Page 15 of Fight Or Flight

Alvarez. Ethan’s mind whirled. “Are you the distant relative everyone’s been waiting on?”

She stopped, assessed him in an instant. Then lifted her stick and pointed it at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Ethan.”

She pointed her stick at the woods. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Do you live in there?”

He rolled his eyes. “No.”

“Why do you look like you do?”

He pretended he didn’t hear her. “I’ve been working on this property for three years, restoring the river and wetlands. I have— I had permission from Elizabeth Monroe to be here.”

“So you’re responsible for putting all the snakes in there?”

“What?”

“There were never any snakes before.”

“Well, that can’t be true. There had to have been at least two.”

She snarled at him, baring her teeth like a wolverine.

“They’re usually very shy creatures. They’re just out right now because it’s hot. Most of the time, you don’t even see them.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? That they’re lurking around, unseen?”

“I don’t care how you feel. But I will not let you hit them with a stick just because you’re scared of them. Would you hit a puppy with a stick?”

She looked down at the stick, and for a split second, almost looked ashamed.

But it passed quickly.

“I hope you know, Ethan, that this waterfall was the only redeemable thing about this godawful town. And you’ve ruined it.”

“That seems a bit dramatic. There are a lot of good things about this town. And, besides, the snakes only have a small amount of venom. Enough to kill a rabbit or a mouse.”

Her face became a mask of horror, and a visible shudder worked through her body. “Those things are venomous?!”

“Well, yes. But they have very small teeth. There are only a handful of people who have ever died from a Massasauga rattlesnake bite.”

“Died?!”

“You just have to wear boots and thick pants.”

Her face turned livid, and she leaned in toward him, speaking through a clenched jaw. “I don’t own anything thick.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stomped off down the road, stick still in hand. Ethan stood on the side of the road, staring at her back in complete and utter confusion.

“What the hell does that mean?”

five

Natalie called a cab to take her to Mr. Speeler’s office on Friday morning. She would have walked; she enjoyed walking. But she wanted the cab ready and waiting to take her to the airport. As soon as this meeting was over, she wanted to make a quick escape.

The cab pulled through town and stopped just down the street from the office. Natalie stepped out but left her suitcase in the car.

“Will you wait for me? I shouldn’t be long. Just keep the meter running.”

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