CHAPTER 014 OLIVIASPOV Myfingersclenchedaround myphoneasmyheartbeatquickened.
TheUberdrivermusthavenoticedmynervousnessbecauseheglancedatmethroughtherearviewmirror,hisbrowsfurrowedwithconcern.
Areyouokay,maam?heasked,hisvoicecalmbutlacedwithcuriosity.
Uhmm,yes.Im fine,Irepliedquickly,forcingasmallsmile.
Butthetruthwas,Iwasntfine.Notevenclose.
Mymindracedwithpossibilities.Whatdidtheywant?Weretheytryingto kidnapme?Orworse? Iturnedmyheadslightly,stealinganotherglancebehind us.Theblackvanremainedatasafe distance butneverchangedlanes orattemptedto overtakeus.Itwasdeliberate.Calculated.
Iswallowedhard.Coulditbeacoincidence?Maybeitwasjustparanoia messingwithmyhead.Butthevanhad beenparked nearmy apartmentforthepasttwodays,andnowitwasfollowingme.Thatwasntnormal.
Afewminuteslater,wearrivedatmydestination.The driverpulledupinfrontofMr.CoffeeCafé,a smallbutcozyplaceIoftenvisited.Iquicklypaidthefare,steppedout,and subtlyscannedmysurroundings.
Thevan hadstoppedatadistance,itsdarktintedwindowsconcealingwhoeverwasinside.Mystomachtwisted.Theywerenttryingtobeobvious,butIhadalreadycaughton.
Forcingmylegstomove,Iwalkedintothecafé,mystepsquickbutcontrolled.
ThemomentIsteppedinside,warmthenvelopedmethescentoffreshlybrewedcoffee,thesofthumofconversation,andtheoccasionalclinkingofcups.Itshouldve beencomforting,butIcouldntrelax.NotwhenIknewthatvanwasstilloutthere.
Ichoseaseatnexttothelargewindow,ensuringIhadaclearviewofthestreet.Atleasthere,in apublicspace,Iwassafe.Eveniftheywantedtokidnap me,theywouldnttry anythinginbroaddaylight.

Wasting no time,Igrabbedmyphoneanddialed911.
911,whatsyouremergency?afemaledispatcher answered.
e I Iloweredmyvoice,keepingmysuccessfullyunlocked!Hello,IthinkImbeingfollowed.Ibelievetheyreplanning tokidnapme.
Therewasabriefpausebeforesheasked,Staycalm.Whereare yourightnow?Canyoudescribeyourlocation? 1/3 CHAPTER014 ImcurrentlyatMr.CoffeeCafé,next toAvenueStreet.
Understood.Andthepeoplefollowingyouaretheycarryinganyweaponsthatyouveseen? Ihaventseenthemupclose,Iadmitted,myfingerstighteningaroundthephone.
Whatdoyoumean?Canyouexplainfurther? Itookadeepbreath.Itsablackvan.Inoticedittwodaysago,alwaysparkednearmyapartment.Atfirst,Ithoughtitwasacoincidence,buttoday,whenIleftmyplace,itfollowedmehere.
Thedispatcher remainedsilentforamomentbeforeresponding,Maam,Iunderstandyourconcern,butjustbecauseavehicleisparkednearyourresidencedoesnt necessarilymeanyoureindanger.Haveyouseenanyoneactingsuspiciously?Anydirectthreats? Ifeltmystomachtighten ather words.Was sheserious? No,but… Inthatcase,Idadviseyoutoremain calm.Youmightbeoverthinkingthesituation.Ifanythingchangesorif someone approachesyou directly,pleasecallusagain.
Overthinking? Icouldntbelieveit.Iwascallingforhelp,andshewas brushingitoffasparanoia.
Withoutanotherword,Iendedthe call.
Iletoutafrustratedsighand lookedbackoutthewindow.Thevanwasstillthere.
Ibitmy thumb,thinkingaboutwhattodonext.Calling thecopswasuseless.IfIwantedhelp,IneededtocallsomeoneItrusted.
Julian.
Withouthesitating,Iscrolledthroughmycontactsanddialedhisnumber.

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Thephonerangacoupleoftimesbeforehepickedup.
Hey,Olivia,hisfamiliarvoicecamethrough.
Julian,Ineedyourhelp,Isaid,tryingtokeepmyvoicesteady.
Histoneimmediately turnedserious.Talktome.Whatswrong? Iquicklyexplainedeverythingthevan,thefeelingofbeingwatched,andhowIwascertainsomeonewasfollowingme.
Illbethereinafewminutes,heassured mewithouthesitation.
Asmallwave ofrelief washedoverme.AtleastIwasntaloneinthis.
Nonetworkavailable now.Pleasecheckyour network.
Thankyou,Imuttered.
Just sit tight.Imonmyway,hesaidbeforeendingthecall.
Iexhaledslowlyand placed myphonedown,tappingmyfingersanxiously against the 2/3 CHAPTER014 table.
CanIgetyousomething,maam? Thesuddenvoicesnappedmeoutofmythoughts.Ilookeduptoseeawaitressstanding nexttome,herexpression politeandwarm.
Im fine,thankyou,I replied,forcingasmallsmile.
Shenoddedandwalkedaway.

Now,allIcoulddowaspatientlywait.
Ikeptmyeyeslockedonthevanoutside.Ithadntmoved,andnoonehadcomeoutofit.Theywerejustsitting there,watching.
Minutespassed.Everysecondfelt like aneternity.Then,afterwhatfeltlikeforever,IfinallysawJulian.
Hewalkedintothecafé,histallframe andconfidentstridestandingout.Hewaswearingabrownleatherjacketoverafittedshirtanddarkjeans,hisexpression seriousas hescannedthe room.
Igavehimasmallwave,andthemomenthis eyesfoundmine,hewalkedoverwithout hesitation.
Slidingintotheseatacrossfromme,heleaned in slightly.Wherearethey? Inoddedtowardthewindow.Blackvan.Rarkedacrossthestreet.
Hisgazeflickeredtowardthevan,hisjawtightening.Hestudieditforafewmomentsbeforeturningbacktome.
Haveyoucalledthecops? Yes,Isighed.TheytoldmeIwas overthinkingthesituation.
Juliansexpressiondarkened.Hisfingersdrummedagainstthetable,clearlycalculatingthenextmove.
-Then,withoutwarning,hestood up.
Waithere,hesaidfirmly.
Igrabbedhiswristbeforehe couldmove anyfurther.Whatareyoudoing? Imgoingtofindoutwhothatdouchebagisandwhathewants.
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