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Like last time, he nodded in reply.
Like last time, he followed me, maintaining three steps behind as I walked down the long hallway toward the women’s restroom that everyone on this floor of the building had access to.
And, like last time, he stepped into the bathroom with me, looking into each stall. Only this time, one of the stalls was closed, and when he knocked, a woman emerged, looking frustrated to pieces.
It’s not every day a burly man invades the privacy of a women’s restroom.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” was all he said, watching her scurry away without even washing her hands.
“I’ll be outside,” he added to me.
Then he walked out the door, where I knew he’d be positioned, preventing anyone from entering. I needed to hurry. I hated that nobody was allowed to use the restroom here until I was done.
Before I turned around, though, something slammed into my back, and something else pressed against my lips, muffling my scream, spinning me so my body was now situated away from the only escape.
“I’m going to need you to be quiet, Ms. Payne.” The man’s breath heated my ear.
I know that voice.That sandpaper voice that was hiding the real one beneath it.
“Will you promise not to scream?”
I nodded, knowing it was the only way he would release me from his irritatingly strong grip.
He let me go slowly. My heartbeat accelerated as I turned around and stared directly into the mesh-covered eyes of the Vigilante’s mask.
The last time I’d seen the Windy City Vigilante was four days ago, when he’d shown me crime scene photos, trying to convince me to drop the manhunt against him. A deliberation that had echoed around in my head since, but I hadn’t gone to the mayor on his behalf, nor had I quit the team hunting him. Maybe he heard as much from his ears on the street and had finally lost his patience with me.
The stall where the woman had run from—that’s where he must have been hiding, and based on the frightened look on that woman’s face, she hadn’t been hiding with him willingly.
What if he was here to make me pay for not heeding hisrequest?
I tried to run past him, but the Vigilante was like a predator, locked in on every movement of his prey. In a flash, he blocked my path with his gigantic body, causing me to bounce off the expanse of his chest and abs, rocking me on my heels.
Scream, Luna.
No. Not yet. If he’s here to enact vengeance against you for not convincing Mayor Kepler to stop his hunt, the Vigilante will slit your throat, and there will be nothing the bodyguard can do to save you.
Get away from him. Wait for enough distance between the two of you, then you can scream.
“How did you get in here?” I asked, taking a step back.
He reached over and turned on the faucet, all the way up, drowning out conversation to anyone who would be listening.
“Getting in wasn’t difficult, Ms. Payne. Being patient enough to wait for you to show up was the hard part.”
“You held a poor, defenseless woman against her will.”
He shrugged. “I knew if your bodyguard was decent, he would sweep the room before letting you inside. I needed someone in that stall.”
“She might tell my bodyguard you’re in here,” I realized, hope taking flight in my chest.
“If she did, he’d have busted in here already.”
The hope came crashing down, but I tried to keep it alive, taking another step back. “Then she’s probably calling the cops right now.”
“Most likely.”
Which meant he’d have only four or five minutes before the place was surrounded.
