Page 46 of Restart & New Revenge
“No problem,” he responded. “Youneed me to stay, or are you good to take over?”
“I’m good.I’mready to head out myself,”Archerinformed him.
Axel said goodnight to both of us and made his way out.
“Do you mind if we stop and get gas on the way home?”Archerasked me. “Iknow it’s late, butI’drather do it now than in the morning.”
“Not a problem.Igot a text fromRuthiesaying she andJackletPercyout for me a few hours ago, so he should be good for a little longer.”
It was nice havingArcher’sfriends nearby so that on nights like tonight, when it was busy at work,Ididn’t have to rush home to letPercyout and feed him, only to turn back around and come back to work.
It was easier at my apartment because it was only an eight-minute drive from my work, butArcher’shouse was easily a thirty-minute drive, which made it very hard to get back in time.
We walked out to his blackSUVand got inside.
“How was work?”Archerasked as we drove down the street.
“Good,”Iresponded.Iknew it wasn’t much, but this whole “making casual conversation” thing was still awkward for me.
The part of me that hated him for breaking my heart and leaving had started to soften after everythingIhad learned the last few days, but he was still my ex-husband, and simple chatter as though we didn’t have a tumultuous history was still uncomfortable at times.
“Axel okay?” he asked, clearly trying to prod more information out of me.
“Yes,”Ireplied.Thiswas at least safer territory. “Hewas quite enthusiastic about seeing anAmericanTVstation.Hetalked to every cameraman, floor director, and producer about their role.”
I chuckled thinking about what a kick he’d gotten out of watchingJeremyshow him how our assignment desk worked.
“Jeremy gave him a crash course in police scanner lingo 101, andIswearIsaw his face light up like a kid,”Itold him with a small smile on my face.
“Axel orJeremy?”
I let out a small laugh. “Probablyboth.”
We pulled up to the gas station, andArcherturned to me. “I’mgoing to get the pump going, and thenIneed to run in to grab a couple drinks forVince.”
My confusion must have been written all over my face, because he looked at me, sighed, and spoke again. “Ilost a bet to him, and he wants some weird-ass flavor ofCokethat you can only get at these gas stations.ButIneed you to come with me.”
“How many of these are you planning to buy that you need two people to carry them?”Iteased him, thoughIloved the bond he and his cousin had.
He sighed before looking into the rearview mirror. “Itcould be a complete coincidence, but that gray sedan over at pump two has been following us since we left the office.”
All joking went away as that grabbed my full attention.Howthe hell hadImissed that?Itried to be subtle about looking over at pump station two, but could only see the vehicle and not a person.
“Just to be safe,Iwant you to come inside with me.Please.”
I wasn’t an idiot.I’dlike to stay alive, soIagreed without question.Plus,I’dlike to see ifIcould get a better look at who was next to that mystery vehicle.
We walked inside, him holding my hand.Toanyone near us, we looked like just a couple enjoying some physical contact, butIknew he was doing it to have a grip on me.Ilet him have that while choosing to ignore how good it felt.
We walked into the store, and the person behind the counter greeted us.Archernodded at him as we made our way to the back of the store, where the rows of refrigerated drinks were.Hescanned for what he needed, pointed it out to me, but then walked on by.Confused,Itried tugging at his hand before he pulled me closer and whispered, “Keepwalking to that back hallway where the restrooms are.”
I listened and followed.Aswe entered the hallway,Archerturned to face me, andIrealized he was doing it to look behind me.Hiseyes flared for only a moment, butIsaw them. “Go.Outthe back door.Now.”
His voice was low but urgent.
He picked up the pace, and we jogged to the back door, popping out onto an alleyway.Ilooked both ways, realizing there wasn’t much out there, before he tugged my arm and we began running.Heheld my hand the entire time as we sprinted down another side street.
It was another alley, but this one dead-ended into a large garage bay.Archerpulled me down the alley, andIthought we’d be ducking into the garage, but instead, he pulled me behind three dumpsters that lined the side wall.Therewas barely enough room to squeeze through, but we did—and just in time.Oncehe squeezed in behind me, we heard footsteps running down the alley.
