Page 8 of Talon

As I walk around her vehicle while looking for the blown tire, I admire her taste in cars. I’ll always prefer my bike to any other mode of transportation, but when it gets icy outside, I’d love to have something like this as my ride.

After checking the two front tires, I head toward the back on the driver’s side. That’s when I spot it. The rear tire is completely flat. I crouch down to take a closer look and see what appears to be a deliberate cut along the sidewall.

“You didn’t happen to run over anything sharp, did you?” I try to keep the concern out of my voice, but it’s not easy.

“No, I didn’t. I drove to work and then to a different bar after work. I was meeting a friend. It was fine until I got on the highway to go home.” She frowns.

I’m dying to ask her about her friend, but I table my curiosity.“It looks like someone slashed it.” I point to the gash in the rubber.“Do you have any enemies who would do something like this to your car?”

“Enemies? No, I don’t think so … at least, none that I’m aware of.” She’s clearly taken aback by the implication. She takes a nervous step away from the car. Clutching her designer purse against her chest, her gaze flits around the parking lot.

“Are you sure? This wasn’t an accident.”

“Positive,” she insists, shaking her head.“I don’t know why anyone would want to do this to me.”

My gut tells me there’s more to this story than she’s letting on, but I don’t want to push her too hard. Instead, I focus on the immediate problem.

“We need to get this tire changed before you can go anywhere,” I say, rising to my feet.“Do you have a spare?”

“I don’t know.”

What is it with women and cars?“Pop the trunk and I’ll check.”

“Okay.” A moment later, she opens the driver’s side door. When she bends down to hit the release latch, I get a great view of her perfect ass. Damn, she’s fucking hot. Maybe I should just offer to give her a ride home instead of messing with her tire. I could have her car towed back to her place and then go check up on her tomorrow.

“Down boy,” I grumble, ignoring the heat pooling in my cock.

“What was that?” she asks, returning to my side.

“Looks like you’ve got a spare,” I say, trying to hide my disappointment. I’ll have to come up with another way to stay in contact with her.

As I retrieve the spare tire and begin the process of swapping it out, I keep thinking about the fact that it’s been tampered with. Something about this whole thing isn’t right, and it’s not just the slashed tire. I need to get to the bottom of this before something worse happens.

“Listen,” I say, trying to sound as casual as possible while tightening the lug nuts on the spare.“I don’t want to scare you or anything, but maybe you should be a little more cautious for a while. This could be an isolated incident, but it could also be a sign someone’s got it in for you.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. I’ll try to be more careful.” Jessica bites her lip, looking more worried than before.

“Good,” I say, finishing up with the tire.“Just promise me you’ll be cautious.”

“I will; I promise,” she says, her voice trembling slightly.

After I get the spare securely in place, I stand up and dust off my hands. Jessica’s head is on a swivel. Her shoulders are so tense I’m afraid she’s going to get a headache. She’s on edge, and I can’t blame her. If someone messed with my ride I’d be worried, too.

“Hey,” I say gently.“Are you sure everything’s okay?”

Jessica looks at me, then quickly glances away. Her voice trembles as she speaks.“I don’t know. Earlier tonight, I felt like someone was following me. Like someone’s been watching me. I thought I saw someone when I was at the other bar with my friend, but I don’t know. I thought he followed me here, but he was gone when I turned around.”

My stomach drops. Now, we’re getting somewhere. I knew there was more to this than she was telling me. A slashed tire is one thing, but now, it sounds like she might be dealing with a bigger problem. Possibly a stalker. It’s not something I can ignore, especially when it’s in my nature to protect someone who’s clearly in trouble.

“Tell me more about what’s been going on,” I urge.“Have you seen anyone suspicious? Anyone hanging around your work or home?”

She hesitates for a moment before shaking her head.“No, not really. But I’ve just had this … this creeping sense of unease. Like I’m being watched.”

I nod, understanding how unsettling that must feel. My mind races through possible scenarios, trying to piece together what could be going on. My gut churns as I study Jessica’s frightened expression.

“Has anything else strange happened recently?” Despite my growing concern, I manage to keep my voice steady.

Jessica cocks her head to one side and frowns slightly.“Well, sometimes I feel like someone might be following me to work.”

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