Page 13 of Forged in Peril

She could still hear the sound of him yanking his expensive leather belt through the loops of his pants, the buckle clattering against the floor, could still remember the way that she didn’t bother to scream, because no one was there to hear her.

“I’m not going to say a word. It’s too late for that now,” she muttered to herself. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

She wanted to shout the words until they echoed through the expanse of the garage, but she didn’t.

Surely he knew that she wasn’t a threat to him.

But if he did, why would he terrorize her like this? How’d he even know that she was working here?

Half of the reason she’d taken the job was because FBS was largely isolated from the legal gossip scene. She thought she’d finally get to escape from the whispers, but this was worse than anything she’d experienced so far.

As she thought about the possibilities, she felt her racing heart begin to calm, and her chest rising and falling at a normal pace as her lungs filled with air.

Good. She had to make sure that the threat had passed, and she couldn’t do that if she was frozen with panic.

As the pounding of blood in her ears subsided, it was clear that the garage was still as empty and silent as she’d first assumed.

For the moment, she was okay. She could think.

She walked around the car on all sides, finding no hint, aside from the obvious, that anyone had ever been there.

The doors were locked, just as she’d left them, and all of the windows–including the ones covered in those terrible red words–were unbroken. Even if there’d been something to steal, this wasn’t a theft. Warrington or one of his friends wanted to scare her. It was the only thing that made sense.

She looked up at the ceiling overhead, and saw that the two nearby security cameras had been smashed to pieces. No surprise there, but she’d have to let security know if they didn’t already. She sighed, reaching into her bag and taking hold of her phone. She’d call a cab first and then call the after-hours number for FBS once she was en route to report the damaged cameras. They’d just have to wait until the morning if they wanted her to give any more details or to report the vandalism to the police.

All she wanted was to be safe in her bed.

As she punched in the number and waited for someone to pick up at the taxi company, she considered the current amount waiting in her checking account, worried that a thirty minute ride to Silver Grove might send her into overdraft, but at that point, she had no choice. It wasn’t like the bus could take her there, and her mom was working tonight, as usual.

Before the line connected, however, she heard the sound of the staircase door opening somewhere behind her, the sound echoing through the cavernous room.

She hit the red button to end the call, preparing to dial 911 if she had to, but to her relief, she could hear the deep, rolling voice of Ben Forge as he crossed the room.

She was relieved, but on the other hand, she knew that her chances of escaping without notice had just gone from slim to none.

“What in the name of–”

She stepped out from behind the car just as Ben and his twin brother, Asher, reached the row of parking spaces where she stood.

“Hey, Asher,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “I’d wanted to stop by and say hi today, but Jaclyn really put me to work.”

He shook his head, ignoring her comment.

“What happened, Bristol?” he asked instead, rushing forward to place a hand on her forearm, his bright blue eyes filled with concern. Despite being Ben’s twin, he looked nothing like him. While Ben was burly and redheaded, he was compact and blonde. If anything, they barely looked related at all.

Ben was examining the car just as she had a moment before, his green eyes flashing with rage. He had one hand on a pistol holstered at his waist, and Bristol had no doubt that he’d be willing to use it then and there, if he had to.

“I’m okay, guys,” she ventured, trying to smile and not quite managing it. “He’s gone. Probably has been for a while now. I’m fine. I really just want to go home. It’s been a long day.”

Asher shook his head, and Ben made a low noise in his chest that she assumed constituted agreement.

“We’ll get you home, but first I’m calling Cam,” Asher said, pulling out his phone. “He’s still upstairs. We had a late meeting.”

She tried to protest, but Ben cut her off. “You’re safe now, okay? Just hold on.”

She didn’t have the energy to tell him that safety wasn’t her only concern at the moment.

Once again, trouble had managed to find her, and once again, Cameron was going to jump in and save the day.

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