“Oh no thank you, I have a ride.”
Just then the alert we all had on our cells sounded indicating a monitor was needed urgently downstairs. I was the manager on duty tonight as Dion wasn’t even supposed to be there. He’d only stopped in while Emily was visiting Clare, so this was on me. A second alert sounded, indicating a medical emergency, and I apologized but hurried out.
I would have to follow up on Lottie later.
Chapter two
Lottie
**please be aware this chapter contains an attempted assault.
I chewed my lip as Walker rushed out, watching how his broad shoulders moved under his shirt. My tummy did a funny flip-flop. I'd told a tiny fib about having a ride—I was taking the bus so I could save my cab fare for Thursday. Outside in the cool night air, I hugged Mr. Snuggles tight against my chest, still feeling warm all over from being near Walker. The way his strong hands had wrapped around the mug when he made me tea, the low rumble of his voice when he asked questions...I shivered, and it wasn't from the cold.
The bus stop was empty. I had ten minutes until the next one. I smoothed my dress beneath me on the bench, crossing and uncrossing my legs. Something about Walker made me feelsquirmy inside, like butterflies were dancing between my thighs. I hadn't felt that way in...maybe ever? The thought of those large hands on my skin, maybe turning me over his knee when I'd been naughty, made my cheeks burn hot in the night air.
When the bus arrived, I barely noticed the driver or other passengers. I sat near the front, watching city lights blur past the window while daydreaming about Walker's stern face softening just for me. How he might pull me close, whisper that I'd been a good girl, and then...My breath caught. I squeezed my thighs together, suddenly very aware of the tingling warmth spreading through me.
"Nebraska Avenue," the driver called out, jolting me from my thoughts.
I looked up, confused. This wasn't my usual stop—during the day, this bus continued another half mile to Maple Street, much closer to my apartment.
"Excuse me," I said, approaching the driver. "Doesn't this bus go to Maple?"
"Not after nine, miss. Route changes. This is the last stop on this line."
My stomach dropped. "Oh." I hadn't considered that the route might be different at night, and the last time I'd been I'd splurged on a cab with it being later.
With no other choice, I stepped off the bus, immediately feeling vulnerable as it pulled away. Two blocks. It wasn't that far, but in this neighborhood, after dark...
I sucked in a trembling breath and forced my feet forward, sticking to the cracked sidewalk beneath the flicker of a lone streetlamp. My fingers dug into Mr. Snuggles’ matted fur as I quickened my pace. Just two blocks. Nothing could happen in two blocks.
The first block passed in eerie stillness: a boarded-up convenience store bristling with graffiti, its metal grates rattlingin the wind, and a dim laundromat where an old man’s stiff back was bent over a folding table. Nothing to fear.
Halfway through the second block, laughter shattered the quiet—a jagged, drunken cackle—and the clink of glass bottles. Three silhouettes reeled out of a dark alley, their shadows stretching long and threatening. They walked in a loose triangle, swaying, a paper bag sloshing with something heavy between them.
I darted across to the opposite curb, head bowed, heart hammering so loudly I thought the sound might leak from my ears. Maybe they wouldn’t see me. Maybe they’d stagger on by.
“Hey! Hey, pretty girl!” The first man’s voice slurred like poisoned honey. “Where’re you off to, all alone?”
Panic coiled in my stomach, and I moved faster, clutching Mr. Snuggles’ arm. My pulse thundered in my throat.
“Aw, c’mon, sweetheart,” growled the second, his tone harsher, edged with hunger. I heard their footsteps pivot, crunching gravel as they crossed the street.
My lungs burned. Just half a block. Home was so close.
“She’s got a teddy bear, fellas!” the third laughed, words slurring together. The sound scraped against my skin. “What’s wrong, baby? Need help?” I nearly broke into a run but thought better of it—running meant giving them reason to chase. I kept my eyes on the distant neon sign of my apartment building. Then a hand like iron clamped on my shoulder, yanking me around. I stumbled, breath whooshing out as the man’s ruddy, liquor-scented face filled my vision. His eyes burned with something feral.
“Where d’you think you’re going?” he snarled, leaning in so close I tasted whiskey on his breath. His friends closed in, their grins crooked and cruel.
“Please,” I whispered, voice shaking like a leaf. “I just want to go home.”
His gaze trailed down my pink dress, making me feel dirty. “Pretty thing like you,” he slurred, “shouldn’t be out here by yourself. We could show you a good time.”
I swallowed bile. “No,” I managed, voice cracking. “My—my boyfriend’s waiting.”
They laughed, a grinding, terrible sound that echoed off the brick walls. “Boyfriend, huh?” The tallest one closed the gap. “Don’t see any boyfriend.” He reached for me, fingertips brushing my cheek, cold and uninvited. I shrank back until my spine hit brick, my heart slamming against my ribs. Trapped.
“Let me pass,” I gasped. The words were small, almost swallowed by the night. The first man’s hand shot out, grazing my cheek and dragging down my arm. His grip crunched painfully around my wrist. The other two pressed in, shadows pooling around us.
