4. Anna #2
By the time I get to the checkout lanes, that familiar icy prickle starts at the back of my neck and works its way down my spine.
There are far too many people at the front of the store to get a read on anyone in particular, ratcheting up my anxiety until my hands are shaking so badly that I have trouble inserting my card into the machine when I try to pay.
I don’t care how ridiculous I’m being. The second I’m given my receipt, I all but run out to my car. I’m pretty sure I’ve smashed my bread and crushed my crackers, but I still can’t bring myself to care. I throw everything into the trunk and haul ass out of the parking lot.
I’m a mile down the road when I notice it. Every time I switch lanes or turn down a street, I see a vehicle five cars back mimicking my every move. I make another turn despite it actually taking me away from my apartment building, just to be safe, and sure enough, the SUV follows me.
Shit, shit, shit, shit!
The sun has already set, and the vehicle is too far back for me to tell what the make and model is. Hell, I can’t even be sure of the color. All I know is that it’s large and dark.
Considering what happened last time, I don’t let myself think.
I lay my foot down on the accelerator, going from thirty to forty-five, and then take a hard right at the next street.
There’s a sports bar at the end of the block, and it’s been packed every time I pass it.
Plenty of people loiter in the parking lot, and that’s what I need right now.
Witnesses.
I get as far as the dry cleaners next door when red and blue lights appear in my rearview mirror.
What the hell?
I look up to see the SUV quickly approaching, coming up right behind me to display the emergency lights in the front grill.
It’s an unmarked police car.
You’ve got to be kidding.
Between being unemployed, the hospital bill I have yet to dispute, and the towing fee I had to pay to get my car back, the last thing my bank account needs right now is a speeding ticket.
Because that’s precisely what I was doing, driving fifteen miles over the assigned limit.
But that’s not what concerns me the most.
It’s obvious that I was being tailed long before I hit the gas pedal.
It also doesn’t escape my attention that the goosebumps on the back of my neck haven’t abated.
I pull over and watch through my side mirror as a uniformed officer gets out of the SUV. My car sits relatively low to the ground, so it’s hard to get an exact reading on his height, but he’s tall. Well over six feet.
I doubt donuts are a regular part of his diet, because he has an athlete’s body, lean yet muscular.
In fact, he looks like something out of Norse mythology.
Scandinavian fair skin, pale eyes that are impossible to tell in the dark whether they’re blue or gray, and light blonde hair that makes him look like he could be related to Thor.
I’d take the time to appreciate how attractive he is, if not for the fact that my heart still feels like it’s about to explode in my chest.
I already have my license and registration out, handing them over before I’m even asked. “I know I was speeding, but I didn’t know you were an officer, and I just thought you were some random stranger following me, and I got scared,” I blurt in one breath, unable to mask the panic in my voice.
Of all things, the officer laughs. “Good to know you have a keen eye. I was following you.” He says this with an easy smile, but it hardly does anything to put me at ease. If anything, it has my metaphorical hackles rising further than they already are.
Giving me my license and registration back, he sees the look on my face and chuckles again.
“Your tail light keeps flickering,” he clarifies. “I noticed when you pulled out in front of me back on Proctor.”
My tail light?
I’ve had the shit scared out of me over a tail light ?
I collapse into my seat, the tension finally draining from my limbs.
“Not surprising, given the year and model. Sunfires are rather notorious for turn signal and tail light issues. Though, I’m sure you’re well aware of that,” he says, tapping the roof of the car.
Actually, I’m not. Far from it.
He probably figures I’ve owned a vehicle this old for a while, since it isn’t exactly the standard used car you see on the market, but I’ve only had the Sunfire for a little over a month. I couldn’t even tell you what the license plate number is off the top of my head.
He begins scribbling something down, and for a moment, I fear he’s filling out a ticket, but he hands me a sheet of paper with the name of an automotive shop written on it. “Just tell them Officer Holt sent you. Gus and the boys will give you a discount.”
We chat for a few more minutes, and I can feel the remnants of the adrenaline peter away. I’m okay.
I admit I’m new to the area, and he hands me another note, this time with his phone number.
“Just in case you need a guide to show you around town.” He winks. “Wouldn’t want you getting lost, especially in these parts.”
Unlike Devin, Officer Holt isn’t wearing a wedding band, so that’s definitely a plus.
His radio beeps, followed by garbled English. It’s impossible to understand more than a few words, but Officer Holt appears to understand it perfectly because he responds with some kind of police code and lingo.
When he’s finished, he taps the roof of my car again, offering me one last smile. “Stay safe, princess.”
Holt may as well have dumped a bucket of ice water over me, because the nickname leaves my ears ringing and my body cold long after the SUV is gone.
Could it really be a coincidence that he would call me the same thing as Sebastian used to? I mean, it is a pretty common pet name, but…
That icy prickle skittering its way up the length of my spine hadn’t gone away, even after I had relaxed while talking to Holt.