Page 23 of Rescued By Midnight

I don’t understand this bitter, hard feeling forming in my heart.

My phone stops ringing. I waited too long to answer. It’s for the best.

As I tuck my phone back into my pocket, a figure on the other side of the shoe display catches my attention.

He’s Abe’s height. Abe’s build.

I freeze in place.

The man is just standing there on the other side of the shoes. I can’t see his face, but the way his body is oriented, he could only be staring at me.

He found me. My heart hammers in my chest, faster and faster. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Every part of me is ice.

He’s going to grab me, bring me back. I’ll be surrounded by the silent trees and the clucking chickens and the chilling certainty that I’ll never be free again.

“Hey, Wonderland, are you ready to go?” Landon appears at my side.

I don’t answer. I can’t. My throat won’t move. My lips won’t open.

“Alice.” He jostles my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

It takes more effort than it should, but I lift my arm and point at Abe.

Immediately understanding, Landon springs into action. He hurries around the side of the shoe racks and grabs Abe’s shoulder. “Don’t fucking move,” he growls.

“What? What the fuck, man?”

I snap out of my reverie. That wasn’t Abe’s voice.

Oh, god. What have I done? “It—it isn’t him.” The words come out as a faint croak, so I repeat it louder, adding. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“The fuck?” The man twists away from Landon, who lets him go. “I should sue you, man. You can’t just grab people like that.”

“Please,” Landon says in his authoritative voice, “allow me to explain.”

I bring my feet up to the bench where I sit, and rest my forehead on my knees. I can’t believe how badly I’ve messed up.

LANDON - NOW

It takes a while to talk with the man I accosted. Convincing him to let this go is harder, because I honestly have no regrets. I’d do it again. Someone scares Alice like that, so badly that she’s white and shaking and can’t even speak? Yeah, I’m going to go after the guy first, and ask questions later.

What if it had been her kidnapper? I’d have caught the guy and all of Alice’s most immediate problems would be over.

By the time I’ve handed him my business card and explained as much of the situation as I can without betraying Alice’s secrets, Alice has more or less recovered on the padded bench where she’d been sitting to put on her new shoes.

I squeeze myself onto the bench next to her, half my ass hanging over the side. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I lean in. “Hey. He left. He’s fine.”

“I’m such an idiot.” She holds herself rigidly, not leaning into my embrace like I wish she would.

“You’re not an idiot. Alice, you’ve been through more than just about anyone I know. It’s going to come out in ways that surprise you.”

“Was he even looking at me like I thought he was?” she asks.

“He was looking at his phone, but he was facing your direction.”

She groans in dismay.

I want to lift her into my lap, cuddle away her misery. But she isn’t mine—not like that, anyway. “How about we go get some food?” I ask in a soft voice. “Or ice cream?”