If Adrian found me, then Pearl could be in trouble. She was the only one who knew why I had left, and she was in her seventies. She didn’t stand a chance against Adrian if he got his hands on her.
I have to call her. Make sure she’s okay.
After I retrieved my things from my locker and stuffed the crumbled note into my purse with shaky hands, I headed for the bar’s back door, but Drew appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path.
“Katherine, please,” Drew pleaded. His gaze was sharp and shifted between my eyes and the purse in my hand. “Tell me what’s wrong. Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, looking down. “I have to go.” I couldn’t look into his eyes because the moment I did, I would spill everything. I couldn’t do that to him.
“You’re scared.” Drew bent down, trying to catch my gaze. “Whatever it is, I can help you. I’m a cop, remember?”
“That is exactly why you can’t help me,” I snapped. “Just leave me alone.” I twisted around him and exited the bar.
Drew didn’t follow me a second time. It was better thatway. Drew, Leah, and Tyler needed to be as far away from this—me—as possible. Adrian was my own problem to deal with.
I speed-walked to my car at the far end of the parking lot. The wind swirled around me, rustling the trees that surrounded the back of the property, and goosebumps broke out along my arms. It was a chilly night in Hawthorn, Oklahoma.
When I reached my beat-up silver Honda Civic, I unlocked my phone and called Pearl’s number. The dial tone rang at an obnoxious volume.
“Come on,” I whispered. “Pick up.”
The line beeped dead. No answer.
I dialed her number again and, with the phone to my ear, glanced behind me.
The large blue neon sign titled Jerry’s Bar and Grill was mounted above the many wooden beams that adorned the front entrance. Red and brown layered brick walls wrapped around the single-story building.
There were a few patrons meandering outside, and the security guy, Tom, who sat on a stool by the front double doors.
He crossed his meaty, tattoo-covered arms over his chest, resting them on his bulging stomach. Like all security guards, he was a big guy and looked just as mean, but Tom was really like a teddy bear.
The phone beeped against my ear. No answer … again.
When Tom saw me across the lot, he raised his large, dark hand in a wave and lifted his chin in farewell.
I gave him a small smile in return, about to climb into my car when a figure off to the right made me pause.
The same man in a black hoodie stood in the distance around the corner of the building. He didn’t make a move to approach me but just stood there, watching.
Then, he lifted his finger up to his mouth as if to say “shush,” and a chill slithered up my spine.
I looked back to Tom, who was now checking a group of sorority girls’ IDs at the door, and thought of alerting him, but what if the man in the hood was armed? He was closer to Tom than I was, and I didn’t want to put Tom’s life at risk.
An overwhelming urge to leave town came over me, but could I do it again? Could I leave everything behind?
I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave Leah or Tyler or even Drew. I’d made a life for myself here. Like hell, I’d go back to Adrian.
With one last look at the creeping figure in a black hood, I opened my car door, got inside, threw my purse into the passenger seat, and drove away.
I had to get home. I would decide what to do then.
CHAPTER FOUR
KATHERINE
Ihad called Pearl’s number three more times on the fifteen-minute drive home from the bar, but there was still no answer.
I turned the corner on the third-floor hallway of my apartment building with my keys in hand. Red-painted wood doors lined both sides of the hall. The brick walls, once painted white, had chipped and yellowed over the years.
