Page 18 of Fire of the Fox

“What happened to those guys?” I asked.

After getting a sense of my surroundings and feeling some of the earlier fog dissipate from my head, I remembered why I was here in the first place. I didn’t see Allen or Blake anywhere nearby as I scanned the surrounding cars and shadows, but that did little to comfort me. They could be hiding anywhere, just waiting in the dark for a moment to strike. Fear clawed back into my mind at the memory of moonlight reflecting off the blade of the knife.

“They ran off,” Rune said. I met his eyes as he finished. “We called the police, who should be here soon.”

Our small group stayed tucked away by Dallas’ car until the police arrived. Dallas kept her arm around my shoulder for support as I recounted to the officers what happened with Rune vouching for me. The two of us gave as good of a description as we could, given how dark it was, as well as their names. The officers recorded the information and promised to be in touch if they found anything.

“I think we should get you home now,” Dallas said.

She gave me a squeeze as if to silently say that everything was okay now.

“That’s a good idea,” I said with a nod.

When Rune and I found each other’s eyes, I hesitated. The night we’d shared before this insane robbery had been perfect. This wasn’t the turn I expected the evening to take, but since it had, the question of what now lingered in the air. I didn’t want this to be the end. There was an undeniable spark that had been between us when we talked and danced. The idea of leaving like this threatened to snuff the flame before it even got a chance to blaze to life.

I took a step toward him, fidgeting with my hands and searching for something, anything, to say. “Um—”

“Is it okay if I ask for your number?”

My heart leapt into my throat, and I bit my lip to keep from grinning like a mad fool. “Yes. Of course.”

His two friends shared a surprised look as Rune pulled out his phone. I added my name and number as he leaned in close and whispered, “I’m glad you said yes. I was afraid that now wasn’t the time, but I wasn’t sure if I’d get—”

“Another chance?”

I glanced up, and our eyes collided. His face was angled toward mine and so close that our noses nearly grazed when I looked up at him. My breath hitched in my throat at the warmth his nearness induced within me, and I had to fight to keep my eyes trained on his instead of his lips, which seemed to beckon me.

Flashing him a brief smile, I finished, “Yeah. Me too.”

His eyes softened, and he took his phone back. Dallas, Rance, and I waved to Rune’s trio and wished them well. I sank down into the passenger seat while Dallas said goodbye to Rance outside the car. After minutes of their farewell, she finally got in, and we made our way back to the dorm.

The car ride was far from quiet. Dallas interrogated me the entire way about what happened. After I finished detailing the incident, she prodded at me to make sure I was actually okay, not only mentally but physically, too.

I wasn’t going to lie. I was pretty rattled from the entire thing. I could’ve easily died tonight, all because two strangers decided they wanted to take my money. Money I didn’t even have!

It was hard for me to look at someone and declare them as evil. I constantly looked for the good in people because I believed that everyone was capable of kindness. But I also knew there were people in the world with bad intentions, and I definitely felt that sinister hand on Allen. He was without remorse, and his eyes had lit up with each threat like he’d been enjoying the torment.

But Blake was more difficult to get a read on. The threat Allen made to him about being homeless should Blake not help made my heart settle with guilt, but I quickly set that emotion aside. My attackers didn’t deserve pity. They chose to rob me, failed or not. Any consequence from that decision was theirs to carry, not mine.

“Promise me you’re okay?” Dallas asked as we pulled into our dorm’s parking lot.

I rolled my eyes and gave an incredulous laugh. “Dallas, for the hundredth time, I’m okay. It was scary, but I’m alive and relatively unhurt. I’m focusing on that right now, which is helping. What’s not helping is the reminder of what happened.”

“Okay, okay. You’re right.”

She shut off the engine, and we headed up to our room. Once inside, anymore lingering worry dissipated. I was safe here, and that fact was a comfort in and of itself.

“I’m exhausted,” I told Dallas as I collapsed face-first on my bed.

“Just get some sleep. I know it’s been a long day. We can hang out tomorrow, just you and me. We can watch movies and binge junk food, okay?”

I looked over my shoulder at her and felt the weight of the day lift from my shoulders. The promise of girl time, corny movies, and endless snacks was enough to almost make the drowsiness disappear from my system.

“That sounds perfect,” I sighed.

“It’s a date,” she squealed and slapped my butt.

I laughed and shoved her gently in the hip with my foot. The two of us changed into our pajamas and crawled into our beds.

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