Page 2 of Monsters in Love

I retract my baton. It’s not exactly legal here, but I would rather be cited for carrying a non-regulation weapon than be dead.

The poor girl is shaking. She is shorter than I am even with her platform heels. She reminds me of a porcelain doll with her creamy skin and delicate stature. Up close, I see that her blue eyes are contacts and she may not be a natural blonde.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She looks at me as if she’s waiting for something.

“What?” I ask. “Oh god, do you speak English?” Panic rushes me as I try to scrape together the bits and pieces of conversational French and Spanish that I took in high school and college.

Maybe I can download a translation app on my phone...

“Yes, I can. I’m sorry, I can’t believe you saw me, let alone helped me,” she says, her voice high and sing-songy like a trilling bird. “Thank you so much.”

Rage against the man came over me once more. I’m taller than the average woman and I do not look like anyone’s version of frail or delicate. I take pride in being able to hold my own bussing tables and balancing huge trays at my old restaurant.

She oozes vulnerability, and whoever the guy was knew it. “So, is he a boyfriend or something? Is he going to cause any trouble for you in the future?”

“No, he’s not a boyfriend. I don’t know him at all, but I’ve seen him around now and then.” She crosses her arms, shivering despite the muggy air.

“You have a stalker? Girl, no offense, but you need to watch out. I’m not trying to be mean, but guys like him can put you in their pocket and walk away and no one will even know.”

Instead of the anger I expected, she ends up laughing. “Yeah, I normally have a couple of other people with me, but I wanted a little me-time on my day off before going back to work. Besides, we don’t have good reception there.”

She shows me the phone in her hand.

I swallow a groan. Being aware of my environment has been drilled into me since I started middle school. It isn’t fair, and I should have the right to feel carefree and safe no matter what, but as my parents would say,that’s the way of the world. “You know better than to go out alone again, right? At least not be distracted on your phone alone in public?” I say, somehow sounding a little like my mom.

Her face lights up in a brilliant smile. “No, I swear,” she says. “My name is Adalyn Wilde.”

I shake her proffered hand. “Karis. Karis de la Cruz.”

“Well, if you’re free, Karis, I would love to treat you to a drink or a meal or something. I don’t work for a few more hours, and I was going to grab a meal before my shift starts.”

“Is there a restaurant nearby?” I ask. The food court is in the opposite direction and I don’t see any restaurants in this area.

“It’s in the lower level,” she says. “Just through this door.” She points to a drab metallic door with a flat panel where a door latch would be.

“Was the door always there?” I muse more to myself than her.

She laughs in that sing-song way of hers. “Blends in with the wall, doesn’t it? But don’t worry…” Her voice trails off and her already large eyes widen as she looks past me. “Oh no,” she gasps, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the door. “Run!”

I glance behind me, looking for this source of danger that scares Adalyn. There’s nothing there. “Wait, what’s wrong?”

She fumbles at the panel, fitting her hand over the pad. It lights up in an array of colors. The latch clicks, but before the door opens, a sort of seizure overtakes Adalyn’s body.

I want to help her, but I can’t move. Something locks my entire body in a vice. Any semblance of coherent thought slips from my mind.

Something large and invisible lifts Adalyn’s contorted body up in the air. Her phone clatters to the ground at the same time a call tries to connect. A single word, Bronn, flashes on the screen.

Through the microphone, a gravelly voice says, “Adalyn?” before the display shatters.

Bile threatens to claw up my throat as I’m suddenly weightless and buoyant. A harsh vice wraps around my middle and around my wrists. I can’t even cry out.

The contents of my bag spill across the floor. My cell phone lights up with a cheery text from my mom. “Love you, Kar-Bear! I know you’re having so much fun! Text us back when you arrive at your new place!”

Tears blur my sight as I desperately fight to reach my phone and the last connection I might have with my mom. Black shrouds the edge of my vision, until all I see are pinpoints of light and then nothing.

Bronn

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