Shadowed Rubies

3. Dani

3

Dani

I stared with wide eyes at our town’s only known criminal and fugitive. Of all the rotten luck, Kevin Durley was the last person I would want to run into alone in the woods.

Hoping for the best, I took a deep breath and plastered on a smile. Working to keep my voice from betraying the panicked fear that had iced my veins at the sight of him, I said, “Hi, Kevin. I seem to have gotten myself a bit lost.”

Forcing my eyes to drink in his appearance, I realized he was beyond filthy. His clothes were covered in dark stains that appeared to be blood. Involuntarily, I took a step back as I wondered if the blood belonged to him or someone else.

Kevin’s glazed eyes seemed to look right through me as he said, “Claire?”

Horrified, but trying my best to remain calm, I said, “Claire is fine. She’s back with Alex and their daughter, Hannah.”

My brain knew that I should stop talking, but my nervous mouth wouldn’t cooperate. “In fact, they recently had a baby.”

Gah! Why am I telling him all of this?

Forcing my mouth closed, I stared back at him. He was looking in my direction, but it was obvious that he truly didn’t see me.

Knowing that it was in my best interest to get away from him, even if that meant I got myself lost deeper in the woods, I said, “Well, I better get back into town because people are probably already starting to worry about where I am.”

As soon as I turned and started to head away from Kevin, he said, “Claire.”

“I’ll tell her you asked about her.” It was a dumb thing to say, but my mind didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders.

I just wanted to get away from this man. My instinct was to run, but I sensed that wouldn’t be smart. He was injured, but he was also tall and had very long legs. I doubted if my out-of-shape body could get away from him, and the last thing I wanted was to turn this into a challenge.

Speed walking away from him, I listened for any indication that he might be following me. I didn’t hear any, but knew I wasn’t in the clear just yet. For that, I needed to put as much distance between me and Kevin Durley as possible. Once I was safely back in town, I could send the police out here to search for him and let them know the general area where they could find him.

When Kevin grabbed my arm and said, “Claire,” I nearly jumped to the treetops. It was especially alarming that he could move so quickly and silently.

“Claire isn’t here,” I told him before firmly yanking my arm out of his grasp.

The move startled him, so I used the element of surprise to make a break for it. I only made it a few steps away before he caught up with me, and this time he wasn’t at all gentle.