Page 63 of Forged in Peril

The thought made the hairs on the back of Cameron’s neck stand up.

After what Bristol had survived at the hands of Dillon Warrington, she was almost certainly even more vigilant than the average women, and women’s instincts were generally excellent when it came to their safety. And yet, this man had likely been able to sneak up behind her after following her in broad daylight.

This left open two possibilities.

Either this man was a cunning psychopath of the highest order, able to hide completely among the general public as he pursued his prey, or, more likely, he was nothing more than a hired goon who didn’t set off Bristol’s alarm bells because he saw her as nothing more than a package to pick up and deliver.

“Anyway, after he grabbed me, he had a gun to my back, so I didn’t want to look around too much and get hurt,” she continued. “But just before he ran, I saw him raise his phone toward the van.”

Cameron nodded, pushing aside his criminal psychology theories for the time being.

“It was probably just what it looked like–a signal to the driver that it was time to bail.”

“I tried to get a look at the driver, too, but I didn’t even really see his back. I was distracted and confused when he shoved me down. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Cameron noticed her eyes moving toward her scraped knee and dirt-encrusted skirt, and he felt fury rising within him again at the thought of how these men had hurt her.

“From what little I could see as they took off,” he said, forcing himself to stay calm for Bristol’s sake, "I would guess that both guys were in their late thirties, white or hispanic, and totally unremarkable.”

“That sounds right. Do you know if the van is still down there?”

Cameron nodded.

“Probably will be for a while. Gabe would have called SAPD by now, and they’ll probably bring in the bomb squad to secure the area just in case, though I’m pretty sure they won’t find much. I think it was exactly what it looked like, just a simple getaway vehicle, at least until their plans changed at the last minute.”

Bristol shivered and picked up one of the mugs of coffee sitting on the table, curling her hands around it as though it might displace the chill of fear that she felt.

“I guess God has been looking out for me,” she said after a brief pause, giving him a tight smile.

He smiled back.

Despite the chaos that continued to surround them, all he wanted right then was to bring her to church on Sunday and hold her hand in the pew. But that fantasy would have to wait.

As it was, Bristol looked shaken. Now that he was no longer holding her, she seemed to be pulling away from him, keeping her distance.

It wasn’t the time to push, however badly he wanted to hug her again and tell her everything would be okay.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on with all of this?” she asked, her voice small in the quiet of the lounge. “Any hunches, any brilliant insight as to why Dillon Warrington’s evil twin, or whoever else, is after me?”

He felt the muscles in his jaw tighten.

He wanted so badly to tell her something better, but for the moment, all he had was the truth.

“I have no idea, Bristol. If I’m being honest, I’m even more confused about why you’re being targeted now than I was before.”

BRISTOL

The emotional magnitude of the day’s events seemed to hit Bristol all at once.

Not even Cameron had any idea what was going on, and she certainly didn’t.

Suddenly dizzy, she put her head in her hands, not bothering to quell the tears that had begun to flow in force.

She heard Cameron pushing his chair back and getting up, closing the distance between them in moments.

Before he could reach her, however, she got to her feet, bumping the table and making the ceramic mug rattle against the wooden surface.

She felt like she was going to suffocate.

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