CHAPTER FIVE
707 Words
I stood on the pedestrian walkway of the suspension bridge. The wind pushed against my back, driving the freezing rain directly into the side of my face. I looked over the edge of the rusted metal railing. The river below was completely black. It churned loudly, hitting the concrete pillars holding up the bridge.
A semi-truck drove past in the opposite lane. The heavy tires hit a pothole, and the entire concrete walkway vibrated under the soles of my wet boots. My fingers were completely numb. I couldn't feel the cold metal railing I was holding. My canvas duffel bag sat on the pavement next to my left foot. The fabric was soaked through, dark and heavy.
I looked down at the bag. I looked back at the water. I wanted to jump. No—I just wanted the cold to stop. I listed the facts in my head. Aiden Thorne wanted to erase me. My father threw me out of my own home. I had forty-two dollars in my checking account. I was pregnant. If I stayed alive, the child would be born into starvation. There was no job.
There was no degree. There was nothing left.
I gripped the wet railing tighter. I put my right foot up on the bottom horizontal bar. I leaned my weight forward.
Bright white light cut through the rain.
I snapped my head to the side, squinting against the sudden glare. LED headlights blinded me. A car pulled up to the curb directly behind me, stopping only three feet from my duffel bag. It was a sleek, black luxury car. It was lower to the ground than the SUV from the parking garage. The engine hummed with a low, expensive purr.
The driver’s side door clicked open.
A man stepped out into the rain. He was tall. He had broad shoulders under a dark trench coat.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I pulled my foot off the railing and stepped backward. I hit the metal bar behind me. The lawyer. Aiden sent someone else to force me to the clinic.
"Stay back," I warned. My voice cracked over the loud sound of the wind. I held up my numb hands. "I swear to god, if you come closer—"
"I'm not—" he started.
"I won't go to the clinic!" I yelled, stepping sideways along the railing. "Tell Aiden I'm not signing anything! Just stay away from me!"
If he rushed me... He stopped walking. He stood a few feet away, the rain hitting the dark fabric of his coat. He reached his right hand inside his pocket. I tensed, bracing for a weapon. He pulled out a heavy silver lighter and a single cigarette.
He put the cigarette between his lips and flicked the lighter open. He cupped his large hand over the flame to block the freezing wind. The fire caught. The orange tip of the cigarette glowed in the dark.
He closed the lighter with a sharp snap. He looked at me. His expression was completely calm. He wasn't angry. He wasn't acting like the security guards or the corporate lawyer. He just stood in the rain, watching me.
He finally spoke. His voice was deep. It was steady. It cut right through the noise of the storm and the passing traffic.
"You can jump," he said. He exhaled a thin stream of gray smoke into the rain. The wind ripped it away immediately. "Or you can get in this car... and we can make them pay."
I froze. The cold wind bit into my wet neck. The orange cherry of his cigarette flared as he took another slow drag.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He took the cigarette out of his mouth. He dropped it onto the wet concrete. He stepped on it, crushing the glowing paper under the heel of his expensive leather shoe. He reached out and grabbed the handle of the back door of the black car. He pulled it open. The interior lights clicked on, showing clean, cream-colored leather seats.
He looked me dead in the eye. He didn't smile. He didn't even blink.
"I'm the man who is going to change your life," he said. "Get in."
- Writer
