Anonymous(10)

I mirror his stance against the other wall. “How’s all the undercover stuff going? Jake and I barely see you these days.”

He shrugs. “It’s fine.”

“Just fine?” I laugh. “You’re one of the best undercover agents around. You’re a hot commodity.”

The haunted look in his gray eyes makes my heart hurt. “It’s a hard job, Ells. I’ve seen and done things I’ll never be able to tell you about.”

“Hey,” I rub my hand on his arm, “I’m always here for you if you need to talk.” I love Kimberly to death, but she doesn’t exactly have a compassionate bone in her body. At her age, she’s still all about herself.

Owen sighs. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He crosses his arms and smirks. “So, a baby, huh?”

“Yep. We’ve been trying for a couple of months. With him being out of town a lot, he’s gone during the prime times. It probably won’t happen for a while.”

He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “That’s great news.”

I know him well enough to know there’s something bothering him. “What’s up? Are you scared it’ll cut into your bro time with Jake?”

He looks around the room and then back to me. “Of course not. It’s just—now that Kimberly knows, she’s going to push me hard to start a family.” His eyes get wide, and I instantly understand the pressure.

Kimberly opens the back door and waves at me. “Ellie, come on!”

Owen motions toward the door and winks. “Go. I need another shot, or twelve.” He joins the guys, and when I look at the back door, Kimberly’s already disappeared.

Walking outside, there are people everywhere; the crowd consists mostly of Owen’s friends from the police department, along with their wives and girlfriends. It’s dark, with only a line of tiki torches casting a glow on everyone. It looks magical and ominous at the same time. Maybe it’s because there are a few zombies and bloody killers with chainsaws.

I spot Kimberly across the yard, standing with her two friends. I make my way over and accidentally bump into someone. Being the clumsy person I am, I stumble over my feet and almost fall, but the man steadies me.

“I am so sorry,” I gasp. “I guess I didn’t see you.”

His fingers trail down my skin as he lets me go. I can’t see his face because it’s hidden underneath a green hood—the same costume Arrow wears. Spine-tingling chills run through my body and I step back. He doesn’t say a word, just steps past me into the crowd. I rush over to Kimberly, my rapid breaths the result of a fear I hadn’t felt since that day I went running, the day it felt like someone was watching me.

Kimberly touches my shoulder. “Ellie, you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I peer out at the crowd of people, not finding the man in the green hood, but I can feel his eyes on me. “Have you seen a guy dressed like Arrow?” I ask, desperately searching her face and the other two women. Their names are Brianna and Lisa and they work as nurses with Kimberly at the hospital.

Kimberly shakes her head, but Brianna nods and points toward my favorite Japanese Maple tree in Owen’s yard. “There was a guy standing over there by himself. I think he was dressed like the guy from Arrow. I remember thinking it was odd he was just standing there, not even on a phone or anything.”

It’s all so strange and I can’t shake the feeling in my gut.

Kimberly steps in front of me, her concerned gaze on mine. “Ellie, what’s going on? You’re not acting right.”

The only person who knows everyone here is Owen. I squeeze her arm and nod. “I’m fine. I just need to find Owen really fast.”

I take off through the crowd, hoping like hell I don’t run into the same guy. Once inside, I breathe a sigh of relief. Am I being paranoid? It could seriously be one of Owen’s police buddies that’s shy and didn’t know what to say when we ran into each other. However, repeating that in my head doesn’t make the feelings in my gut disappear.

Jake and Owen are still in the kitchen, with Jake and whatever story he’s telling being the center of attention. I grab a twenty-dollar bill out of my purse and walk in. All heads turn my way.

“Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt.” I turn my attention to Owen and hold up the cash. “Can you help me find someone? I bumped into him outside and I think he dropped this.”

Owen nods and Jake winks at me before continuing his conversation. I walk out onto the back porch and scan the crowd.

“What’d he look like?” Owen asks.

“He was wearing an Arrow costume. Do you know who that is?”

His gaze narrows, and he shakes his head. “I don’t remember seeing anyone wear that.” He steps down off the porch. “I’ll look around and see if I can find him.”

“Thanks.”

I lose sight of him as he disappears into the fray, so I decide to go back inside. Jake holds out his arm and I slide into his side, loving how safe I feel when he’s around. I want to tell him how uneasy I feel about the guy in the Arrow costume, but it’ll only cause problems if it turns out to be nothing.

A few minutes later, Owen comes inside and shakes his head. “Couldn’t find him. Guess you got yourself a twenty-dollar bill, Ells.”