Fuck it.
I was going to go back to talk to her, but before I could, a bus stopped in front of her. She hurried on as soon as it came to a stop.
Sliding my hands into my pockets, I grinned as I walked to my car.
No, that wasn’t the smoothest meeting…
But it was a helluva start.
Chapter Two
Fascinating
Briar
For satchels of Richards
ONCE I WAS locked in my apartment, my lungs opened fully, allowing me to breathe deep until the tingling in my fingertips dissipated.
I’m alone.
I’m in control.
I made it a week, and I can keep going.
At least for another week.
Maybe…
Distracting myself from my toxic thoughts, I flipped through my mail. It didn’t offer much diversion since it was nothing but catalogs, coupons, and other junk I had no use for. I set my purse on the kitchen island and reached in like I was Mary Poppins with a bag of chaos.
Not feeling what I was looking for, I turned it upside-down and dumped out the mess. Even though it was obvious right away that my phone wasn’t there, I took the time I didn’t have to sort through, placing each item where it belonged.
With order restored, I searched my apartment only to confirm what I already knew.
I was missing my cell.
Shit.
I must not have picked it up when everything spilled.
My phone was basically a glorified meme machine. I could’ve waited until the next day to get it and the only one who’d notice was the robot trying to reach me about the extended warranty I didn’t have for the car I also didn’t have. But waiting meant I wouldn’t have it in case of an emergency, and that made me anxious.
What else was new?
Awesome. First, I set myself off by planning dinner with Aria. Then I got knocked into and made a mess. Then I made that situation even worse by getting caught checking the guy out. And to top it off, I lost my phone and have to go back out into the world.
Stellar day.
I really am my worst enemy.
Sighing dramatically, as though it were the world’s biggest inconvenience—because it kinda was—I left my tiny fortress of solitude. I probably should’ve asked a neighbor to use their phone so I could call Aria to go outside and look for me. But that would’ve meant human interaction—not to mention the risk of her finding out I’d lied about my plans—so I hopped back on the bus and rode to the center to look for myself.
When I got off, I scanned the gutter and area around the stop. Coming up empty, I went inside on the very off chance someone had turned it in.
I was nearly at the main reception desk when someone called, “Briar!”
I decided right then that being yelled at from across the room was nearly as bad as being startled. All eyes in the busy lobby shot to me, making my skin crawl.
Derrick strolled toward me, holding up my cell. “Missing something?”
Relief flooded me. “Thank goodness.”
“Someone found it on the sidewalk and turned it in. I knew it was yours.” The sadness left his eyes as he gave me a small smile. “The case gave you away.”
Since the elegant, old fashioned script said to Consume a satchel of Richards—a classier way of saying eat a bag of dicks—it would be memorable.
I took it from him, tucking it carefully in its correct spot in my bag. “Thank you.”
His smile dropped, and he launched into lecture-mode. “You got lucky. There’s so much personal information automatically stored on phones now. All your passwords, accounts, location tracking… You’ve got to be more careful.”
Whatever brief hint of relief I’d felt was gone in an instant as all the worst-case scenarios flooded my brain.
Oblivious to my inner panic, Derrick continued. “I was just leaving to drop it off for you at the shelter on my way home.”
I was about to ask why he’d go there when I remembered my earlier lie to get out of dinner with the other group members. If he’d discovered the truth, it would’ve been a clusterfuck of my own making.
That’s it.
No more lies.
I have enough secrets to keep. I don’t need to weave anymore webs to trap myself in.
Swallowing past the lump in my dry throat, I hoped my words sounded lighter than they felt. “I’m glad I saved you the trip.”
That wasn’t a lie. I was so fucking glad I’d come in search of my phone instead of waiting.
“I better get going,” I said, leaving off any mention of returning to the shelter so it wasn’t a mistruth.
“I’m heading out, too.”
Greeeeeeat.
We walked in awkward silence next to each other. As we approached the bus stop, my thoughts drifted to the bodyguard and the mess he’d caused, ruining my day.
Fine, and also how sexy his smile and fascinating honey eyes were. I could spend hours studying them, picking out each different hue of brown.
A hand touched my upper arm, and my defenses shot up.
“Earth to Briar,” Derrick said.
“Sorry, zoned out. Did you say something?”
He smiled. It wasn’t sexy and his sad eyes weren’t fascinating. “I said to have a good night.”
“You, too. And thanks again for keeping my phone safe.”
“No problem. Just remember to be more careful. See you next week.”
He kept going toward the parking lot just as the bus pulled up.
Let’s try this again.
Chapter Three
Followed
Him
DAMAGED.
I’d never seen anyone so damaged or broken. Especially not someone so young. Pretty girls her age should be filled with excitement and hope at what the future held. She should be light—the antithesis of me. But she was… gray.
Like static on a TV, she was technically ON but not in a way that mattered.
Standing in the dirty alley outside her apartment, I watched through her window as she moved around her space. She was oblivious to me watching her, just as she’d been oblivious to me following her.
She disappeared from my view. I didn’t
