Page 9 of Corey
J&J Shipping.
It was Saturday, so there was no reason anyone should be calling her. Had her boss figured out she’d been down in the warehouse when he’d murdered Jeremy? Or was she running for no good reason? Needing to know, she swiped the bar and pressed the phone against her ear.
“Hello?” she said, trying to sound as calm and normal as possible. But, on the inside, she was shaking.
“Hello, Sera.”
Shit, it was Joel. Her heart rate kicked up, pulse roaring.
“You worked pretty late last night, didn’t you?”
Sera cleared her throat. “Oh, just til six.” More like seven, but she wasn’t about to admit that. Or the fact she’d seen him put a bullet in his business partner.
“Really? You didn’t go down to the warehouse?”
Busted.But she wasn’t about to admit anything.
For a long moment he didn’t say anything, and she swallowed hard, starting to sweat. Then, his voice took on an ominous tone when he said, “I want to know what you saw last night when you were creeping around down among the crates. Did you check the shipments on your paperwork? Find any, ah, discrepancies? Or happen to see anything else?”
She pressed her lips together, not sure what to say.
“What do you know, Sera?” He punctuated each word, and she shivered.
“N-nothing.”
“Is that why you ran?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I checked on an order for a customer and left at six,” she lied.
“I watched the cameras, Sera.”
Her stomach sank.Shit.
“There’s too much on the line. I can’t let you walk away. Sorry it had to come to this.” He disconnected the call and she yanked the phone away from her ear like it burned.
Dread washed over her, that ice-cold trickle of fear once again slithering down her spine. Had he sent someone after her?A few times during the night, she’d wondered if a black SUV was following her, but when she hadn’t seen it for almost two whole states, she chalked it up to paranoia.
Very carefully, she cracked open the bathroom door and saw two men talking to the kid at the counter. Her gut told her to avoid them at all costs. She didn’t know who they were, and she wasn’t waiting around to find out.
Hurrying back into the last stall, she climbed up onto the toilet seat and gripped the edges of the frosted glass window above it. Hoping like hell she could open it and crawl out, she shoved hard. Nothing happened. The damn thing didn’t even budge. Probably because it had been painted shut.
Pulling in a deep, steadying breath, she told herself the men wouldn’t come into the women’s restroom—
The door opened with a loud squeak and Sera dropped down to a crouch, not daring to make a sound. As much as she wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and pretend it was just another nightmare, she didn’t dare. She was very much awake and, once again, she was trapped in an enclosed space. Panic tore into her with razor sharp teeth.
Sweating, battling off the pressing panic attack, she forced herself to lock it down. She’d get out of there. Survive just like she had before.
Listening intently, the thump of boots approached the farthest stall.Only one man.The other was probably checking the men’s room. A creak filled the air as he pushed the metal door open then moved to the next.
“Sera,” he called softly, teasingly. “Are you in here?”
Oh, God, he knew her name. There was no doubt now that she had been followed.
The next stall door opened. Only two more to go and he’d reach hers. Clenching her fists, holding her breath, she silently stepped off the toilet seat, reached into her purse and removed the mace she carried. She could see the man moving closer through the narrow gap between the panels. Heart in her throat, she lifted her hand, covered her nose and mouth, and placed her finger over the trigger.
You’re not a victim.
The moment he pushed her door open, she pressed the button and a stream of pepper spray shot out and hit him in the face. Surprised, he staggered back and let out a sharp cry. Sera rushed past him as he clawed at his no doubt burning eyes and ran out of the bathroom.
