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I had managed to escape Malcom, and now I was worried that he was going to come back to finish the job.
I was on edge by the man and woman trying to see me, and the phone ringing almost put me into a full-blown panic attack.
I needed to get home.
My plan for the next few days was formed in my head, and now I needed to put everything into place.
“I s-s-should be leaving.” I didn’t have anything to take with me except for the clothes on me, which weren’t even mine. I wasn’t sure who’s they were, but I assumed they were donated or picked out of the lost and found bin.
Bronwyn eyed me closely. “Are you sure you need to be running off so fast? I get off in an hour, and I can take you home.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to wait another hour, and I didn’t know this woman.
Yes, she was very nice to me, and I didn’t get an off vibe from her, but I still didn’t know her.
If I had learned anything from these past two weeks, it was I couldn’t trust anyone or let my guard down.
“Well, at least let me give you my phone number. You could help ease my mind by letting me know you made it home safely.” She pulled a small notebook and pen out of her pocket. “I have a sixteen-year-old, so I have a mom brain. I’m always worried, and now I’m going to be worried about you.” She scribbled on the pad and ripped the sheet off.
I was stuck on Bronwyn saying she had a sixteen-year-old. She didn’t look like she could be over thirty.
“If you don’t take this, then I am going to leave work early so I can follow you home, but then I’m going to get fired for leaving work early. If that happens, Harlow and I will be kicked out of our apartment, which means we will have to live with you.”
My eyes snapped to Bronwyn’s. “W-w-what?”
“I also have a pretty active imagination. All I need is one single thought, and I can go from one extreme to the next.” She shook the paper. “So, take this, call me, and then I won’t have to live with you.”
“I will b-b-be fine.”
She just stared at me.
“Honestly.” Bronwyn did not need to worry about me. I was a big girl, and I already had a plan of what I needed to do when I got home.
She shook the paper. “I deal with a teenager every day, Tess. If you don’t take this piece of paper, then you are going to have to deal with her, too.”
I snatched the paper out of her hand.
She smirked and folded her arms over her chest. “I knew that would terrify you.” She pointed to the paper. “Call me within the hour.”
I rolled my eyes and shoved the paper into my pocket. “Yes, m-m-mother.”
“I’m barely old enough to be Harlow’s mom, Tess.” She sighed and blew her hair out of her face. “I probably would have had you when I was three or four. Being sixteen and pushing Harlow out of my who-ha was traumatic enough for me.”
Whoa. Bronwyn did not at all look to be in her thirties. Totally did not look at all old enough to have a sixteen-year-old.
“Pick your jaw up off the floor, Tess, and get a move on it. You have fifty-eight minutes to get home before I come looking for you,” she warned.
I rolled my eyes and saluted her. “Bye.” I slipped out of the room and beelined toward the stairwell at the end of the hallway.
On top of being worried about Malcom, I also was worried that I wouldn’t be home in time and Bronwyn would send out the calvary to make sure I was okay.
This was why I tried not to leave the house, and when I did, I didn’t talk to anyone.
I jogged down the stairs and pushed open the door at the bottom. I slipped down the hallway to the front door and spotted the car waiting for me in front.
As I walked past the information desk, a man and woman were talking to the person behind the desk.
“We just want to talk to her for two seconds,” the man said loudly.
Oh boy. That was the man who was upstairs talking to Bronwyn before.
I quickly glanced at him and saw he was wearing a black leather vest with a huge patch on the back. The woman standing next to him was beyond gorgeous and stood closely next to him.
I had never seen either of them before.
I slipped through the revolving doors and stepped outside. I glanced over my shoulder back into the hospital, and the woman turned toward me. Her eyes connected with mine, and I spun back around.
I yanked open the rear door to my ride and dropped into the backseat.
“Tess?” the driver asked.
I nodded my head and put on my seat belt. “Y-Yes.”
He shifted the car into park and pulled out of the parking lot.
I looked behind us and thankfully didn’t see either the man or woman.
I had made my escape, and I would be home in plenty of time, so Bronwyn didn’t come looking for me.
My whole body ached slightly, and I laid my head back.
Just fifteen minutes, and I would be home.
Fifteen minutes.
I could make it that long.
I had made it through the last two weeks. What were fifteen minutes more?
My eyes closed, and the next time I opened them, the driver called my name.
“We’re here, ma’am.”
My eyes snapped open, and I saw we were parked in front of my house. “One s-s-second.” I opened the door and jogged up the sidewalk to the front door.
I grabbed my spare key from behind the porch light and opened the front door.
Kit sat on the kitchen table and stared at me expectantly. “One second, Kit,” I called. I grabbed a wad of spare cash off my desk and headed out.
I handed the driver the fare for taking me home, and he drove off.
I was finally home.
Now I needed to get my plan in motion.
