Page 87 of Fire of the Fox

“And how would you know?”

“Because you’re clearly stubborn, so you wouldn’t give me your name that easily.”

“Then why bother asking?”

“You’re right. I guess I was trying to start over. You know, show you I’m not that kind of monster. It’s why I want to know what happened to you, too. I care about people. I’m not a … a heartless criminal or whatever. I’m trying to make amends for what I’ve done.”

His eyes pleaded with mine to understand, and deep down, I knew he probably was a good guy who’d just made some really bad choices. Everyone was flawed. He was trying to be friendly and express his sincere regret, but I wasn’t sure where I sat on the matter yet. There was far too much going on in my life right now. Adding Blake and his struggle to redeem himself to the list was too much at the moment.

Exasperated at his attempts to persuade me to trust him, I decided to come across like a lunatic who wasn’t worth convincing.

“You really want to know what happened to me?”

His green eyes brightened with the light of hope. “Yes. How’d you get hurt?”

I motioned him closer, and he turned his ear toward me. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I whispered, “A magical bat creature attacked me and then tried to kill me.”

I leaned back with a smirk glued to my face, and I crossed my arms. That outrageous, yet true, answer would have anyone rolling their eyes and moving on, but after a second, I realized that didn’t happen. He stood frozen, ear still tilted toward me, eyes bugging out of his head.

Finally, he took a deep breath and turned to me. With a firm nod, he walked to the entrance of the store where he flipped the sign to Closed and set the clock sticker to say he’d be back in ten minutes.

When his eyes found mine again, he said, “Come on.”

That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

“What? What do you mean? I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He ignored me as he opened a door at the back of the store, revealing a sink and toilet. My stomach tightened with nerves as he waved for me to follow.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” I yelled. “I am not going back there with you!”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I told you that’s not who I am.”

“As if I’d believe that. I would never trust you.”

He ran a hand through his hair and went into the small bathroom. I watched him turn on the sink before stepping away from it. He looked at me again and said, “I promise you that I’m not going to do anything like what you’re thinking. I’m going to do something to help your injuries.”

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “There’s nothing you could do to help my injuries.”

The corners of his mouth lifted, and despite my better judgment, this smile was not malicious in any sense of the word. It was a real one, full of warm emotion, something I didn’t think Blake was capable of. “Don’t be so sure. Please. Come here. You can even have your phone out with 911 on speed dial if it makes you feel better. I swear, I mean you no harm.”

Even with the sincerity in his voice, I knew he couldn’t be trusted. He was insane if he thought I’d fall for whatever this was. With my resolve to leave and be done with this mess, I turned to make my escape.

As I moved for the door, something stopped me in my tracks. A faint whisper, like a lullaby in the back of my mind, hummed and calmed me to my core. Something deep within me told me to go. Go to Blake. Go to the sink full of water.

Water.

My body moved on its own, turning until I faced the bathroom. I felt myself take a step forward.

Then another.

And another.

I continued in small, slow measured steps until I was finally in the bathroom. My brain was firing warning signals, but my feet wouldn’t listen. It was as if my body and mind were no longer communicating. Blake regarded me warmly, but again, it wasn’t a threatening expression. He stepped around me, shutting the door behind us. Whatever weird spell I’d been under evaporated at the sound of the latch catching, and my guard instantly went back up.

My heart raced, and I frantically dug in my purse for my pepper spray. “What are you doing? Open the door, Blake! I swear to God, I will scream, and people will come running. You’ll rot in jail. But not before I douse your ass in pepper spray.”

He held up his hands, trying to put me at ease. “Shh! Calm down! I only shut it because I can’t let anyone see what I’m doing.”

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