Taken In by the Pack: Second Chances Read Online Free Page B

clothes as I owned.
     
    I nodded, and we linked arms, turning to head back towards the food court.
     
    “You mind if we stop so I can grab something to go, to eat back in my room?” she asked almost timidly as we started to pass the food kiosks.
     
    I winced, chuckling a bit. “Of course I don’t mind. Probably not a bad idea for me too, anyway.” I waved for her to take her pick, and she went over to her favorite little Chinese place.
     
    As we waited for our orders, I glanced around edgily. When I caught sight of the man again, I felt like someone punched me in the gut, and I nearly fled, food be damned. I managed to keep myself under control, but I spent the remaining moments shifting from foot to foot anxiously. I probably looked like I needed to pee.
     
    “Hey, Ada, breathe, it’ll be okay,” Angie tried to reassure me.
     
    I frowned and nodded, and nearly snatched the little Asian woman’s hand off with the food when she finally proffered our bags.
     
    I looked around, then, and caught sight of one of the mall security guards. Well, if this wasn’t a perfectly good time for one, what were they even there for? I grabbed Angie’s hand and tugged her in his direction.
     
    “Uhm… excuse me, sir?”
     
    The rotund man turned to look at me curiously. “Yes, miss? What can I do for ya?”
     
    “Well, I uh… I’m not sure, but I think there may be a guy following us. Me. Maybe. Is there any chance you could walk us out to my car? We’re right outside this exit, just a few rows in.” I motioned towards the nearby doors.
     
    “Sure, I could do that for ya, dear. You sure you don’t want to call the cops, though, if ya think you’re bein’ followed?”
     
    I considered for a long moment, but then shook my head. “No, I don’t think so, not yet anyway, though I will if he keeps it up.”
     
    “Alright, it’s up t’you.” He smiled, an offhanded sort of friendliness, and motioned for us to lead the way.
     
    We made it out to my car quickly; as I’d told him, we were not parked far away. To my relief, I saw no sign that Sideburns had followed us outside. I thanked the guard profusely, and we climbed into the car.
     
     
    ❖ ❖ ❖

 
     
    I took Angie back to her dorm, dropping her off right by the door. She leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek after she gathered up all her bags.
     
    “Try not to stress it, Ada,” she reassured me. “It’s gotta be a coincidence.”
     
    I frowned, but nodded. I believed in coincidence even less now than I had a week ago, which wasn’t much to begin with. There was no need to make Ang fret about me any worse, though, I figured.
     
    I waited to make sure she made it into the dorm okay, before I pulled out to head for home. I noticed, absently, that an old red pickup pulled out at the same time, a good bit down the road behind me.
     
    I didn’t think anything of it when it turned the same direction I did at the end of the road. After all, it was a 50/50 chance, right?
     
    The second time it turned the same way as me, it didn’t ring any alarm bells, either. It’s not like it was right on my bumper, there were even a few cars between me and the truck.
     
    By the third or fourth turn, though, I was starting to get anxious. More in an attempt to reassure myself than anything, I turned down a little used side-road. I stopped at a stop sign, watching my rearview, and after a few moments of nothing, I let out a sigh of relief.
     
    Then the truck turned down the road behind me, after I normally would have been several blocks down the way. My adrenaline spiked into overdrive. I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal so hard my tires actually squealed; I don’t think I’d ever squealed my tires before, other than trying to accelerate from a stop on a wet hillside.
     
    I wasn’t even sure what I should do, where I should go, except I knew I wanted to go there fast . Eventually, I decided to do what any sensible, mature, independent young