Hunting Cari (First Wave) Read Online Free

their exchange
and felt trapped. She knew it would look rude to these people if she didn’t
take his hand, but she dreaded it. Already feeling nauseous from the man’s
proximity to her, she prepared herself for his touch.
    “Mary Rogers,” she lied easily and
quickly shook his hand before turning away from him. She willed her stomach not
to heave from the brief contact with him. Although he smiled at her in a
pleasant manner, it seemed contrived and his touch repulsed her.
    Her joy at being in the store alone
had quickly evaporated, and she vowed to finish the shopping as fast as
possible. Luckily, the only things left to get on her list were yogurt and
cheese, all close by, and then she could leave. This was one time she was
grateful Uncle Randor insisted that the supply lists were organized by where
the items were located in the store, to minimize the time spent in them.
    She began throwing random yogurt
containers into the cart, not caring what she got, just wanting to hurry now.
Feelings she couldn’t seem to define rolled off of the man in waves, making her
more nervous by the second. She had to stop herself from leaving the cart and
running outside to Uncle Randor and safety.
    She couldn’t really say she felt
she was in danger, but she was uneasy. And she knew she couldn’t just run to
Uncle Randor. He’d never stop treating her like a child if she did. She needed
this to show him that she could take care of herself for the minor things, like
shopping. That she could at least help out for more than just the household
things that needed to be done.
    “You must be new in town. I haven’t
seen you here before. Did you just move here recently?” He asked from behind
her. For some reason, the fact that he kept coming up behind her bothered her a
lot. In fact, it scared her. Her need to get out of there grew much stronger
now. “Just vacation,” she replied, walking away from him for a third time. Why
wouldn’t he leave her alone! She grabbed Uncle Randor's favorite sliced cheese
and headed to the front of the store to check out, hoping he wouldn’t follow
her.
    Her arm was yanked roughly back,
spinning her around to face Vince Baker. The overwhelming nausea hit instantly,
and she used her other hand to cover her stomach, hoping she wouldn’t throw up
in the aisle. She looked around and noticed a few people paying attention to
the exchange between them. She had to get out of there! Trying to think through
her near panic she almost screamed at him, “What the hell is wrong with you?
Since when is it ok to grab someone you don’t even know like this? Take your
hand off me NOW!”
    Vince Baker looked at her with fury
in his eyes and tightened his grip on her arm until she knew she’d have bruises
from the grip. She bit back a cry of pain, not willing to give him the
satisfaction she somehow knew he would get from hearing it. “You’re hurting me!
Let me go!” She said loudly, noticing the crowd of people around them getting
larger.
    “Sir, take your hand of that poor
girl! My wife has already notified security!” An older man said to Vince while
hurrying up to them. Cari flashed the man a grateful smile for intervening. She
guessed him to be in his late 40s. And although shorter than her, he was pretty
stocky. He stared angrily at Vince and again demanded, “I said to take your
hand off of her!”
    Two younger men in their mid-20s
joined the growing group, one going on each side of Vince. The bigger one on
the right looked at him and said, “Are you stupid or something? Get your hand
off of the lady.”
    Vince increased the bruising grip
on her arm for a second, before finally letting go and stepping away from her,
the look of barely restrained anger on his face promising retribution. What was
wrong with this guy? Was he mentally defective? Why would he attack someone he
didn’t even know like this? Cari wondered in shock, trying to calm herself.
    An older woman pulled her gently
away from the men who