Page 71 of Bad Blood

I glance at my watch. Liam will survive without food for another hour. I’m sure no one ever starved to death while waiting for dinner, despite their claims otherwise. The slight pang of guilt at my decision disappears, knowing I may never get a chance like this with Brighton again.

“I shouldn’t.”

Her words cause a pause in my step, and I turn, but I don’t stop walking backward. “I don’t bite.” On a first date. “But it’s probably better for you not to travel alone, considering what’s been going on in the news.”

She grins at my play on the situation and settles a hand on her hip, reflecting on the truth behind my words. “Going into the park with a stranger doesn’t seem like a smart idea, not to mention I was alone when we bumped into each other.”

She takes a couple of steps toward me, and I pause, waiting for her to decide. I can’t make out the details of her expression from here, but I can sense the roll of her eyes in her tone. “Good point. I didn’t realize I was still a stranger.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “A couple of conversations doesn’t make us friends.”

21

Judgment Call

Brighton

Wednesday, May 31 st

8:33 p.m.

There is nothing I enjoy more than minding my own business.

But it doesn’t look like that’s going to be an option.

“Would you prefer I walk you to wherever you were headed?” Dax dips his chin toward me in the original direction I was going.

I uncoil my arms from my chest and try to relax my stance. It’s not like Dax is intentionally trying to set me on edge. I just wish he knew the half of it.

Luca’s nagging voice reminds me of the importance of not being alone. Not that anything suspicious has happened since Carrie, nor would it happen again—much less to me—but now I’m second-guessing my need to get fresh air and my stop at Yogi’s.

Do I look like a pretentious jerk and say goodnight despite his chivalrous gesture, or try to explain I’m supposed to be more cautious and shouldn’t have run into him in the first place?

With everything hanging in the balance, what would it matter if I added another bad decision to the list? Sure, it might put everything in jeopardy, but what else do I have to lose?

Screw it. After the last couple of weeks, this chapter of my life is called “my turn,” and I’m going to be one hundred percent unapologetic about it. I need something to take my mind off the shit show taking place at the hospital. Some adult conversation that doesn’t center on cancer, malpractice, and murder would do me some good.

“You’d be with me,” he adds, as he sips on his straw and tilts his head toward the entrance of the park as he continues toward it. “Either way.”

“But how do I know I’m safe?” Visions of that night pop into my mind, and I try to force them away. I yawn, dreading the constant replay of what happened to Carrie when I close my eyes. And the last thing I want to do is go home and be by myself.

“You’re not any safer on your own.” It’s crushing to hear the truth like that.

The sound of hurried footsteps has me whipping around. The frustrated crowd is parted behind me as if someone had forced their way through, but there are no signs of the offender. Something about it sets me on edge.

I jog to catch up and grab Dax’s forearm, on edge and hyperaware. “Did you see that?” His gaze follows mine toward the people on the sidewalk as he gives me one of his best smiles.

“Probably somebody in a rush.” His eyes land on my fingers pressing into his skin. He smirks. “It’s okay. I don’t want to be alone either.”

We’re close enough that I can see the dark cut of his lashes, the faint freckle in the divot beneath his nose, and the trace of scruff along his jaw. The scent of sweat mixed with a warm, earthy tone fills my nostrils. It takes a second for me to regain my composure, but he’s too perceptive.

My grip loosens, and I take a step back, stuffing my hands into my scrub pockets. “I’m adding this to my list of bad ideas.”

“Me?”

This is probably the least bad thing that could happen tonight.

He laughs. I swear he can hear my heartbeat increase from a mile away.

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