Page 67 of Whiskey Run Heroes

“Kali Foster,” a woman calls from across the room.

I stand up and walk away with the man’s eyes watching me with a wary expression. I shake it off. I apologized to him; there’s not much more I can do.

The interview goes really well. “Your resume is impressive. You’ve accomplished a lot in a very short time. You must have had very little time for socializing in college to get so much done.”

“Yes, well, I’m very driven and passionate about sociology and psychology. I want to help people. I worked while I was in college so yeah, I didn’t really waste time socializing outside of school and internships.”

We talk about the job, and even though it’s an entry level position I know it’s exactly what I need to one day be able to get closer to my goal.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

In all my preparation, I had assumed there would be a question like this, and I’m ready for it. “I want to help injured veterans. Help them acclimate back into society, show them there is still a great future for them. They are heroes in my eyes, and I want them to see it too. That is my ultimate goal.”

She sits back and taps her pen on the desk, looking at me curiously. “That’s very interesting, and it seems you feel very passionate about that. Why is that?”

“My brother-in-law is in the military,” I tell her, leaving out the fact that Nico is part of a mercenary team. That’s the only explanation I give.

She’s looking at me as if waiting for me to go on, and I shrug my shoulders and smile broadly at her.

She leans forward. “Well, I have a great feeling about you, Ms. Foster, and I’ll likely be in touch with you really soon.”

I’m happy when I shake her hand and leave the office. I pretty much glide onto the elevator, not even thinking to look for the guy from earlier. The elevator is crowded as I step on, and I’m not paying attention to the other passengers. I’m too busy thinking what it will mean if I get this job.

I can pay my rent for a few months and save up to get my own place. Maybe I can get a loan for a newer car. Mine isn’t going to last too much longer. Anna is going to be so excited for me.

The elevator stops on the third floor, and people get off.

I shift to let them by.

The elevator stops again, and more people exit on the second floor. For a minute, I think I’m alone on the elevator, but when I look to the left, I find there’s still one passenger.

Male. His profile looks so much like... but it can’t be him. I turn to fully look at him, and my stomach drops. It can’t be him. It can’t be Miles. The man that kidnapped me when I was in high school.

He’s dead. Nico said he was dead, and my brother-in-law wouldn’t lie to me.

The doors open as he turns toward me, and I race out of the elevator and across the lobby. I crash into the doorman, who tries to help me, and when I turn to point at Miles, he’s not there. Not in the lobby anyway.

“Miss, are you okay?” the doorman asks as I cling to him.

“He kidnapped me.... he—”

But before I can get it all out, the doorman reaches for the phone beside him. “I’m going to call the police and building security to see if the man threatening you can be located.”

I keep watching behind me. Everyone in the lobby is staring at me, and I’m not sure what to do. Nico assured me that Miles was dead and couldn’t ever harm me again. Do I really want to start a new job, assuming I still have a chance at it, by launching a manhunt after a dead man?

“No, no. Please. I’m fine. I just want to leave,” I tell him, pulling away. I’m so embarrassed, I all but run from the man and down the steps that lead to the parking garage.Am I hallucinating now? I can’t believe this is happening!

I open the door to the parking garage, ignore the darkness, and stride toward my car. As I get close, Miles steps out of the shadows with a smirk on his face. I blink hard, watching as his lips turn up in a vicious smile.He’s real. I’m not hallucinating.

Run!

It’s what everything inside of me is screaming to do, but I can’t. Physically, I can’t move. Flashbacks of Miles kidnapping me all those years ago has bile rising in my throat. I stand there frozen, staring, wanting to know if what I’m seeing is real.

“Miles?” My voice is shaking so hard I can barely form the name, but it registers with him, and his eyes grow more intent as he reaches out and pins me against my car.So real. I’m so dead.

“How stupid can you be? Thanks to you, Miles and Victor are dead,” he says, naming the two men that tormented me.

“I... I didn’t kill them,” I tell him as I try to pry his hands off my shoulders. “Please, what are you doing?”

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