Page 15 of Bite the Bullet

“Yeah, we’ll pretend that I didn’t look up your information,” he laughed.

“I’ll let it go if you can excuse my messy house, Officer Thorson.”

“Pete,” he corrected. “And your house is fine. Lock the door behind me.”

“I will.”

He pulled a card out and slipped it into my hand. His hand closed around mine for just a second, but that was all it took to feel something I hadn’t felt in years. I looked up into his dark eyes and tried to tell myself that I couldn’t get involved with a police officer. But the way he was looking at me, I knew this wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

But I wouldn’t. If he came out here too often, Baz would get wind of it and start coming around more. I needed to keep him as far away from me as possible.

As soon as the door closed, I shook off the tingling feelings rushing through my body and hustled Parker into his bedroom. It didn’t take long to get him through his bedtime routine tonight. He was exhausted from the long day, and conked out almost as soon as I started reading to him.

Turning out his light, I headed for the kitchen and grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet. As I pulled out the wine, my neighbor’s eyes flashed in my mind. Those ice blue eyes were familiar. I just couldn’t place them. Pouring myself a glass, I walked into the living room and pulled back the curtains just enough to see outside. He was still working on his bike, but suddenly looked up at me. With a yelp, I stepped back, letting go of the curtain.

After a moment, I peeked outside again, but he was gone. That was weird. Why would he be watching me so closely? Or was he like that with everyone? Shaking it off, I headed to the bathroom and turned onthe warm water. As I sat on the edge of the tub with my hand under the water, I tried to place where I had seen his face before. But I saw so many people at the hospital that it was nearly impossible to remember them all.

I almost jumped out of my skin when my cell rang. Pressing my hand to my racing heart, I answered my mom’s call. “Hey,” I said as cheerily as possible.

“Hey, honey. I didn’t hear from my grandson tonight.”

Shit, I completely forgot to call. “Yeah, we had a busy night. He crashed as soon as we got home.”

“I missed seeing his face.” I could hear the smile in her voice. I made a point of calling her every night, video-chatting whenever possible. My parents missed out on so much, and I knew it was hard on my mom especially.

“We’ll call in the morning before school.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I know your mornings are busy. So, how’s work going?”

“It’s—” Flashes of the man attacking me still played on repeat in my head, but I shoved them aside. The last thing my parents needed to worry about was me getting injured at work. “Busy as always.”

“I wish we were there to help out.”

“You know that would be too stressful for Dad.”

“I know. You don’t have to tell me again,” she chastised.

Avoiding another lecture, I switched topics. “How was lunch yesterday at the women’s club?”

“You know how those ladies are. Half the time, I wish I had never gone and the other half I feel that it’s good for me to get out of the house.”

“It is. You can’t spend your whole life taking care of other people. Besides, you know Dad would lose his mind if you hovered over him every second of the day.”

“Well, since you won’t let me hover over you?—”

“Mom,” I sighed in frustration. “Can we not do this again?”

“I’m just saying, I understand why you don’t want us there, but I could help out. Besides, it doesn’t make sense that you keep your parents away, but your son is still around that man.”

“I don’t have a choice,” I argued. “It’s not like I can move right now. Baz is always watching. I have to be careful when I make my move.”

“And I could be there in the meantime to help out. That’s all I’m saying.”

She was never going to let this go. “I know, and thank you for the offer, but the fewer people around, the easier it will be to get out of here. The last thing I need is Baz going after you too.”

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