Page 65 of Knot Innocent

Despite our session last night and the kiss just now, I’m still insecure and don’t want to assume my standing with Bastien. After clearing my throat to build up some nerve, I say, “I’m glad you’re back. I’m kind of tired of staying in the dorms. Is going home out of the question?” Not to mention, the dorms aren’t coed.

“Probably not the best idea. My place is out because of the tracker found on my truck, but Jackson’s got a studio over his garage he rents out like a hotel room. We can stay there.”

He said we. I turn my face to the window to hide my stupid grin, and we arrive at the optometrist’s office a short time later. Bastien goes in with me, unwilling to let me stray far from his side, and I get checked in. Instead of sitting in the waiting area, I wander to the wall of glasses. Studying my reflection in one of the mirrors, I think it might be time for a change.

Bastien sticks close, keeping his body between me and the door as I try on dozens of frames, waiting for my name to be called. I don’t like any of the new styles I try on and angrily toss pair number twenty on the counter. Bastien takes my old frames and places them back on my face. “I know what you’re doing, Birdie. Stop it. You don’t need to change, not for me or anyone. Not even your glasses.”

He touches my cheek and starts to say something else when my name is called. “Want me to go with you?” he asks.

“Nah. The rooms are pretty small. And with you there, I wouldn’t be able to focus on the letters.”

I follow the lady tech to a dark room in the back, where she uses two different machines to take images of my eyes. When she’s satisfied, she brings me to an exam room to do other preliminary stuff before the doctor does his exam.

Dr. Lee walks in a short while later and introduces himself. Once he runs through some early checks, he stands and gestures for me to follow. “Because this is my first time seeing you, I’d like to check your eyes after dilation.”

We go to another dark room set up like a secondary waiting area, where he puts the mydriatic drops in my eyes. “I’ll be back to get you in about ten minutes.”

Dr. Lee leaves to deal with other patients while the medicine does its thing. I lounge in the comfy seat, eyes closed, and fantasize about tonight with Bastien.

A few minutes later, a plastic popping sound draws my eyes open in time to watch a gloved hand slam over my mouth. I fight but can’t dislodge the much stronger grip. All I accomplish is shifting my attacker’s grasp, leaving my nose covered as well. Now I can’t scream or breathe, so I reach for my purse and the phone inside.

Just as my fingers brush against the protective case, the sting of a needle in my neck rockets me into a full-blown panic. I barely manage to slip the phone out using two fingers right before the bag slides from my lap onto the floor.

The man above me slaps the device out of my hand before I can hit the panic button on the lock screen, leaving me to fight for the few remaining seconds before I black out.

Bastien

I check my watch again and pull out my phone, wondering what’s taking so long. It’s been years since I had an eye exam, having twenty-twenty vision, but I don’t remember ever spending this much time in an eye clinic.

A male in a lab coat catches my attention, walking down the hallway of the small practice. He peeks in every door in the hall before finally entering the waiting room. After scratching his head, he leans over the reception desk, whispering to the woman there.

She looks around and gets up, walking to the back. A few seconds later, she returns, heading straight for me with the male on her heels. “You came in with Ms. Crenshaw, right?”

I’m on my feet in an instant. “Yes. Why?”

The man with the name Dr. Whittman Lee embroidered on his lab coat explains, “I put Ms. Crenshaw in the dark room for her eyes to dilate. Now I can’t find her.”

“I checked the bathroom,” the lady explains. “She’s not there.”

My skin turns ice cold.

After staring down the doctor briefly, I race to the front door and lock it before wheeling around on the female staffer. “No one goes in or out. Check every room. Every closet.” I turn to the doctor next and order, “You! Show me the back door!”

He jumps at my command but quickly pivots and darts down the hall. At the end is a T-crossing, with bathrooms and offices to the left. The right side has more rooms and the rear exit.

Looking up, I turn in a circle, noting the lack of cameras. “You have no security back here?”

“Ah, no. All our cameras are out front in the merchandise area.”

My heart pounds in my throat as I drag the doctor with me and shove through the back door of the small building. Outside is a concrete patio with a couple of tables and chairs, a gravel parking lot for staff, and access to a side street because this building sits on a corner. There are no cameras out here, either. “Fuck! Are none of you worried about security?”

“I’m sorry. We don’t have drugs here or cash, and there isn’t much of a criminal market for our non-prescription frames on display.”

“Dammit!” I yell before focusing on him once again. “How many men do you have on staff?”

The doc puffs out his chest, attempting to come across as superior. “You don’t think one of us is responsible?!”

I get up in his face, “HOW. MANY. MEN?”

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