She sent an answer back.Running.
At the sight of her answer, his heart slammed back into his chest, giving his body a chance to breathe again.
He sagged onto the bed. “Holy shit.” He scrubbed at his face. When a text came back, he looked at it sourly.
Why?
Because I didn’t know you would go without me. I wanted to go with you, and you know it.
And I didn’t want you hurt.
That was her response. He stared at it in disgust. “What am I now?” he murmured. “An invalid who can’t go for a run with you? Just because my knee occasionally pops out of place is not a big deal. I’ve been running with it for years.”
But he wouldn’t type all that on his phone and get the message across correctly. He was just pissed enough that he didn’t even want to think about it. The dream—vision?—wouldn’t leave him. It was all enough to make him sit here and contemplate his options. Feeling that sense of urgency rising, he bolted to his feet, that sense of adrenaline driving through his psyche. He quickly got up and dressed in his running gear, then raced to his vehicle.
He drove toward the running path, when he realized that he didn’t know where the hell she was running. Why was he even in a panic anyway? She could have just been doing laps around False Creek. He snatched his phone and called her again, and she didn’t answer, yet again. Driving at an excessive speed and texting at the same time, he raced toward the damn place because, in his heart of hearts, he knew she was there. Stanley Park. But there was no reason for her to be there, and, as a matter of fact, there were one million reasons why she shouldn’t be there, particularly alone.
He sent her a text.Where are you?
Her answer didn’t help clarify anything.Ten minutes from the parking lot.
Are you there, where the murders were?
When his phone rang, she said, “Yes, I’m just here for a run.” She was out of breath, and almost a powerful joy filled her voice.
“But you’re fine?”
“Yes, of course I’m fine.… Why?”
He snorted.
“Look. It’s okay,” she said.
“It’s not fucking okay,” he roared into the phone. “You’re out there, just asking for trouble.”
“And it’s what I do,” she replied, her voice getting stiff.
“It might be what you do,” he bit off, “but it’s not what you do without backup.” At that, he could almost sense the wheels in the back of her mind turning.
“No,” she said, “you’re right. Normally I wouldn’t be doing this alone.”
“Right,” he snapped. “I should fucking be there with you.”
“I’m sorry.… I was thinking of you.”
“And making me feel like I’m less than?”
She didn’t ask for clarity aboutLess than what?which was a damn good thing because that would have pissed him off evenmore. He couldn’t handle anyone playing games. One thing he loved about her was the fact that she didn’t play games, which was why this behavior was driving him nuts.
“I don’t get it. You fucking know better.”
“I just wanted to come for a run,” she explained.
Honestly enough truth was in her words that it made him pause.
“Seriously? You’re not there to try and trap this asshole?” he asked.
“No,” she replied, “honestly, I wanted to come for a run, and I now just realized how much location matters in real estate because this is a hell of a running path. I can see why people are paying these prices in the real estate market for the opportunity to be here.”