Page 28 of Walking Red Flag

Don’t just assume ’cause you see me on my porch that I’m home.

—Cutter to Chevy

CUTTER

Leaving her in the woods went against the grain.

And even after I lost sight of her, I still stayed, thinking about how it felt wrong to just leave her out here in the middle of nowhere.

But at least she wasn’t on the road.

Anyone could’ve hit her out there…

I was heading back to my bike when movement caught my eye.

I would not admit how excited I was that she might come back, but that excitement quickly died.

Two women were running up, both of them looking very well put-together for them to be doing exercise.

What was the point of twenty pounds of makeup when you were just going to sweat and ruin it?

“Was that her?” I heard one of them ask.

I walked away from the two women and back to my bike, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t listening to their entire conversation.

“That’s her.”

“Hazel, she’s totally stalking you. Didn’t you say that she hated this part of the trail, and that’s why you came to this part?”

I looked up to see who was talking.

The blonde was the one to reply.

Obviously, she was the one addressed as Hazel since she answered next with, “Yeah. I feel like she’s just desperate. Her family is crazy over the top, and maybe they just rubbed off on her.”

“You said that her family was bad. That her brother was in the military?” the redhead chirped as they came to a stop in front of the bathrooms. “How do you have a family that’s in organized crime, yet still go into the military? Isn’t that sacrilegious or something?”

That definitely had me intrigued.

Were they talking about Milena?

I had my confirmation in the next moment. “Milena is a conundrum. She’s never actually told me that her family is bad, but she always has a bodyguard when we go out and drink. She also lives in that gated community at the end of the lake over there.” She pointed to a point across the lake. “You don’t need the kind of security they have if you’re not trying to protect your ass from retaliation.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against my bike, not even trying to hide the fact that I was listening into their conversation.

“The worst part is, she broke up with Asher,” Hazel said. “Seriously, Rayann. That man was the one, and she kicked him to the curb because he wanted to go out and have fun. And she always hated going. He’d ask her to go out with his friends to dinner, and she’d refuse. Asher thinks it’s because she felt like she was too good for him and his friends. Which is a joke. He was too good for her.”

The Rayann chick looked appalled. “I’ve met Asher a time or two. He’s the stock trader, right?”

“Right,” Hazel replied. “And he has a ton of money.”

My gaze went back to Rayann.

For a small woman, she had a big personality.

Normally, that would be an attractive trait.

But for this woman, it made her abrasive and in your face.

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