Page 65 of Vetted for Vengeance
No. Not practical, but something will come.
But…
Something shifts behind the tree line.
Not wind.
Not an animal. Too deliberate.
I stop walking.
Watch.
Wait.
For a second… just a second… I see the outline of a man.
Still. Watching.
Not moving when I move.
Then he’s gone.
The memory of the man in the shadows returns from the restaurant.
I change direction without thinking.
My movements change. Slower. Quieter. Outside, I walk with a casual purpose. I can't hide my actions from anyone hiding at my destination, and I don't want to. Let him see me coming. I want him to know I’ve seen him. That he made a mistake. Let him see the raging bull I'm unleashing if I find him.
But I also need the practice behind me to see a sane man.
I know I won't find anyone in the trees; the distance feels too long. Too exposed.
If he runs, I won’t catch him. But I want to spook him enough to make him run. To make his heart pound in his chest and a cold sweat break out across his body.
Because when I catch him, I’m taking that pounding heart right out of his body.
By the time I get to the trees, there's nothing unusual there. Well, except me creeping around the trees like I'm sniffing for ideas. I am too late.
The grass is flattened behind the tree; the delicate dew drops clinging to each blade of grass seem disturbed in a jagged line leading to the edge of my land. Beyond the boundary fence is a farmer's field. I'm staying on his good side, buttering him up in case I ever need to convince him to sell me some land. I don't need more room yet. There is still space on my own land left to develop, but I still can't go chasing a ghost across his field.
I'll chalk this one up to paranoia, but I'll be obsessing over this part of the garden until I'm certain there is no one out here.
Back inside, I'm still on high alert. Danger seems to lurk everywhere. I'm not used to this. The danger isn't pointing atme. I'd prefer it if it were. I enjoy taking danger head-on. Breaking it. Ending it.
This is different. This is a danger lurking behind me, not after me, but targeting the one thing I can't convince to stay in the same room with me. The danger is targeting Noah and I don't like this feeling.
Okay, so the danger is only his parents and a weirdo waiting outside a public restaurant, but I know danger and it's here.
“Martha, I want someone checking the cameras whenever possible, especially down the bottom of the carpark by the green.” I flash her my best attempt at a normal smile, but I see the way she flinches. I need to convince her that I'm sane. “Two reasons. I'd like to know how many clients use that part of the car park, and I also want to know the second Noah’s parents return.”
They are the type of people who will return until they get what they want. My eyes glanced at the same tree where I had seen someone.
I'm not sure his parents ever left. Or if they’re the only ones watching.
Chapter thirty-two
Noah
