Out of Love(12)

“Maybe he just doesn’t want anyone to kill you before he gets a chance to do it himself.” Kara smirked while Aubrey gasped. Kara cringed. “Sorry. Too soon for that joke?”

My grin answered her question, which only made Aubrey huff off in a tizzy because I wasn’t taking the situation seriously. Or so it seemed.

“Why would he send his dog unless … he knows? And how would he know?” Kara continued while slipping off her tank top, revealing the sunburn from the cut of her new bikini top.

“People talk. I haven’t been in class. Gossip spreads quickly.”

“Or …” She pulled the strap away from her shoulder and frowned at the red line. “He was there that night. Saving you like … a vigilante.”

I chuckled. “A vigilante?”

“We don’t know his true intentions yet. Vigilante is the most we can say for sure right now. But Livy … seriously … what if he killed someone to save you?”

I stared at her, not knowing what to say. She blew out a slow breath and headed upstairs.

In reality, I was thoroughly rattled by the gas station incident. I wasn’t sleeping. Keeping it from my dad weighed heavily on my conscience, and simple things like walking to the mailbox or the thought of walking down the street the next day to grab a scooter scared the shit out of me. Parking on or near campus was a nightmare, hence the reason I grabbed a scooter, but I knew I’d be Jeeping it for a while.

But … I didn’t want my friends to know any of that.

*

The next morning, I put on a brave face and forced myself to follow my usual routine, including my mint green tea before class. Instead of waiting to stalk my neighbor and his dog, I took a seat three rows from the front and kept my attention on the professor, not once looking back to see if Slade and Jericho were there.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t curious. I was. I just felt out of sorts about not only the incident the previous week, but about Jericho watching over me.

Slade called the police on me for trespassing. He threatened to do bodily harm to me for offering his dog a piece of pear. Guys like that didn’t risk life in prison for girls like me.

After class, I made my way to my tree. Slipping in one earbud, I rested on my back, using my backpack as a pillow and closing my eyes. I felt safer in the light of day, surrounded by other students, than I did in my bed at night. And I was so very tired.

Nearly sleeping past my next class, I opened my eyes and glanced at my watch. “Shit!” I had two minutes to make the ten-minute trek to class. Thankfully, no one gave me a second glance when I slipped into the room a few minutes late. As I pulled my computer from my bag, a folded sheet of paper fell out with it. I picked it up and grinned. It was the note I gave to Slade.

Have you ever torn a person’s arm off? No.

Ripped their tongue from their mouth? No.

Do you surf? Yes.

How old is Jerry? Five.

Would you happen to have a stick of gum on you?

Taped to the bottom of the paper was a stick of gum.

“Wylder …” I whispered, unwrapping the gum and sliding it into my mouth. Peppermint.

Not spearmint.

Not wintermint.

Not cinnamon.

My favorite … peppermint.

Later that afternoon, I parked my Jeep in the street and strode down to the firehouse, stopping at the end of the driveway with the black Volvo. Risking another trespassing warning, I meandered toward the garage, slowly turning the handle. It opened, giving way to a slightly offensive burning smell and Slade in a long-sleeved shirt, welding gloves, and a welder’s mask.

He didn’t stop or even give a glance in my direction as I closed the door behind me, inspecting the workbench, gas tanks, pieces of metal, and the vent in the ceiling above him. After a few minutes, he shut off the torch and flipped up his mask.

Hugging my arms to my body, I smiled. “Hi.”

He let his gaze work its way down my body and slowly back up to my eyes. But he said nothing.

“Where’s Jerry?”

The muscles in his jaw flexed.

I cleared the frog from my throat. “Jericho.”

He nodded toward the house.

I glanced behind me, even though I knew the door was shut and there was nothing to see. Maybe I just needed a few seconds away from the intensity of his gaze on me. “Did you …” I forced my attention back to him. “Uh … did you …” I couldn’t ask. What if it wasn’t him? Then I’d be confessing my near rape. “Yesterday. I um … I needed Jericho … what I mean is I needed something, and he was it.”

Slade relinquished three full blinks.

After nervously scraping my teeth along my lower lip for a few seconds, I lifted a shoulder. “So … thanks for letting him hang out with me. I don’t know why you did it, but I’m grateful to you for … well … whatever the reason.”

Did you kill that man? Did you? Why did you? Tell me! Say something!

Slade nodded once, flipped his mask down over his face, and started his torch again. I wanted to ask what he was doing or making or fixing. I wanted to ask him so many things, but I decided to quit before the cops were called. He wasn’t going to give me everything in one day. That much was clear.

So … I decided to wait. After all, I knew he hadn’t ripped anyone’s arm from their body or tongue from their mouth. He surfed and had perfect taste in gum flavors. That was enough for one day.