Page 43 of Bravo

Please don’t give me away.

A steely gaze levels on me. “This is not a place to sleep, girl,” he snaps.

“I’m not trying to sleep. I promise. Just resting. I’ll be gone soon.”

Yelling echoes in the distance, though it grows closer.

They’re closing in, and they won’t hesitate to kill this man just for looking at me.

“Please, sir, I’ll go. Just get inside.” I stand, but my legs turn to jelly, and I fall back into the hard wall.

The stranger must notice the blood saturating the front of my shirt because his gaze narrows further on me before raisingin the direction of the angry voices. He reaches for me. “Get inside, girl.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You have to get inside.” Tears sting my eyes as I try to move away from the building, but my legs won’t cooperate. Every step I try to take sends me falling right back into the wall. Rain hammers the ground, the storm above picking up speed.

“Inside. Now.” He reaches forward and pulls me inside then shuts and locks the door. I look down. My toe is already drenched in blood, a stark crimson against the white tile I’m standing on.

“You’re making a mistake. You need to put me back outside. Please.”

The man says nothing, just takes my hand and pulls me toward an office chair situated in front of a computer. He takes the Bible from my hands and sets it on the counter beside me. It takes me a moment to gather myself enough to actually look around, but as I do, I note comfortable-looking animal cages with two wide-eyed dogs staring back at me, both of them with their legs wrapped.

A glass-front refrigerator sits on one wall, prescription bottles filling its shelves. A bookcase stands beside it, also full of medication, and as I glance around the room, I note there are medical supplies organized carefully throughout the entire space.

The man retrieves a clean towel from a cabinet and grabs bandages, a bottle of cleaner, and a small sterile bag from a shelf then returns to me. “Let me see your arm.”

I hesitate for only a moment before I hold it out. The gash is deep, and blood continues to drip from the jagged wound. He wraps it in the towel. “Keep this pressed to your chest to apply pressure,” he orders. I do as he says. “What’s your name?”

“K—” I start but stop myself. “Sammy,” I reply, using the nickname the marshals gave me instead of the one my mother gave me at birth. A name I haven’t gotten to use in over a year. Maybe one day. If I survive this.

He pulls a short stool over and sits down. “I’ll let the lie slide, Sammy. What happened to you?”

A buzzer rings, and I jump. He turns over his shoulder and glances at a security camera. My blood turns to ice in my veins as I take in the black-and-white image of Jexton and Bruiser, the two men they sent after me. The image may be grainy, but I can see the harshness of their murderous gazes.

My stomach twists into knots so hard I can barely breathe.

“You have to let me leave,” I insist, panic setting in. “I can sneak out?—”

“You’re going to bleed out if you try to go anywhere,” he says, gesturing to the already-soaked towel pressed against my arm.

“They’re going to kill you,” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks.

The man’s expression hardens. “I’m not that delicate.” He stands and crosses over toward the security monitors then presses a button on the side. “Can I help you?”

“We’re looking for my sister,” one of the men replies, his tone a façade of worry. “She fell and hit her head, so she’s disoriented and confused. We think she could be a danger to herself and others.”

“I am so sorry to hear that. Did you try the police station? They’re right down the street. There’s a hospital two blocks over too.”

“We’re headed there next. Please, sir, can we come in and just take a look around? She might have snuck in somehow.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m locked down for the night. It would have been impossible for anyone to have snuck in without my knowing it.”

“Please, sir,” he insists, tone more frustrated now. “Can we just come in for a moment? Look around?”

“Normally, I wouldn’t have an issue with it, son. But tonight, I have two animals who are very sensitive to strangers and are barely clinging to life as it is. I’m afraid I cannot risk them hearing you enter and losing their minds.” The man forces a soft sigh. “But if I see anything, I’ll be sure to contact the authorities. I hope you find her safely.”

One of the men glares up at the camera, a challenge in his gaze. Can he sense me in here? Does he know that the stranger is lying? I hold my breath, waiting for him to use the brute strength he’s known for and kick in the door. “I appreciate that,” he replies then reaches into his pocket and withdraws a business card, holding it up for the camera. “Here’s my number. Please call me first. She’ll panic if she feels cornered.” He leaves it in the mailbox near the door.

“Understood. Good luck. I pray you find her.”

---