Liam nodded and reached over to unbuckle his brother. I let him help Aden while I fumbled with my own seatbelt. I would never again take a good night’s sleep for granted. My head felt fuzzy, and my ears rang. I got out of the car and stood for a moment, waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass.
When I opened the back door, they spilled out of the car in a rush. They ran around chasing each other in the open parking spot next to ours. I let them. I’d parked us in one of the furthest places from the door. Two parking spots away, a motorcycle sat parked in the otherwise empty part of the lot.
I leaned against the closed driver side door and watched them have their fun while I let the fresh summer air clear my head. After a few minutes, I pushed away from the door and had to pause until another wave of vertigo passed. I eyed our destination. It suddenly seemed like a long walk. With a sigh, I herded them toward the diner.
As we neared, I noticed a man. He sat in one of the booths against the large, front windows. Dressed in faded denims and a t-shirt, something about him caught my eye.
He had cropped his dark hair so short I could see his scalp on the side of his head. A five o’clock shadow covered his strong jaw and upper lip, making him look a little scruffy despite the haircut. He had nice ears—why did I notice that?—and my stomach did a tiny flip just staring at his profile. I rolled my eyes at myself.
How could I stand in a parking lot window-shopping a cute guy while on the run from some fanged monster who had kept me locked up for four years? I needed to get a grip on life. Sleep deprivation had robbed me of common sense. Yet, I didn’t look away.
The man sat slightly bent over his plate, eating a hearty breakfast. It was just after three in the afternoon. His long legs folded under the table with just barely enough room, and his t-shirt hugged his biceps as he reached for his drink. A black leather jacket lay on the seat next to him and matched the sturdy black work boots he wore. Then I saw the helmet set on the table near his coffee. The owner of the motorcycle.
When we were within a few feet of his window, he glanced up and froze when our gazes locked. The fork he held remained suspended in the air part way to his mouth. My stomach started going crazy doing little flips, and my heart stuttered out an odd pattern before returning to normal.
It was a moment more before he moved again and brought the fork the rest of the way to his mouth. He finished chewing and lifted the coffee to his lips, not once looking away. I forgot to breathe as he studied me with an unnerving intensity. It vaguely reminded me of how Frank watched me at dinner, minus the creepiness… and the kicking. The man held me spellbound. I couldn’t look away.
If not for the boys holding my hands, I would have stopped to stare some more. As it was, they continued to pull me forward past the window. When our eye contact was broken, so was this man’s hold on me.
What had just happened? The way he looked at me, the way my stomach flipped, and my hands started to sweat… these weird reactions confused me. Did I subconsciously recognize him? Could he be one of the many men Blake had brought over to the house? The thought scared me, and I tried to remember all their faces. I couldn’t recall his face, but there’d been so many. Yet, I didn’t even consider turning around and going back to the car. I would kill us for sure if I didn’t take a break. Besides, there was a very real possibility that my exhausted mind had devolved to a state of cluelessness that meant… I couldn’t even think what it meant.
The bell above the door rang as we walked in, and I glanced toward the man. He didn’t turn to look. My fears eased a bit. If he knew me, he’d have turned to look, right? I gazed out the windows and scanned the parking lot again. Nothing out there.
I looked down at the boys. Both watched me. I gave their warm little hands a gentle squeeze of reassurance then viewed the diner.
The inside of the place appeared clean and smelled wonderful, like grilled meat. Booths lined the front of the building by the windows as well as the right exterior wall. Scattered tables took up the rest of the open room. Two kitchen doors occupied the left wall, which divided the dining area from the kitchen. A large opening in the section of wall between the two doors gave the cooks a counter to pass the completed orders to the waitress.
The waitress passed us on her way to refill some of the patrons’ coffee and told us we could sit anywhere.
Tugging the boys forward, I passed the man in the booth and chose a spot near the bathrooms at the back. A strategically sound location. I could see everyone inside as well as the door. I let the boys slide in first. It probably looked weird with all of us sitting on one side, but it felt safer. Anyone walking up to the table would need to go through me to get to them. However, I doubted I’d put up much of a fight in my current state.
“Mimi,” Liam said, calling me by the pet name they’d made up for me. If he and Aden had their way, they’d call me mom, having never known our mother. He had to tap my arm to break into my thoughts. I’d been staring at the placemat, not paying attention, and hadn’t noticed the waitress standing next to us.
I looked up at her. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” I attempted to return her smile.
She gave me an overly patient look. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Yes, apple juice for all of us if you have it. And can I get the special and an order of french fries?” I didn’t want to wait to order. We needed to eat then keep running.
She asked if we wanted anything else, and I tiredly shook my head. She offered the boys some crayons before she left. Liam thanked her politely and turned over their placemats. They took turns drawing shapes while we waited.
I didn’t know what to do next. The need to keep running had kept me awake so far, but I would soon need real sleep or I would risk running us off the road. Where could we go that we would be safe? The image of Blake’s teeth popped into my head, and I doubted anywhere would be safe enough.
Propping my chin in my hands, I aimlessly looked around. My eyes found their way to the man in the booth. He had finished his meal and sat sipping his coffee, not looking at anything particular. The waitress grabbed his empty plate on her way past.
My attention started to drift, and before I could prevent it, my eyes closed. It took three attempts to open them again, and when they did, I struggled to focus. Safe from Blake or not, we might not be able to leave the parking lot when we finished eating. I blinked to clear my vision and saw the man glance my way. I sat straighter and rubbed my eyes.
When I glanced back at the man, he again looked out the window while he sipped his coffee. His bill lay on his table, and I hoped he’d leave soon. Even though I felt certain I’d never seen him before, something about him made me very aware of him. Maybe just the fact that he’d caught me dozing. I really didn’t want any witnesses when I face-planted my meatloaf.
The waitress brought our drinks, and I took a big gulp for something to do. I leaned back in the booth and saw the man watching again so I arched a brow at him. If he wasn’t after me, what was his deal? Didn’t his mother teach him it wasn’t nice to stare?
He had the nerve to grin at me. My stomach did a weird flip again. I frowned and looked away then started asking the boys about what they’d drawn.
The man’s smile hadn’t been a leer or even a smile-because-she-looks-crazy type of smile. It had been a kind, hi-how-are-you smile… with a dimple. So, what was up with the stomach flip? Sure, he looked attractive. But hadn’t I learned not to react to how someone looked?
After a few minutes, the waitress came back with our meal and extra plates. I divided the special between the three of us and placed the french fries so they could share. Hot mashed potatoes were a nice change from chips, but reminded me of the last dinner with Blake and his men. I shuddered and took a bite of the meatloaf instead.
The boys dug into their food, and I felt a pang of guilt. I’d been caring for them for four years. Crying babies, diapers, throw-up, you name it. In the beginning, Richard had helped, but Blake made the rules and didn’t want Richard near me. In reality, Blake had wanted me to bond with the boys so he had power over me. Yet, he never allowed me to care for them without supervision. David watched everything and controlled our time together.
I brushed Aden’s hair back tenderly. I loved them so much… even at their most annoying. I just wanted them to be safe.
We’d made it over forty-eight hours without any Blake sightings. That had to mean something.
The few other customers who’d been sitting when we entered slowly trickled out as we ate. Eventually, only the man remained. The boys finished their meals and nibbled on the fries while they continued to draw.
I forced myself to keep eating, diligently working my way through the small piles of food on my plate. I needed the nourishment as much as I needed sleep. Eating while I drove hadn’t worked well for me. Split concentration had almost landed us in the ditch. I just hoped after this break I wouldn’t confuse the pedals again as I had in the beginning.
My continued to struggle to keep my eyes open—they felt hot and gritty—eventually made me set my fork aside. I stood and let the boys out to use the ladies’ room behind us. My legs felt weak and achy so I leaned against the back of the bench seat.
The waitress spotted me beside the booth and came over with the bill. I handed her the cash and told her to keep the change. She smiled her thanks and walked away. Before I could move, the room started to tilt. I held onto the back of the booth, waited for it to pass, then went to check on the boys.
When we walked out of the bathroom, the man’s booth sat empty.