“I don’t know. It was very dark that night, but there’s something about him that seems very familiar.”
“Might be the tattoo.” I didn’t want to freak her out any more than she already was, but I had to ask, “Did he see you?”
“I don’t think so, but I can’t say for sure.”
“Fuck, I should’ve never let you come outside.” I was standing there, trying to decide on my next move, when I felt her inch up next to me. Her entire body was trembling with fear. Damn. I slipped my arm around her as I tried to reassure her, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“But what if he saw me? What if he comes here? What if—”
“I won’t let him or anyone else hurt you, Remington. I’d kill him before I let that happen.”
I could see the wheels turning in her head as my words started to sink in. She stood there for several seconds, just staring back at me until I finally said, “We need to get you inside, and then we’ll take things from there, okay?”
“Um-hmm.”
I reached down and took her hand in mine, guiding her away from the view of the street and to the back row of storage units. When I knew we were in the clear, I looked down at her and said, “Go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“But—”
“Go, Remington.”
Without any further objection, Remington darted up the backdoor steps and into the house. Once she’d closed the door, I made my way back over to the fence to check out the guy we’d seen. As I’d hoped, he was still there yelling and acting a damn fool with his woman. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and sent a message to Menace, letting him know that we might have a problem. He assured me that he’d take care of it, and I trusted that he would, but I still had a gut feeling that things were about to take a drastic turn. And they would—just not in the way that I thought.
Remington
I don’t know what scared me more—seeing that man in that old gas station parking lot or Noah’s reaction when I told him what I’d seen. He was clearly freaked, which only made me worry even more. I’d done like he’d said and went inside to wait for him, but I couldn’t stop myself from checking the window every five minutes. Sensing something was wrong, Ada came over and poked her head around the curtain. “Something going on?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I looked over at her as I continued, “I think I saw someone, but I’m not sure.”
“Who’d ya see?”
“One of the men who attacked me.”
“Oh my.” She gasped. “Noah out dare looking for him?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I stepped away from the window as I told her, “He told me to wait for him here, but I really want to go back out there and see if I—”
“You’s need to stay put, child. Dat boy can handle dis on his own.” Ada shooed me over to the sofa. “Now, gets over dare and have yo’self a seat until he come back.”
I knew there was no sense in arguing, so I did like Ada said and went over to the sofa. I’d just sat down when the front door opened and Noah stepped inside. Without saying a word, he walked through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the room where he’d been staying. Seconds later, he came barreling back down the hall with keys in his hand. “I’ll be back.”
“Wait, you’re leaving?”
“Rafe will be here to keep an eye on things until I get back.”
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he walked out and closed the door. Seconds later, I heard his motorcycle engine crank up and pull out of the storage lot. Stunned, I grumbled, “Seriously?”
Ada shook her head, then went back to sweeping the kitchen floor. It wasn’t long before Rafe, the brother Noah had told me about, showed up, but he didn’t come in. Instead, he kept watch from one of the storage units. I looked back over to Ada and was disappointed to see that she was still busy cleaning. I’d hoped that she might come over and talk to me. I thought one of her funny stories might take my mind off things, but instead, she disappeared into the laundry room. Seconds later, she returned with a bucket and mop and started washing the floor. I felt guilty just sitting there, so I got up and asked, “Can I give you a hand with something?”
“Dat’s mighty kind of ya, darlin’, but you don’t needs to do nothing. You’re still not all dat well.”
“I’m fine, Ada. I’d like to help. Besides, I could really use the distraction.”
“Well, all right den. Da beds need changin’ and floors vacuumed.”
“I can do that. Just tell me where to find the clean sheets and the vacuum.”