Page 19 of Red Hunt

“Am I being released right now?”

Niki turned to her computer, wrote a few lines, and ended with an enthusiastic click on the button.

“Yes, you are. You need to come in tomorrow so we can do an MRI, make sure everything is okay. But other than that, there’s really no reason for you to have to stay overnight.”

She walked across the room and handed me a pair of crutches, which she adjusted to my height, and then she sent me on my way with a prescription of pain meds I wouldn’t take and firm instructions to stay off my leg as much as possible.

When I opened the door and exited the ER, there was nobody outside. It was probably way after midnight by now, and relief settled deep in my belly. He’d gone home. I wouldn’t have to deal with the stranger, after all. I took a couple of very clumsy steps, rounded the corner, and there he was. He was leaning against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. He definitely didn’t look like he had just been on a rescue mission and down in the mud alongside me.

Since I was traveling at the speed of a turtle, I had enough time to examine his face, and something clicked.

He was the guy I doused in cake earlier, the one in the cafeteria. My first instinct was to run. Was he stalking me? Following me around?

For a moment, a fleeting moment, I wanted to turn around and go in the other direction, but one look at his face told me that wouldn’t fly with him. And since I couldn’t outrun him, the best way forward was head-on.

“You bumped into me. Earlier in the cafeteria. Are you following me?”

He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. And there was a good chance I had. But better careful than dead. I looked him dead in the eye, not backing down. A contest of wills. Which I won when he looked down at his feet, shook his head, then chuckled.

“Rest assured, I’m not a crazy stalker. But I followed the ambulance here, so technically, yes, I have been following you.”

He looked back up. His eyes…open, his features friendly…harmless even though he was built like a tank.

“You look good, though. Better than expected. I didn’t think you’d be able to put weight on that leg so soon.”

So, he had thought about that? I gave myself a mental head-slap. Of course, he had. He wouldn’t be here otherwise.

“I’m fine, just tired.”

He nodded, but his eyes narrowed, and his focus sharpened. He probably knew I was full of shit and that the pain was killing me.

“Why don’t I drive you home, and we’ll get that prescription filled on the way?”

I looked down at the prescription in my hand, then back up at him. I wanted to say no. Wanted to tell him I was okay and didn’t need a ride, but the sad reality was I didn’t know who to call and taking a ride home on the bus sounded terribly tedious. I could slip into Grandpa’s room, sleep in a chair, but I just about had had enough drama for tonight.

All this but I wasn’t dumb enough to just get into a car with a stranger. I would never be dumb enough to do such a thing. Niki chose that moment to step out of the ER and came straight at us.

“Hey, you two, I didn’t expect you to still be here.”

She looked from me to him and back to me before she turned to Max and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You offered Milli a ride home, right?”

Max chuckled. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I offered, but I don’t think Milli feels like going home with the stranger is a good idea.”

Niki turned to me next, her arms still crossed like a schoolteacher breaking up a fight.

“I completely understand. But I can vouch for him. He’ll get you home safe”—she turned back to Max, who nodded—“and I’ll call you in an hour to check if you got home safely. Deal?”

I nodded. This was Whitebrook, not New York, after all. He lived in Moon Lake now, just like me. Niki knew him. And I probably would’ve met him sooner rather than later. Moon Lake was tiny. Not many secrets. Not many strangers, at least not for long.

I took a deep breath. I was totally faking my bravado because, despite all the logical reasons why, I shouldn’t feel as hesitant as I did. My body didn’t get the memo. Rationally, I knew the past was in the past. Not everyone was a predator. Not every man was out to hurt others. Only the tight feeling in my throat and my too-fast beating heart didn’t follow rational thinking. The only things my body remembered were my experiences with men coming to my room at night, groping me, doing unspeakable things to me. One hour was enough to destroy a life; one hour would be enough to destroy me.

I shook my head. I wasn’t a child anymore. I wasn’t helpless. And I had good people around me. People who cared for me. People who cared enough to look out for me. And people who would never give me up to a stranger they thought would do bad things to me. At least I hoped so. I steeled my spine.

I would trust him. For now…to get me home safe. But only for that. “Okay.”

He might have watched me a bit too closely because as soon as I’d made my decision—but before I said anything—he’d changed his stance and gone was the relaxed stranger.

“Let’s get going then so we can at least get a couple of hours sleep before morning.”

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