Chapter 4

A deep sigh escaped me and I realized I had been holding my breath. My body was tense.

I made my way back towards Trinity. She was smirking at me.

“What?” I laughed as I scratched the side of my head looking away. I’m sure she had caught my interaction with Adrian.

“Nothing,” she said. “I see you met Adrian.”

“Oh, do you know him?” I asked.

“Of course.” She paused and stated, “He’s well-known. His family’s been here for years. They own a lot of property and businesses around here.”

“Oh,” I said trying to sound uninterested but my eyes told another story.

“He’s definitely single,” she offered.

I smiled and then caught myself. “Well, that’s none of my business. I am not getting into that. Nope.” My face got serious for emphasis. Trinity looked at me and smirked.

“Okay. If you say so. I don’t blame you.”

I sat at the bar for a while and before leaving me and Trinity exchanged numbers. We definitely connected. She was around my age, 23, but was going to school during the day and bartending in the evenings. I needed a friend and I already knew that’s what we would be.

As I walked home, I thought about Adrian. For the first time in I don’t know how long I was thinking about someone other than Tristan. I shook my head. In my experience rebound situations didn’t end well either.

I sighed as I reached for my phone. 1:28 a.m. Wow. It was late for me. I wasn’t a bar type of girl. I was usually home sipping wine watching tv and falling asleep on my couch. That sounded great right about now.

After walking for a few minutes I realized I wasn’t sure where I was. The bar wasn’t far, about 10 minutes away from where I lived, but I was caught up in my daydreaming I didn’t even know which way I was heading.

I typed my address in my maps on my phone but I had no service. “What the hell?” I spoke out loud. This had to be a joke. I looked around trying to figure out where I was, starting to get a little nervous. ‘I should probably just head back to the bar,’ I thought to myself. I turned around to head that way unsure of the exact direction. I wasn’t that far and I wasn’t even drunk anymore. The situation with Adrian sobered me up and now this.

My anxiety started to set in and I was getting flustered. I felt panic coming on. I took deep breaths trying to calm myself, but I was on a freaking street I didn’t know the name of in a new city I had been in for less than 24 hours at 1:30 in the middle of the night. Shit.

Before I could think of my next move I heard a voice.

“Is everything okay?” I jerked up and there was a man a couple yards away from me halfway hidden in the shadows. Where did he come from?

He was a handsome enough, younger-looking man, but there was something off about him that made me uneasy. I didn’t like it. I was very intuitive and good at reading people. I needed to get away from him.

“Yeah. I’m good. Thanks,” I responded back eyeing him as I continued to walk away. He started to come closer and I was about to freak. I started backing up not taking me eyes off him.

“Are you sure? You look lost,” he said a slight smirk, almost unnoticeable grew across his face. His voice was deep and flat.

“No - I - I’m not.” I fumbled with my purse realizing I had left my taser in my luggage. ‘Fuck,’ I thought to myself trying not to give away any emotion.

The man slowly continued closer. I looked down at my phone again. No service. Now I was looking around to see if there was anyone I could call for help but the area was empty. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered to myself.

Suddenly I felt a cold, sharp breeze that caught my breath. He was now right in front of me. I gasped. His fingers wrapped around my neck. I was frozen in fear. What the hell? How did he get to me so fast? I didn’t even hear him.

The man dug his face in my neck.

Did he just smell me?

He pulled back and looked at my face, now intrigued.

“Let go of me!” I yelled pulling at his hand. “I have money and cards in my purse. Just take it,” But I was sure that’s not what he was after. I was now fighting his grasp, but he was so strong, too strong. He laughed mockingly at my useless efforts and that pissed me off. I kneed him between the legs but it didn’t phase him.

“Oh, so you are a fighter. I like that,” he grinned. He pushed me up against a building, his body now pressed against mine, hand tightening around my throat. I was struggling to breathe and I could feel him getting turned on. I was frantically fighting him now but to no avail. Tears started to roll down my face out of anger and fear. I tried to scream but no words came out and that only seemed to intensify his lust. Was this really happening?

Suddenly a somewhat familiar voice called out.

“That’s not a good idea. Let her go.” We both turned, and relief filled my face when I realized it was Adrian, but he wasn’t alone. He was with the man from earlier and a tall, pretty red-head woman, both of them stoic with their gazes. The stranger that had me jerked away and made a snarl, almost growling type sound that made me look back at him.

“Did he hurt you?” Adrian asked, a look of concern on his face.

‘Aw how sweet,’ I thought to myself. He was worried about me.

Was I seriously thinking like that at a time like this?

“I’m okay,” I answered back.

Adrian started walking towards me and his companions followed.

“Adrian” the man grunted. I looked up startled that he knew his name.

With another sharp breeze, the man took off. So fast. I ran towards Adrian. He was the only familiar thing I knew at the moment. He put his arms around me as I got close to him and I didn’t fight it. I just had the worst experience ever and I needed to feel better.

That was the last thing I remember before I passed out.