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“More like tall, dark, and psycho.”
Hannah shrugged. “Eh. Same thing.”
“I’m calling in the favor you owe me.”
“That was fast. Want me to wait on him?”
“Please.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Hannah pasted on a smile as she sashayed toward him. Marnie kept to the shadows, not wanting to meet his gaze. He scared her, mainly because he seemed so certain she had seduced this man named Dan. Which, by the way, he was more to blame than Rebecca since the man knew he was cheating on his wife.
“Hey,” the bartender said. “You okay?”
“I think that guy at table twenty-one is following me.”
“The one Hannah is waiting on?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll get Alex to kick him out. Make sure you have him escort you to your car when we close. All right?”
Relief coursed through her. “Yes. Thank you.”
He left long enough to get the bouncer, and Marnie covered the bar for him while he was away. A few minutes later, she saw Alex walk over and talk with the man. He shot her a glower before rising, threw down some cash, and stormed out. A sense of relief filled her.
The rest of the night was anticlimactic. At closing time, Marnie and Hannah wiped down tables, took out the trash, swept, and restocked the condiments. Alex came in and escorted her to her car. Once safely inside, he waved at her and she started her engine. As she flipped her headlights on, a truck behind her also turned on their lights. Her heart rate skyrocketed as fear filled her. Was it that man? Or just her overworked imagination? Trying to convince herself it was just a coincidence, she headed home. Along the way, she took a series of turns hoping to ditch the truck, but every move she made he countered. It quickly became evident she was being followed.
There was no way she could lead him to her apartment.
Spur of the moment, she headed back to Bec’s house. During the day, the gate to the subdivision stayed open. At night, however, they closed. She sped there and used her clicker to open the gate. Once through, she blocked the entrance until it closed again behind her. The truck paused and idled, almost mocking her, before it roared away.
Her hands shook as she continued to Rebecca’s home. She parked in the driveway and hurried inside, setting the alarm. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, she wiped the stress tears rolling down her cheeks and went up to the guest room. After a hot shower, Marnie crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Trying to block the crazy man from her mind, she forced herself to relax. Still, it was a long time before sleep claimed her.
****
The next morning, the ring of her cell dragged her away. Looking at the caller ID, Rebecca’s name flashed and she hurried to connect the call.
“Bec? Where are you?”
“I’m away for the holiday,” Rebecca said airily. “I’m calling to ask if you could house-sit for me.”
“I’m already here.”
“Why are you already there?”
“Long story.”
“Well, whatever. There’s a hamster and cat in the basement.”
Marnie blinked, unsure if she heard correctly. “Excuse me? Since when do you have pets?”
“I don’t have pets, but Simon does and I told him I’d watch them. Then I forgot I said I’d watch them and left with Peter.”
Clearly Simon didn’t know Bec very well. Poor animals were probably dead. “Who are Simon and Peter?”
“Don’t ask questions when you don’t want to know the answer.”
