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She pivoted without much of a plan at all, save from stopping him from leaving. But he was already a good two yards away from her, traveling fast away from the hall. After hovering forward another yard or so, he simply faded away into thin air.
“Shit on a cracker,” Bunny repeated to herself in a stunned whisper.
She knew she hadn’t just imagined that whole exchange. The stuff from the counter was still all over the floor; the sanitizer was leaking and spreading in an ominous goo-like puddle towards the papers from the files. Thinking the least she could do was get some paper towels while she was trying to make sense of it all, Bunny turned—
And found herself standing in front of a man.
He stopped walking, his coat swishing around his thighs as it settled into place out of momentum. He couldn’t have been older than forty. Thick black hair brushed the collar, tousled in inky waves that made him look stylish, but broody. His skin was paler than Mr. Lucas’ had been, and that guy was dead. Bunny glared up at him, her hands balling into fists on her hips. He was tall. Really tall.
This wasn’t just any man. It was the man from the funeral. The guy she’d been catching glimpses of. Was he who Mr. Lucas was running from? Mr. Lucas, who was already cold on a mortuary slab somewhere…
“Right,” she said brusquely, determining not to focus on the parts of this that would make her lose her shit. “Who the hell are you?”
He blinked, seemingly surprised more by her audacity than the question. “You need to worry less about me and more about yourself,” he fired back, slipping his hands into his pockets. “You’re woefully behind on your quota.”
Bunny’s mind was in high-alert Nurse Mode. It wasn’t unusual for younger patients suffering from mental instability to be taken to care homes when mental health units in the area was full. Maybe that’s what was happening here? Yes. She had misread the name on Mr. Lucas’ wristband because she was already spooked by the pictures, and her memory of the guy at the funeral had fused with the actual physical presentation of this guy, who was a patient. She clung to that straw for dear life.
“My quota. Uh-uh.” She lifted her watch. “Call security.”
He rolled his eyes and turned away, as though her very presence was a huge inconvenience to him. “Even if they come, they won’t be able to see me. You know that.”
The call was ringing through. “I don’t know what I know anymore,” she snapped. She didn’t like how vulnerable she was starting to feel. Fact was, she was alone with a guy who could hurt her before anyone might arrive to help. Everything else aside, that was a shitty position to be in. Rather than playing it smart, she just got pissed off. “And I sure as shit am not gonna let some crazy stalker tell me about it!” she added.
He actually scoffed in response. “Stalker?” His sleek dark brows lifted in the middle but tilted down on the ends in an expression of sheer disbelief. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
Her pride rose to the challenge. “Yeah,” she said sarcastically, “because I find a guy chasing me at my mom’s funeral and being creepy as hell in my workplace to be super romantic.”
“Who wouldn’t?” He shrugged nonchalantly.
The call finally connected. She was talking before Stuart even had a chance to say ‘hello’.
“It’s Bunny again,” she breathed, staring straight into the man’s inky black gaze. “I have him right here at the nurse’s station—yes, the actual guy. Hurry.”
“Okay, I’m on two. I’ll be there in a sec. Literally. Hold tight.”
She hung up.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” The man sighed arrogantly, tilting his head to one side so that his neck popped.
“Why not?” she asked defiantly, as the elevator began to rumble in the shaft on its way down.
“Because now they’re going to write about it in their report.”
She glared at him. “What report?”
“The one they’re writing about you,” he smirked.
The elevator dinged and the doors began to open. Bunny watched Stuart exit with relief, holding a hand up toward the man she’d caught.
“Can we get him out of here?” she asked sassily. “Clearly he’s deluded, and I’ve got enough other stuff going on tonight.”
“Was there some kind of struggle?” Stuart asked, concerned.
“No. Just a patient. But this guy—”
The next moment, Bunny was robbed for words. Just like Mr. Lucas, the man in black had vanished into thin air.
