Chapter 26
Luke
“You didn’t have to come, but thank you.”
“I’ll always come, Em. No matter what, if you need me, I’m there. Now, tell me what happened because, don’t tell Alec, but once he said you were in trouble I may have blacked out on anything else that followed. I think he said something about you noticing a grey car following you?”
It shouldn’t have taken this for me to realize how much she still matters to me, but it did. I’ve spent the last few weeks fighting the pull she has on me, but I’m done fighting. I know it’s my fault she didn’t call me; I haven’t given her any reason to think she could have turned to me for help.
“I had an appointment with a realtor this morning to check out some apartments not too far from the office. While we were leaving one of the buildings, I noticed a grey car in the parking lot—”
“What stood out about it?”
“Nothing really.”
“Out of all the cars in the parking lot, you focused on that one. Why?”
“It wasn’t there when we went into the building.” The words spill out after a few minutes of silence. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but I…I knew all the cars that were there when we arrived, and then what was different when we left. This one was new.”
“Okay, but not unusual. Someone came home from work or shopping or something.”
“Right, but then the same car was at the next building when we were leaving.”
“You’re sure it was the same car?”
“Pretty certain. I mean, I can’t swear on it, but I think it was.”
“Okay, then what?”
“That was the last apartment we were looking at today so the realtor left and I sat in my car for a few minutes checking my email. I didn’t think too much about the car, because the Camry is a pretty popular car, especially in that color. I planned to go back to the hotel, but when I pulled onto the main road I noticed the car wasn’t far behind me. I thought it might all be in my head, you know maybe I was just being paranoid or something. So, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things. When I left the store I didn’t immediately see the car, but just as I was backing out of the parking spot it was there… almost like he was waiting for me.”
“Shit.”
“I stopped at a few other places just to see if he would lose interest.”
“But he didn’t. Why didn’t you call the police?”
“And say what? A grey car might be following me, but he’s not threatening me. Hell, he hasn’t even gotten out of his car yet? Oh and by the way, I was kidnapped and held captive as a child so I may or may not be crazy.”
“You are not crazy!” I hiss.
“I didn’t think they would do anything, so I didn’t call them. Maybe I should have…”
“What made you call Alec?”
“I…I just had a bad feeling. I didn’t want to go back to the hotel, though I’m pretty sure he already knows where I live. I didn’t want to go to the office, which Alec suggested, because then he would know where I work. So I just started driving, and when he didn’t stop following me, I called Alec.”
Fuck. I wish she would have called me. I get why she didn’t, but still.
“Did you get a look at the driver?” I asked.
“No. He had glasses on and a hat, I think. He didn’t get out of the car…well, that I know of. He could have been in the store with me and I wouldn’t have noticed.”
“I’ll check the database when we get to my place, but he should still be in jail.”
“He is,” there is no doubt in her voice.
“You’re certain?”
“I have notifications set up; any time he is moved to a different facility or something happens, I’m notified.”
“I didn’t think he would have gotten out yet.”
Turns out we weren’t his first victims. Luis George had done this before. I never did get all the details—really I didn’t want them—but from what I understood, he kept records of each of the boys he had taken over the years. I was the fourth one, while Emily was the first female, at least according to what they could find. There were no records of what happened to the boys, but my guess is they were either killed in the fights or he sold them to someone else. Because of everything they found, he was sentenced to more than twenty-five years in prison. Parole is something to worry about, but with his long record, no one seemed to think he would be granted it.
“Do you know anyone in Virginia? I know you didn’t before, but maybe since you moved here?”
“No, just everyone from work.”
“You haven’t…dated anyone or maybe met someone?”
“No.”
I don’t know why, but hearing that she hasn’t is like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I shouldn’t care if she’s found someone here. Hell, I should ne fucking be happy for her if she did.
“Maybe someone from the hotel? Anyone you talk to regularly?”
“No. I keep to myself.”
“We’ll get a call with Alec, maybe between the three of us we can figure out who this might be.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry to pull you both into this, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
“We’re happy to help. Until we figure out what’s going on you can stay with me.” The words are out of my mouth without a second thought.
“Luke…are you sure? I’m fine staying at the office or getting a room at a different hotel or—”
“You can stay with me,” I repeat, letting her know there is no room for argument. “I have plenty of space and there’s no place safer for you.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
“Thank you.”
I keep a constant eye on the rearview mirror as I drive, but a quick glance at Emily confirms I’m not the only one being cautious. She’s constantly searching our surroundings, more so than she usually does—not that I blame her. I wish like hell there was something I could do to put her at ease, but the best I can do is to take her to my place. I’m purposely planning to take a longer way to get there, actually going past my exit and backtrack just to make sure—
“Shit.”
“What?”
“We’ve got company.”
“Are you sure?” She immediately turns around, checking behind us.
“I’m sure,” I grunt. “Climb into the backseat and lay down—”
“What? No! I’m not going to hide!”
“Em! I’m not fucking telling you to hide. I’m trying to keep you alive! You don’t know who this bastard is. What if he has a gun? If he can see you, he can get an easy shot fired.”
“But—”
“Go!”
She mumbles under her breath, but a few seconds later she climbs over the console and slides into the backseat. Meanwhile, I’m forced to split my focus between the rearview mirror and the traffic in front of me. I quickly take in my surroundings, knowing I need to come up with a plan to lose this bastard before we even get close to my house.
“Put a seatbelt on, things are going to get a little bumpy,” I say as I note the exit coming up fast.
Emily doesn’t respond, but the faint click of the belt confirms she did as I asked. Just before it’s too late, I cut across all three lanes of the highway and take the exit. Unfortunately, the fucking asshole following us catches on and slams on his brakes giving him just enough time to follow us. I knew losing him couldn’t be that easy.
“Luke?”
“Just a few more minutes and he’ll be gone,” I vow as I quickly put together a new plan.
Call it a side effect of what happened to me, but when I bought this place I quickly plotted out several different ways to get to and from the house. I used the excuse that it would be helpful if the main roads were ever closed, but the reality is, wherever I am, I need to know how to get away quickly. It was the same thing when we purchased the office. If I ever need to get away quick, I need to know I have several options available to me. I don’t want to be stuck…not like before.
“I feel like I should be doing something,” Emily mumbles from the backseat.
“I know, but just stay down. It’s almost over.”
I take a few more turns, hopefully confusing him so he doesn’t figure out my destination. Up ahead is an on-ramp to the highway, the same highway we got off of not more than ten minutes ago. The difference is this one has a very short merge lane, which can either work in my favor or against me. At the last minute, without using a turn signal, I yank the wheel cutting off a truck heading towards us in the opposite lane. A quick glance behind me, confirms at least this part of my plan worked. The grey Toyota is forced to wait until the tractor trailer and several cars after him pass by. In the meantime, I floor the gas and quickly merge onto the highway once again cutting someone off. I don’t let up on the gas as I weave in and out of lanes trying to put as much space between us and the Toyota as possible.
I don’t see him behind us yet, but I know he’s there somewhere. I quickly take the next exit, hoping like hell I put enough distance between us that he’s not close enough to follow. Passing through an intersection, I quickly spot the parking garage I was looking for. I grab a ticket and pull through as soon as the arm raises, quickly driving to the top floor. Parking the truck so we’re facing the entrance, I let out the breath I was holding.
“You okay?”
“Did you lose him?”
“Yeah, he’s gone. You can come back up here.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
I reach back and offer her my hand, which she quickly takes. Her hand trembles slightly in mine, but she pushes past it and slips back into the seat next to me. She immediately takes in her new surroundings, glancing out every window before finally landing on me.
“Thank you,” she whispers.