Page 15 of Cast in Shadow
Aggie twisted in the seat, wincing at the pain in her back and neck, watching as a black car drove back toward where they’d just come from.
“Who are you?” Aggie asked. “Who sent you? And how did you find me?”
Chapter Seven
Zeke
Fair questions, all of them, asked in a steady, clear tone. She was handling the situation remarkably well for someone who’d just been abducted and roughed up.
“Name’s Zeke. And I found you with this.” He reached into his pocket and extracted his burner phone with the location app still running.
She looked at it, then at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “How did you get this?”
“I found it in your apartment.”
“Why were you in my apartment?”
“I was looking for you.”
Her eyes widened at his easy admission. He could have lied, but he preferred to avoid that if possible. Something told him that prudent honesty would hold more weight with her than bullshit.
She opened her mouth to ask the next obvious question—why—but he held his hand up.
“Later, okay? Let’s get somewhere safe first.”
“I have questions.”
“I’m sure you do, and I’ll answer what I can—when we’re safe. Right now, the only thing you need to know is, I’m not the enemy here.”
“Why should I believe you?”
He fought the urge to smile. “You mean, besides the fact that I just rescued you from your abductors?”
Her mouth formed into an adorable moue. “Yes, besides that.”
“If my actions aren’t enough to convince you, I doubt my words will be.”
She considered that for a moment, then exhaled. “Fair enough.”
“Let me ask you this. What are your instincts telling you?”
“That, at this moment, you’re the lesser of two evils.”
“Works for me.”
His lips began to curl, and then he glanced at her and was sobered by the blossoming purple-and-black marks around her eyes and throat. He’d seen plenty of injuries over the years, but seeing them on her delicate features affected him more than most.
“Do you have anything that requires immediate medical attention?”
“No. Just a splitting headache, a messed-up ankle, and a boatload of bruises. I got off lucky.”
“Most people wouldn’t call that lucky.”
“Would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t shown up when you did. I suppose I should thank you for that.”
“No thanks necessary, but you’re welcome.”
She said nothing more, opting to take note of her surroundings instead. Zeke knew she was probably cataloging landmarks and paying attention to the signs along the road. He could feel her shooting side-eye glances his way occasionally, too, wondering what his deal was. If she had jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
