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“But there was no panel!” He smirked. “It’s in my bedroom. The flashing light woke me the minute you left. When I realized you’d taken my car, I used my phone app to locate its GPS position and came after you.” As he explained what had happened, questions started buzzing through my brain like a swarm of angry bees. Would his neighbor call the police when he noticed his car was missing? Would they trace Tamir back to me and plaster my picture all over the media? What on earth was I supposed to do with Tamir? Was I supposed to take him back to the city? I couldn’t possibly bring him with me. He had a life in New York, and I had no plans to go back there. “If you keep gnawing on that bottom lip, you’re going to draw blood.” Tamir glared at me, silently insisting I dole out an explanation. “I’m just a little freaked out. I know I’d already stolen your car, but I planned to abandon it, eventually, and had hoped you’d forgo calling the cops on me. Now, with your neighbor involved, I just don’t know what will happen.” “Forget about the cars,” he instructed impatiently. “The neighbor is a friend. I already gave him an explanation and have someone taking his car back to our building.” “Okay, but what am I supposed to do with you?” “I suppose that takes us back to my original question. Where are we headed?” “Does it matter?” I gaped at him. “I’m not going back to the city. In fact, this is ridiculous.” I put on my blinker, crossed four lanes of traffic, and took the next exit. “You need to get out and Uber back home.” I pulled into an abandoned gas station and put the car in park, then crossed my arms and stared at him. He leaned toward me, placing his elbow on the center console. “I need to Uber home? Is this not my car?” “Well … yes, but I stole it. It’s mine for the moment.” His lips lifted in a feral grin. “I don’t think you understand. I told you last night I was going to help you, and you’re going to get my help, whether you want it or not.” “What on earth are you saying? You can’t come with me.” “Why not?” “What … why … you can’t just … ugh.” The words were just as choppy and unformed in my mind as they were on my tongue. He’d completely thrown me for a loop, and I had no idea what to say. Only after several deep breaths and an uncomfortably long silence was I able to communicate. “What about your job? Your apartment? You have a life. You can’t just pick up and leave for some stranger. That doesn’t make any sense.” “I’ll let Matthew know that something came up, and he’ll be able to sort it out. It’s not the first time I’ve had to leave town for an extended period. I don’t pay rent and have no plants to water or animals to feed. There is no great catastrophe that will befall me if I leave the city. And you have to remember, just because I go with you doesn’t mean I can’t ever go back.” I gripped the steering wheel as if it held all the answers, and if I squeezed tightly enough, I might glean some of them by osmosis. What Tamir was offering was incredibly tempting, while also terrifying. I would love to have someone keep me company and help keep me safe, but the way he’d gone about forcing my hand raised a bevy of red flags. I didn’t know what to think. Normal people didn’t just uproot their lives for a stranger. I knew that. I knew there had to be some underlying motivation, aside from his desperate need to be charitable. It could have been as simple as wanting to have s*x with me. Men did a lot of outrageous things in the pursuit of s*x. Yet something told me it was more than that. But what was I supposed to do? He had tracked me down and was there in the car with me on the side of the highway—the car I’d stolen from him —and he was insisting on coming with me. I couldn’t exactly force him from the car. He had me between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it. The tension in my arms softened, and I dropped my head to the side to peer at him. His features were inscrutable. A blank canvas of emotion, giving me no sense of what he might be thinking. “The answer is Columbus. We’re headed to Columbus.” OceanofPDF.com Chapter 10 Emily “Who was that you had breakfast with?” Tamir asked after we were back on the highway, and the car had started to fill with a suffocating silence. “She’s an old family friend. She knew about my situation and had told me, if I ever needed help, to call her.” “Was she able to help?” “She gave me some money and an address. That’s more than I had when I woke up this morning.” “I take it that’s why we’re headed to Columbus?” “Yeah. She has some friend there who may be able to give me a hand. All I know is that his name is Reggie, and I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow at one o’clock.” “You don’t have any idea how this person is supposed to be helping you?” Yes, but it’s none of your business. “No, I don’t,” I snapped. He was pushing for answers when I had so few of my own. I couldn’t help but be short with him. “And after that?” I glanced at him with a scowl, but his eyes were fused to the road ahead. He had to have been aware he was pushing my buttons but was clearly not interested in backing off. “I don’t know. I’m taking this one step at a time.” “Don’t you think it would be a good idea to form a couple of contingency plans?” “How exactly am I supposed to do that?” I spat at him, my anger now firmly taking hold. “This man could give me money or a place to stay or a bundle of sympathy flowers for my f****d-up life. I have no idea what to expect. Outside of that, the only thing there is to do is pick a spot on the map and start driving. There is no plan except stay alive. Don’t you get that?”
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