slamming the door shut and engaging the locks.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
“This is Eve Tilly. I’m in my car on Cherry Street and the man who attacked me in my bar last night is walking toward me.
My car has a flat tire. I can’t leave. I need police here now.
” She started the engine and locked the doors.
Fleeing on a flat tire could seriously damage her vehicle, but if the man tried to attack her again, she’d risk the damage to get to safety.
“I’m sending a sheriff’s deputy to you right away. Is the man still there?”
She glanced in her rearview mirror.
The man closed in on her, a slow smile growing on his face. He kept his steady pace even and unhurried like a madman from one of those cheesy 1980s horror movies.
She kept a tight grip on the tire iron. Her heart thundered against her chest as anxiety spiraled higher and higher. “Yes. He’s walking toward the car.”
“Help will be there soon.”
Words caught in the dryness of her mouth so she nodded, gaze locked on the mirror as she watched the man approach her car. She shifted the vehicle into Drive, prepared to take off and rip her wheel to shreds if necessary.
The man stopped mere feet from the back of her vehicle, lifted a hand to wave, then turned around and strolled back the way he’d come. Disappearing into the line of trees on the far side of the street.
“He left. Just walked away. I don’t know where he went. What do I do?” She searched for another sight of him, the unknown of where he’d gone almost as unsettling as knowing he was right behind her.
“Stay where you are. You’re okay.”
The welcoming sound of sirens released the ball of tension pressing down on her lungs seconds before she spotted the deputy’s cruiser. “Help’s here. I see them.” She shifted back into Park and collapsed against her seat.
“Do you need me to stay on the phone?” the gentle lifeline asked.
“I’m fine. Thank you. For everything.” She disconnected, and a need for the same comfort and strength Reid had given her the night before had her scrolling her contact list for his information. Before she could overthink it, she pressed Call.
“Hey, what’s up? Miss me already?” The jovial tone of his voice sent a wave of emotion crashing over her.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she struggled to speak.
“Eve? Are you all right? What’s going on?” Panic washed away all hints of amusement.
“I got a flat tire and the man from last night appeared on the street. He’s gone and a deputy just showed up, but…” She wasn’t sure how to finish her sentence. But she was scared, and she wanted Reid.
“Where are you? I’m coming.”
She rattled off her location and disconnected as the deputy approached her door. Help was here, Reid was on his way and she had no reason to still be frightened.
No amount of logic could stop her mind from racing and her gut from telling her that this nightmare was far from over.
Reid drove as fast as he could along the downtown streets to get to Eve. Damn it. He’d never imagined her attacker would come after her again in broad daylight. He’d hoped the man had moved on, never to be seen again, but his actions today told him otherwise.
This changed everything.
Screeching to a stop, he parked behind the deputy’s cruiser and leaped out of the truck. Pain shot up his side, but he pushed it away. His comfort didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting to Eve.
Eve stood on the sidewalk next to a young sheriff’s deputy with her arms hugging her middle. She glanced up, and their eyes locked. The relief on her face almost undid him.
He jogged to her side and didn’t even fight his instinct to wrap an arm securely around her shoulders. “You okay?”
She nodded, but the worry lines etched on her delicate face told him a different story.
Reid turned his attention to the young deputy in the well-pressed uniform. “You find the bastard?”
The man’s grim expression answered the question before he spoke. “Not yet. My partner is canvassing the area. I just finished taking Ms. Tilly’s statement.”
Reid trailed his knuckles against the smooth material of her T-shirt encasing her bicep. “Did he get close to you? Say anything?” He didn’t want to make her replay the whole miserable event again but had to know what happened.
“No. When I stepped out to look at the tire, I noticed him walking toward me. He was whistling, then waved after I locked myself in my car.” A shudder shook her shoulders, and he pulled her even closer. “What are the odds he was in the area when I got a flat?”
Reid worked his jaw back and forth. “My thoughts exactly. Deputy, have you looked at the tire?”
“Not yet. Was about to do that when you showed up.” The deputy crouched beside the vehicle and studied the rubber. “Looks like a puncture. Maybe a nail or screw. You could have run over something while driving then it fell out. Gave you a slow leak.”
Reid hated to leave Eve’s side but knelt on the road to get a better look. His fingers itched to run along the jagged grooves.
“I was just in her car. Drove into town from the hospital. There was no sign of a leak at any point. And if she would have run over something that big that left this size of a hole, she would have felt it.” He turned back to look up at her, grateful for the shade blocking the sun from his eyes.
“Did you hit anything? Any giant potholes?”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “No. I’m sure I’d remember that.”
“When you noticed something was wrong, did the car vibrate a little before popping or was it a sudden motion when it went flat?” Reid asked.
The V between her eyebrows deepened. “Um, it wasn’t all of a sudden. More like the car vibrated a little and veered to the side. The pop came later. Once I’d already realized something was wrong.”
Reid stood, his mind working over the information.
“What are you thinking?” Standing, the deputy hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.
“That coincidence is bullshit, and there’s no way the guy who attacked Eve last night just happened to be walking down the street when she got a flat tire.”
Eve returned to her guarded position—arms crossed over her stomach, shoulders hunched, deep frown. “I hate to say it, but I had the same thought. What does that mean?”
“Means we need to pull security video from more than just the people on this street,” Reid said, dipping his chin toward the houses across the road.
“I want to check any security cameras from the businesses near where you were parked. You were right in front of Sunrise Security. We should have a camera that gives us a good view of your vehicle.”
“You think this man put a hole in the tire then pursued on foot?” the deputy asked.
A strangled sound escaped from Eve’s lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
“It’s a possibility.” One that made a lot more sense in Reid’s mind than a random string of bad luck.
The deputy nodded. “I agree. I’ll get on it right away.”
“I’ll secure the footage from our office,” Reid said. “I want to look at it. Meet me at Sunrise Security’s office in thirty minutes.”
“Ms. Tilly, I’ll be in touch.” The young deputy spoke into the communicator attached to his shoulder as he made his way back to his cruiser.
Eve stared at Reid with a world of uncertainty dancing in her eyes. “What do I do now?”
He hated the smallness of her voice, the way she shrank as if trying to hide away from the man who’d stormed into her life and turned it upside down. The need to spring into action pulsed through his body with every beat of his heart, but instead he rushed to her and pulled her into his arms.
Unable to stop himself, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“I have a life to live. Things to do. How do I just head to work and act like everything’s all right when I feel this guy’s eyes on me? When I’m constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for his next move?”
The truth of what he needed to do smashed him upside the head. “You act the same way you always would, because I’ll be right by your side until this guy is caught.”
Pulling back, she stared up at him. “Seriously?”
Screw it. Madden needed him to help with the case they’d just signed onto with the sheriff’s department, but there was no way he could leave Eve’s side. No way he could let her face the unknown alone.
“Yes, seriously. I’m with you for as long as you want me.”
As he said the words, something shifted inside him. A part of him wanted to be with Eve long after the asshole who was after her was caught and behind bars. But that was a part of him that he needed to ignore at all costs.