Page 19 of Flame
Following me.
I surge forward, following this back road onto a larger, busier street. Enough pedestrians crowd the sidewalks here for me to blend in. Panting, I slow my stride to match a gaggle of giggling teenage girls and risk looking back. A man staggers from the alley in my wake. His eyes scan the crowd, hunting. Within a heartbeat, they latch onto my position, and he lunges, pushing his way through the throng of people.
With no other choice, I step into the street, dodging the moving traffic. A driver narrowly misses me by inches, but I make it to the other side unscathed. The man, however, is already doing the same, skirting an oncoming truck.
I keep moving, sprinting around the next corner, and I nearly run directly into another person. They grab my wrist automatically, and I react purely on instinct. I don’t even realize my free hand is forming a fist until I brandish it.
“Hannah?”
It takes me a second to recognize the man gaping at me.Liam.“Are you okay?” he asks. “What the hell happened to you?”
Judging from the way he’s eyeing my face, he can clearly make out every detail of my bruises, despite the dark.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. Though when I scan the nearby street, I realize we’re not far from the bookstore.
“I just got off,” he explains, but his grip on my forearm tightens before I can pull away. “God. What the hell happened—”
“I’m fine,” I lie, evading the hand he extends toward my face. “I… I’m just getting off too. I should go.”
“I’ll walk you,” he suggests, looping his arm around my shoulder before I can refuse. “You were at work all day?”
The suspicion in his tone is painfully apparent, but I don’t have another lie at the ready. So I nod, avoiding eye contact.
“Huh. Branden didn’t come by? He seemed worried about you. You guys get into a fight or something?”
“No. Why?”
“He’s been messaging me all day asking if I’ve seen you,” Liam says. He has a cell phone in his free hand, but, as if aware of my gaze, he tucks the device into his pocket.
Was he communicating with Branden?
“It’s nothing,” I say quickly, forcing a smile. “Just family stuff. You don’t need to bother him.”
“Family stuff.” He smiles in return, but the expression seems strained at the edges.
We’re already back on the main street, though I don’t spot the man following me. Regardless, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m being watched.
Hunted with every step I take.
“I’m not trying to pry or anything,” Liam explains. “It’s just, he was really worried about you—”
“Hannah!”
That voice… I stiffen, sensing someone approaching behind me. I know without turning around who stands there now. His hand lands over my shoulder, bearing down with increasing brutality until I have to bite back a cry.
“I’ll take it from here,” Branden says, presumably to Liam. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Wait.” Liam swipes his hand along my jaw, narrowly avoiding the worst of the bruises. “What happened—”
“I’ve got it,” Branden insists. “Thanks.”
Liam frowns but backs away. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Let’s go, Hannah.” Branden tugs on my shoulder, but I don’t move, digging my heels into the pavement. “You don’t want to make a scene,” he warns against my neck. “All I want to do is talk—” his nails bite down with renewed strength, and he tugs, positioning himself beside me so that Liam can’t catch my pained gasp.
“You’re hurting me,” I croak.
“Good,” he counters, muscling me further down the block and fully out of earshot. “Do you have any fucking idea what you’ve put me through? Do you? It’s like you’re a selfish little brat all over again.”
