AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can you stand?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she responded, sitting up.
I put my hand on her shoulder to steady her, and once I was sure she was okay, we stood.
She wobbled a little, but quickly pulled herself together.
Once I was sure she was steady, I sprang into action. “Get your shoes. Leave everything else.”
“What? Why? We have to call the police!” Her voice rose with every word she said. I grabbed her shoulders and held her gaze with mine.
Didn’t move, didn’t blink until she was still and quiet.
“Get your shoes. Leave everything else,” I repeated.
She didn’t argue this time.
Instead, she walked over to the closet calmly and stuck her feet into the pair of sneakers she pulled out.
“You ready to go out there?” I asked, hoping she was because we needed to move, and I didn’t know much longer our friend would be out.
“Yes,” she said.
I stared at her for a moment, and when I was satisfied, I nodded. “Then let’s go.”
I turned on the porch light, closed and locked the door, and then quickly led Amethyst down the street to my SUV.
She got in and put on her seat belt, but when I drove off, she was facing me.
“There’s an unconscious man in my house. A man who tried to kill me,” she said quietly.
“Yes, but don’t worry about him. As I said, it will all be taken care of.”
“Do I even want to know what that means?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Do you?” I countered, suspecting she didn’t, but knowing Amethyst, she might surprise me.
“Why not call the police?” she asked, clearly dodging my question, which was an answer in itself.
“Because that would bring questions, and questions are a hassle that I am in no mood to deal with,” I responded.
“But…this could be random. He could be some addict looking for quick cash,” she said.
“He isn’t,” I said, my voice showing the certainty that I felt.
There was no doubt in my mind he was a professional, and I needed to figure out who had sent him.
“You’re certain about that,” she said, a statement and not a question.
I answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Does this have something to do with you?”
There was no accusation in her tone, only curiosity, and her query stung all the more because of it. I’d given her no reason to trust me, had given her every reason to suspect me, but I still didn’t like the way her question made me feel.
“Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?” I murmured absently.
She didn’t say anything else but sank back against the car door and closed her eyes, the weight of what had happened clear on her face.
