Page 15 of Forgotten Vows
I didn’t have an abundance of time to go home and change on this break to start with. Now, because I was stuck in my head and riddled with paranoia about someone watching me, I’d forgotten the one thing Ihadto have just to get back into the hotel and reach the basement level.
Fuck!
I paused, slowing down until I stopped completely. Torn with indecision over what to do, I gave that paranoia a chance to creep back in and consume me. I wanted to get back to work, to be hiding in the hot, steamy hellhole that was the laundry room. No one could reach me there. But I had to run home to grab that fob just to get into that safe place.
The longer I delayed on the sidewalk, the more I hated to have to leave the security of being in broad daylight among others. Witnesses would be on my side if someone attacked me. Others, like innocent bystanders, would step in if I were in danger at all. I wanted to be able to count on the human decency of civilization, the way the rest of the world worked outside the Mafia world I’d been raised in.
Just go. Hurry. Get the key fob and get back to work.Fear of missing out on clockable work time bothered me too. Money was too tight to lose a minute of pay or be docked for being tardy after a break.
I sucked in a deep, nervous breath, then turned to go against the grain of pedestrian traffic. Weaving around others, I kept my head down to avoid making eye contact. I tried not to bump into anyone, lest they try to plant a tracker on me or pin me with anything I didn’t want to be near me.
But it didn’t matter how much I relied on my acquired street smarts. Nothing would change the fact that as I retraced my steps to hurry back home, someone was tailing me. Someone was watching me.
Stalking me.
A flash of a glimpse in a storefront window showed me the reflection behind me. And it was all I needed as proof that it had never been a figment of my imagination. It was real. Not paranoia. This time, I was right.
That man was back. The suited man who’d dashed through my neighbor’s yard was near again. Too near.
He tailed me through the streets, never losing me and maintaining a consistent number of yards behind me. I dodged and wove my way past obstacles like people, parked cars, and carts selling goods, but it didn’t stop him from sticking to me. Without staring directly at me, he showed how good he was, keeping me in sight while not being obvious about it.
I gulped, forcing a harsh swallow with my dry mouth and throat. I was parched, desperate for a drink of water. Something. Anything. Because this dizziness nauseated me as panic sank into the marrow of my bones.
Picking up the pace, I jogged to cut down an alley. I prayed I could reach the other side of a row of buildings and he might miss me.
Only once I was near my neighborhood again did I risk looking over my shoulder. I ran as I peeked, checking frantically that no one was following me.
He was gone. For now.
The man wasn’t behind me. Not tailing me steadily. Not rushing to close the distance between us. His black suit was nowhere in sight.
But he’s still there.
He’s still out here, ready to get me.
This wasn’t a new delusion or trick of the eye. I had to stay guarded no matter what.
The rest of my sprint back to my house was a blur of worry and anxiety. Adrenaline forced my arms to pump faster and my legs to stride longer. Despite the heat and how this panic was making me sweat through this uniform I’d just changed into, I couldn’t dare to slow for a single second.
I slammed against the front door, relieved I’d made it at last. Between the lost time that I needed to get back to the hotel on time and the worry that someone would snatch me away or shoot me on the sidewalk, I knew it was time to call for a ride out of here. I never splurged like that. Money was too tight. But for the sake of reaching my workplace one more time to get my last paycheck—which was cash given to me off the records, like I asked—before getting Lev out of here, I would need to hunker down in a car to get back there.
My fingers shook and trembled as I fit my key to the lock. It didn’t matter how I tried to steady myself, using both hands to accurately jam the key into the hole, I dropped it again.
Lowering in a quick stoop, I blinked at the dizziness of ducking my head too low, too soon. But as I stood back up again, keys in hand, I spotted the man running toward the house.
Fuck! No!
He’d found me. He’d caught up. And it was my mistake now. Of course, he’d come back here. He’d tracked me here once so it wasn’t odd that he’d try his luck again. He knew where to reach me.
Giving up on the key in this door, I curled my fingers around them and held on tight. Then I plastered myself to the exterior wall of the house and scooted back in the thin gap between the bushes and the rough surface of terra cotta.
Scrapes lined my arms. Tugs of my flesh showed how I forced myself through the narrow space. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Wedging in there, I held my breath and forced myself to keep going. If this was my only way to hide, I’d take it.
Sliding along the perimeter of the small house, I hurried to turn around the corner and rush toward the back door. Through the thick branches of needles of the evergreens, I couldn’t see if the man was tracking my movement. If I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see me.Right?I wanted to hope. I’d pray. I’d beg any god that was listening to spare my life so I could continue to protect my precious son.
Once I reached the back door, I checked that the man wasn’t around. No one stood in the back. Only the breeze of the wind whistling through the tall weeds in the back perimeter of the property sounded.
Okay. Good. So far, so good.
