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Slowly, I push up to sit and take a bewildered look around. Two white police cars have pulled up behind the car. Three cops in uniform surround us, while another has Dave pinned to the car with his hands cuffed behind his back.
“The other one went that way,” the cop in front of me tells his colleague, who nods and takes off after Karl.
“It doesn’t look like you’re hurt. Are you feeling okay?”
I nod even though I’m pretty sure I’m in shock.
“All right, then. Let me drive you home,” he suggests. Standing, he holds out his hand for me to take.
I stare at it for a moment before taking it. He gently pulls me to my feet, making sure I don’t hit my head on the roof of the car.
“Can you tell me your address?” he asks while leading me to the same car he followed us in. When I don’t get an answer passed the lump in my throat, he follows up with, “Let’s start with your name.”
By the time he’s walked me to the passenger door of his car, I’m still unable to get a single word out.
The cops in uniform barely look at us; they are more worried about Dave in custody and Karl on the run.
“Karl,” I blurt out, realizing they don’t have his name.
“Your name is Karl?” the cop asks, confused.
“No.” I shake my head. “The guy who ran into the woods. His name is Karl,” I explain, loud enough for the nearby cops to hear.
They exchange a knowing look. One of them writes something down on a notepad before the guy in front of me gives his fellow officers a nod.
“Thank you for sharing that with us. Now, what’s your name?”
“Teagan.” I watch his eyes move down to the stitched name on my shirt. “I’m new, and my shirt wasn’t in yet. I borrowed this from Denise,” I explain before he gets a chance to ask.
“All right, Teagan. I’m Griffin. It’s nice to meet you. Now, let’s get you home.” He opens the passenger door of his car for me, and I slide into the comfortable leather seat.
Griffin walks around to the driver’s seat, where he gets behind the wheel and starts the engine. “Do you think you can type your address in for me?” He pulls up a navigation app and hands me his phone. I punch in my address and push the start button.
“Starting route,” the electronic voice announces.
Griffin pulls out of the parking spot and follows the directions to my house. The car falls into an uncomfortable silence. Now that my adrenaline has worn off and I can think clearly again, an eerie feeling crawls up my spine.
I’ve never been involved with the police myself, but I know enough from Jase and reality TV to know that this isn’t right.
“Don’t you have to take my statement or something?”
“Nah.” Griffin waves me off. “You’ve been through enough today. We’ll get it later.”
That doesn’t seem right. If there wasn’t a police scanner on the dash and if he wasn’t actually driving toward my place, I would freak out right now. Still, the uneasy feeling in my gut doesn’t leave.
The more I think, the weirder this gets. How did he know Dave’s name? And how does he know I’m not involved with them? He didn’t even ask for my ID! And his explanation about why he isn’t taking my statement is just odd.
All these questions burn in my mind, but I’m too chicken to ask any of them. I don’t want to open that can of worms. For all I care, those worms can stay inside of that can forever.
TEAGAN
TEAGN
“We’ll reach out to you if we need anything else,” Griffin says before rolling up the window and driving off.
What a day.
And the day isn’t even over yet.
I speed walk up to the second floor, where I share my apartment with my friend, Chelsea. She is still at work, but luckily, we have a key hidden under the mailbox.
Once I’m in my apartment, I double-check the locks three times before I let myself breathe.
I need to call my brother.
Making my way to my room, I grab the phone from my desk and dial his number. He answers on the first ring.
“Teagan!” Jase yells into the phone so loud I have to pull my cell an inch away from my ear.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Thank fuck! I was so worried. While you were inside the hotel, those fuckers drove me to the other side of town and left me there. What happened? Where are you?”
“I’m home now. When I got in the car, I realized too late you weren’t in there. They drove off but ran a red light, and we got pulled over. One of the cops drove me home.”
“You didn’t tell them anything, did you?”
“I never had the chance to say anything. The cop didn’t even take a statement. It was almost like he couldn’t get me away from there quick enough.”
