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Another flash of a smile. “Like I said, I’ll find you.”

Then he was gone and it was just me and Goblin. I swallowed, then shook off the feeling of loss. He would be back or he would find me.

Believe it.

“Okay, boy,” I said to Goblin. “Let’s get cleaned up. Are you hurt?”

Chapter

Two

GRACE

The fact it was still daytime out there and Bones had practically vanished on silent feet left me more than a little shaky. One of these things was not like the other. A squeal of a tire on the concrete had me freezing briefly, bottle of water in hand. I had no idea who put these bottles in the bags, but it was right at the top and I needed to clean my hands and Goblin.

As brief as the screech of that tire was, the fact it repeated and then faded away along with any sound of an engine almost made me weep. My heart hammered too hard. The ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum echoed loudly in my ears. Too loud. Like I stood next to one of those huge marching band drums and they kept hitting it.

With trembling hands, I splashed a little too much water over the cotton top I’d pulled out and then I went to work wiping Goblin down. Crouched next to him, I focused on cleaning away as much of the blood as possible.

If he was upset by any of this, it really didn’t show. His tongue lolled out as he panted, though he sat patiently while I wiped him down. I tried to work fast, but efficiently. It wouldn’t do us any good if someone spotted the blood on him or on me.

Wiping him down also let me check him for injuries. He had none. The blood was definitely not his.

Was it AB’s?

My stomach bottomed out. Would Goblin have left him if Alphabet was hurt? One theory after another began to swirl in my head until sweat dotted my forehead and began to trickle down my neck.

Stop.

The order didn’t do much until Goblin slurped my face, I jolted back to myself.

“Right,” I whispered. “I need to change.”

He closed his mouth and canted his head as though assessing me.

“I know,” I admitted in a hurried whisper. “I should have already changed.” Panicking and freezing were just not options right now. Ignoring where we were, I stripped off the bloodied top and bra, then shucked off the shorts. It left me in shoes and panties.

The chill air whispered over my skin and dried the sweat. I ignored the cold water on a fresh bit of cotton t-shirt and used it to wipe myself down. It wasn’t going to be floral and sweet, but I could at least stop smelling so gross.

My nails were in shitty shape. I studied the cracked and jagged edges. As soon as I found a nail file, I’d smooth those out. Probably not the thing to hyperfocus on. Was this what shock felt like? The bag contained at least three changes of clothes, that many pairs of panties, one extra bra, and a bikini.

When did they get me a bikini?

If they had it, why hadn’t they…

Right, I just balled up that whole line of inquiry and tossed it away. Not important. The bikini was a straightforward string type with a pair of triangles for my tits and one for my crotch and maybe half of one for my ass.

Whatever, it would do.

I shimmied out of the panties and into the bikini, halting briefly at least a half-dozen times whenever an unexpected sound echoed through the parking structure. The location and the materials seemed to make everything louder down here. The shadows weren’t helping, even if the chillier air did.

Once I was in the bikini, I pulled on a button down shirt but left it open before I dragged on some shorts. If I paired it with sandals, that would be perfect. I’d rather be able to run, so I stuffed my feet into fashionable sneakers.

I checked the time on my phone and gawked. All of that had taken me less than ten minutes, even if it felt like an eternity. Goblin licked my cheek and I stroked a hand over his head.

“I’m okay,” I promised him. “Let me finish packing this back up, then we can share some water.” There was a plastic laundry bag in the duffel—the kind that hotels used—so I stuffed the bloodied and damp clothes into that, yanked it closed then stuffed that in with the clean stuff and zipped it up.

I spilled some water into my palm and Goblin slurped it up. I went slow, giving him several sips until he relaxed. I downed the last of it. My throat felt almost cracked and raw, worse than I expected.

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