Page 13 of The Stolen Dagger
THE PRESENT
KATHERINE
The pounding in my ears drowned out the music and chatter of the bar.
The steady thumping of the bass through the room was the only thing grounding me to the present as I re-read the handwritten note.
Mi Princesa,
I finally found you.
You can’t escape me again. You know what I want.
Ready or not, here I come.
As his words set in, the ice that had kept me frozen where I stood finally melted, and the itch to run was stronger than ever.
How did he find me? Why send a note?
“Who’s Adrian?” Drew asked. His voice broughtme out of my stupor, and I looked up into his concerned gaze. “Katherine? You okay?”
I was not okay. I was definitely not okay. And if I stayed here any longer, no one else would be because Adrianfoundme.
Closing my fist around the note, it crinkled under my grip. I cleared my throat and turned to Sarah, who still stood beside the bar. Her dark eyebrows furrowed in worry.
“Who gave this to you?” I asked desperately.
“Um …” Sarah looked around the bar. “I don’t see him now, but he was wearing a black hoodie. A real big guy. I think I saw blond hair under the hood.”
Blond? Adrian didn’t have blond hair.
I searched through the handful of people still in the bar. The crowd tonight was mostly regulars and a few groups of college kids.
Nothing looked out of place until movement caught my eye in the farthest corner behind the band.
A man in a hood stepped out of the darkness into the low lights that hung from the stage. I couldn’t see his face, but he stood over six feet tall and filled up most of the doorway.
That wasn’t Adrian.Who is that?
I squinted, trying to make out a face in the low lighting, but couldn’t see any discernible features. I needed a closer look.
Feeling brave, and equally stupid, I moved closer, but a large hand wrapped around my upper arm.
I startled.
“Hey,” Drew soothed, drawing back my attention. His dark eyebrows creased in concern. “What’s going on? Who’s Adrian?”
I looked back to where the person in the black hoodie stood, but they were gone, and so was my courage. Fearslithered up my spine and triggered a familiar response inside me.
I have to get out of here.
“N—no one.” I stammered out an answer to Drew and untied my apron. “Um, Sarah, can you cover for me? I have to go.”
I didn’t wait for her answer as I walked around the shelves of alcohol in the center of the bar to the swinging door on the counter.
“What do you mean you have to go?” Drew questioned, following along on the other side of the bar. “What’s wrong?”
I ignored him, not ready to give him an answer and unwilling to come up with another lie. My vision tunneled as I rushed to the breakroom for my things.
