Page 29 of Knight's Journey

Chapter Eleven

Bridget fought off a cringe when the cashier repeated the total which was also displayed on the card reader in front of her. Her bright idea to cook something special for Mathias and Marlowe had her extending her grocery budget quite a bit, but she reminded herself the quality family time would make it worth it. She swiped her debit card and used the stylus attached to the card reader to add her signature. While the receipt printed, she finished adding the bags of groceries to her shopping cart. She smiled her thanks to the cashier and shoved the receipt in her purse, pushing the cart out into the parking lot.

The overcast sky had darkened while she was in the grocery store. As she hurried across the asphalt, she felt a fat droplet of water land on her head, the moisture running down her scalp. She picked up her pace, determined to unload and climb into her car before the predicted deluge fell from the sky. Other customers were also hurrying to and from their cars, never pausing to check their surroundings as they tried to escape the impending rain.

Bridget made quick work of piling her groceries into the truck and slamming the lid down. She checked for oncoming traffic and pushed the cart across the aisle to the rack. As the cart’s wheels bounced over the edge of the rack, she glanced up and froze.

Mirrored sunglasses shielded his eyes, odd on a stormy day when the sun had barely peeked from behind the clouds, but not as odd as the fact he watched her. She guessed he never expected her to catch him staring, but with his sedan positioned right in front of her, he was hard to miss even with her passing glance. The car was also one she recognized, one she thought belonged to a neighbor since it’d been parked on her street a few times.

She jumped when the car’s engine turned over, headlights piercing her eyes. She turned and ran back to her car, the raindrops falling a bit harder, dampening her hair until it clung to the sides of her face. She depressed the unlock button on the key fob so she could jerk the car door open as soon as she reached it. She all but fell inside, yanking the door closed behind her and securing the lock. By the time she peered back across the aisle, she was breathing heavily from the exertion…and the sedan was gone. She twisted her head to try and find where the car had disappeared to, but it was nowhere to be seen. Still, she stared until the rain fell too heavy for her to see out of the car windows.

She struggled to put her key into the ignition, and then she noticed her hands shaking. Forcing deep breaths in through her nose and out her mouth, she willed herself to calm down. She was safe. Whoever the guy was, he didn’t attempt to come after her. He didn’t attempt to talk to her or grab her or anything else nefarious.

Icy fingers of fear tickled her spine, and she felt the color drain from her face. What if he was still close by, but out of sight? What if he followed her home? He knew she was alone, so what if he was waiting to get her away from the busy supermarket before he made his move?

Her thoughts churned down a crazy path until she finally searched her purse, cursing the cluttered space until she found her cell at the very bottom underneath all her stuff. She scrolled through her contacts for the number she never expected to use but for some reason saved in her phone anyway.

“Yeah.”

The unorthodox greeting had her voice catching in her throat. The deep voice sounded gruff, almost annoyed at being disturbed with a phone call. Bridget almost hung up, but he spoke again, sounding angry this time. She forced the words out in a rush.

“Cole? It’s Bridget. Bridget Kincaid. From the side of the road. You know, your fiancé’s car broke down. We stopped to help. My niece fixed it. You said I could call you anytime for anything. You probably don’t remember—”

“Of course, I remember.” His voice softened, the warm tone calming her nerves. “Syd still wants all of you to come to dinner. What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“I have to work.” She spoke absently, her eyes still scanning the parking lot for signs of the sedan. “Listen, I hate to bother you, but I’m at the grocery store. There was this car and this guy. He wore sunglasses, and it’s raining. He stared. He was watching me. I know he was. He’s gone now, but…well, I feel silly saying it out loud, but I’m creeped out. I just…what if…you know, he could be waiting somewhere…I can’t see…”

She couldn’t complete a sentence as her thoughts tumbled together. She had to sound crazy to him, but she felt safer being on the phone with Cole.

“Are you in a safe place now?”

“Yes. At least I think so. I’m sorry. He’s gone, but I worked myself up and got paranoid. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“Listen to me, Bridget. Text me a location pin, and I’ll come to you. If he comes back, call me. Don’t confront him or put yourself in a position for him to approach you. Understood?”

And the panic returned. “Yes.” The one word came out more as a whisper.

“I’m coming to you. Sit tight and send me your location.”

The phone beeped as the call ended. She opened her messaging app to send him her location as he asked. With one last glance around the parking lot, satisfied the sedan wasn’t lurking nearby, she rested her head against the back of her seat and closed her eyes. She went from cursing herself for overreacting to believing someone was stalking her until she thought she was losing her mind.

She jumped off her seat, her hands slamming against the steering wheel, when a knock sounded on her window. Her heart stopped until she registered Cole’s face through the rain-streaked window. He wore a rain jacket with a hood pulled up over his head. He motioned for her to unlock the car door, which she did without hesitation. He slid into the backseat behind her. She jumped again when the passenger door opened, and another man climbed inside. Her mouth gaped open when Zane shoved the hood to his own rain jacket down.

“What are you doing here?”

“Not now. Tell us about this man.”

She shook her head. “It seems crazy to say it out loud, but he was driving this car. I swear I’ve seen it on our street the last few days. I thought it was my neighbor’s car, but he’s not my neighbor. I don’t think he is. Anyway, I went to put my cart in the rack right over there, and he was parked there. He was staring at me. Well, he had to be. He had these sunglasses on. They had mirrored lenses, so I couldn’t see his eyes. But it’s raining. Who wears sunglasses on a rainy day? But he left, and I haven’t seen him. But what if he’s waiting to follow me home? I mean, that happens, right? You hear about this kind of stuff all the time.”

Zane reached out to cover her hand with his. “It’s okay, Bridget. Take a deep breath. Nothing’s going to happen to you while Panther and I are here.”

She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth, drawing strength from his hand against hers. Feeling calmer, she met his eyes, her lips curving into a slight smile.

“Thank you. What the hell is Panther?”

This earned a chuckle from both of them, and the sound had her relaxing a bit more.

“That would be me,” Cole spoke up from the back. “Can you describe the car and whatever you can remember about the man?”

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