Recalled (Death Escorts #1)(53)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“I trust that you will. You’re time has dwindled. Finish the job.”

I looked toward the window. It was dark.

“How long was I… was I gone?” I asked, trying desperately not to think of that place.

“Several days,” G.R. said, stepping away from the couch.

“Days?” I asked, shocked.

“Yes, now I really must be going. I have other Escorts and deaths to attend to.”

I stood there in shock as he seemed to create a doorway out of thin air and step through. Then it closed behind him, leaving me alone.

I suddenly had a very strong aversion to being alone.

There was a noise behind me and I turned to see Hobbs coming down the stairs. I’d never been so happy to see the butler in all my life.

“Hobbs,” I said, the relief clear in my voice.

“What has happened? Who was that man?” he asked, leaning more heavily on his cane than I’d ever seen before.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I said, staring at the spot where Grim had disappeared.

“I am very good at the unbelievable,” Hobbs replied.

I shook my head and swayed a little on my feet.

“How long’s it been since you have eaten?” Hobbs asked, going into the kitchen. “You look horribly drained.”

I was drained. Every single thing inside me was completely emptied and then replaced. All to prove a point.

I sank onto a stool at the island.

Hobbs picked up the pot and smelled the black liquid that looked more like mud. “Um, sir. How long has this been here?”

“I have no idea, Hobbs,” I said. “Probably days.”

He made a noise and then began moving around the kitchen. I barely paid attention to anything he was doing. I kept slipping back into that world of nothing. The next time I looked down there was a steaming cup of coffee, practically white with creamer.

I picked it up and drank about half in one great gulp.

“I would apologize for being gone longer than expected, but it seems you haven’t noticed,” Hobbs said, refilling my cup.

“It’s been a strange few days,” I muttered, drinking more. I noticed the sound of sizzling bacon and the smell of scrambled eggs. My stomach growled loudly.

“Does this have anything to do with the dilemma we discussed before?”

“Something like that,” I said, running a hand through my hair.

“Maybe it’s time you explain everything to me.”

“I can’t.”

“Maybe I can help you,” he said, setting a full plate in front of me. For the first time ever, the bacon wasn’t appealing.

“No one can help me,” I said.

“I don’t believe that.”

“Believe what you want,” I muttered, shoving a bite of eggs in my mouth. It didn’t taste as good as usual, but I ate it anyway because my stomach felt like it might consume itself.

Hobbs said nothing else and I continued to eat in silence, trying not to think of where I’d been. Grim made his point. Being recalled was the worst thing I could ever imagine. Actually, it was worse than anything I ever imagined.

I couldn’t go back there.

“I have to finish the job,” I said to myself.

“What job?” Hobbs asked.

I stood, my chair clattering to the floor. “I have something I have to do.”

“Wait!” Hobbs called behind me. “What is it?”

“I have to do it,” I told him.

I grabbed my keys and went out the garage door.

“There is always a choice,” Hobbs yelled after me.

He didn’t understand. He didn’t know what it was like there… floating for days. If he did, he would understand. I couldn’t go back there. I wouldn’t.

This time I had no choice.

Chapter Forty-Six

“Fight – A confrontation between opposing groups in which each attempts to harm or gain power over the other, as with bodily force or weapons.”

Piper

When we got to the sidewalk outside my apartment building the man had to pull the gun away from my head. Relief washed over me just because I didn’t have to feel the cold metal of the gun against my skin. But I knew I was far from danger.

He jammed the gun into my side and in low menacing tones he said, “Act normal or I guarantee I’ll shoot you right here and leave you to die on the pavement. Then I’ll go back upstairs and shoot your friend.”

I couldn’t let anything happen to Frankie. After that vision I had, I knew if this guy got anywhere near her again she really would die. I nodded and began walking. He nudged me along down the sidewalk a bit and when we passed by the small space between my building and the one next to it, I swear I saw something in the shadows move. I averted my eyes because I was afraid I would be too tempted to call out for help.

We came to a nearby alleyway and he told me to turn so I did and saw he had a car parked in the center. I didn’t pay attention to the make of the car because I was looking around for something I could use as a weapon.

Once we were out of the way of prying eyes, he shoved me to the side of the car, to the back door, and he flung it open. “Get in,” he said.

I shook my head.

“I said get in!” he demanded.

“And I said no!” I yelled and kicked him in the knee. He moaned and bent forward and I lunged passed him, running farther into the alley. I knew I should be running in the opposite direction, but I’d never make it past him. I just really hoped this didn’t turn out like a bad horror movie where the dumb chick gets it.

But I had to try. I had to at least attempt escape. I knew if I got in that car I wasn’t getting out alive. And his threat to Frankie was probably no good by now. She was probably already out of my apartment and on her way for help. If I could stall him or get away… that would be my best chance.

At the very back of the alley was a chain-link fence. When I reached it I skidded to halt but rammed into it and it made a loud clattering sound. My noise alerted two great big Doberman pinschers on the other side and they began barking and snarling. I swear one began foaming at the mouth. One of them tried to stick its head through a large cut in the bottom of the fence, snapping at my foot.

I looked over my shoulder. The man and his gun were dashing this way.

I had a choice to make. The dogs or the man with the gun.

I was going with the dogs. I dropped down on my butt and pried the fence up as high as it would go.

“Nice, doggie,” I tried but quickly realized that wasn’t going to help me.