Chapter 16: Tapas and Trepidation

AVA

My date with Tobias flew by. It was pleasant enough. We went to a different place than last time, a tapas restaurant.

Tobias hadn’t made reservations this time either, but luckily there were plenty of tables left. Since it was a tapas restaurant, we didn’t have to be awkward about sharing dishes; that was the whole point.

The food was lovely, the staff was great, and we got along well. Our conversation was light and airy, and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

I felt myself relax more and more with each passing hour. When we got back to the parking garage, I was surprised to find that I was disappointed the date had come to an end.

Tobias offered to drive me home, but since my car was still in the parking garage, I insisted he take me back to work so I could drive myself.

“Thanks for tonight! I had fun,” I said, smiling genuinely.

“Thank ~you~ for dinner. It’s been forever since I was treated to a nice meal.”

I laughed and got out of the car. Tobias also exited, and we met up in front of his car. We hugged and held on a few moments longer than necessary.

When we released enough to look each other in the eye, I noticed him staring at my lips.

I could almost hear him contemplating whether to kiss me, and suddenly Cyrus’s face flashed through my mind. I immediately took a step back, shocked.

Tobias seemed to snap out of his hypnosis, and he cleared his throat. “Would you, uh, like to do this again sometime?”

“Yes,” I managed to squeeze out, still trying to collect myself.

“Good. We’ll talk details tomorrow.”

I nodded.

“Where are you parked?”

I waved in the direction of my car, which was on the other side of the lot.

“I’ll drop you off closer!”

I waved dismissively. “Don’t worry about it! I could use the exercise after tonight.” I rubbed my belly dramatically.

“Sure?” Tobias asked as he climbed into his car.

I nodded again and started walking in the direction of my car to prove my point.

“Text me when you get home!” he called out of his car window as he drove by me and into the night.

I pulled out my phone and texted Maisy while walking toward my car.

Ava

All done

Maisy

Any sparks tonight or did you spend the whole date thinking about another special someone again?

Ava

No sparks with Tobe, but it was really good!

Maisy

…and?

Ava

My thoughts may have wandered a LITTLE.

Maisy

I KNEW IT! You totally have the hots for your boss!!

Before I knew what was happening, my phone was suddenly snatched from my hand.

I whipped my head around, expecting to see a familiar face pulling a prank on me, but my heart sank as I looked into a strange face mostly covered by a hood.

My purse was yanked from my shoulder by another set of hands, and the first man pressed me into the nearest parked car.

Tears of fear started to cloud my vision as I felt the cold steel of a blade pressed up to my throat.

The shorter one of the two hooded men started going through my purse. He pulled out my car keys and pressed the Unlock button. My headlights flashed in the distance.

The men grabbed my arms and started to pull me in the direction of my car. ~Never let them take you to a second location~ flashed through my mind, and finally, I regained control of my limbs.

I started to fight for my life, yanking my arms and kicking my legs to get myself free. I started screaming too, but a gloved hand wrapped around my mouth and muffled the sound.

“Do you want to die?!” the taller guy screamed in my face.

My mind was racing through all my options: fighting, surrendering, screaming… The men continued to drag me toward my car as I tried to break free from their hold.

~Fight dirty.~ Using the hold the men had on my arms, I put my full force into my leg, propelling it upward and kicking my knee into the taller guy’s groin. He doubled over, releasing his hold on my arm.

I yanked it free and tried to use the momentary confusion to my advantage and break free, but the other guy grabbed the collar of my coat and jerked me backward, and I fell and hit my head on the concrete parking deck.

“You’re going to die tonight, you little bitch.”

The first guy raised the knife, and the blade flickered in the dim garage lights. He plunged the blade toward my torso, but I managed to block it, and I felt a sharp pain in the back of my forearm.

I rolled backward and scrambled away a little before the shorter one grabbed me by the ankles and pulled me back toward them. I screamed as I felt the blade plunge into my thigh.

Suddenly, there was another voice—a deep, strange, but somehow also familiar one—booming from the other side of the parking deck.

“What the fuck is going on here?!”

All of us momentarily forgot what we were doing and looked up. The figure whose voice it was started running toward us. The hooded men looked at each other and then sprinted away.

I immediately focused my attention on my bleeding thigh. It was not spurting blood, which was a good sign. They probably didn’t hit my femoral artery.

I took off my coat. The feltlike material was too thick and stiff to use. I started taking off my blouse when the guy who had scared off my attackers knelt beside me.

For a split second, as I looked up, I thought it was Cyrus, but then I realized it wasn’t.

The guy looked very similar, but he had a buzz cut and was a little older. He was also just as widely built as Cyrus, but he seemed to be slightly shorter. ~This must be his brother.~

“Are you okay?!” he asked, panting, as his eyes scanned my body for injuries.

“They stabbed me in my leg.”

“I’m calling 911.”

“Could you give me a hand?” I was still struggling to get my blood-soaked arm out of its sleeve.

The guy put his phone on speaker and set it on the ground next to us. Instead of helping me with my sleeve, he took off his suit jacket and his button-down, leaving just his sleeveless undershirt on.

“Do I tie it as a tourniquet?” he asked, looking helpless.

I took his shirt from him as the 911 dispatcher answered the phone and asked us for our location.

The guy answered their questions while I started packing my leg wound, which was my main concern, given how much blood I was losing.

“Could you push down on it?” I asked the guy.

He wrapped his hand around the makeshift dressing and put some light pressure as he went on explaining our situation to the operator.

“Really put your weight into it,” I told him through gritted teeth.

We sat there with the dispatcher still on the phone, waiting for the ambulance to show up.

“I’m Dominic,” the guy said.

“Ava.”

“Nice to meet you.”

We smiled grimly at each other. It didn’t take too long before we heard sirens downstairs.

“I need to go open the gate,” Dominic said.

“Go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please. I would love some medical attention.”

“Ah. Right.” He slowly let go of the dressing and ran off.

I pressed down where he had, but it suddenly hurt a lot worse than before. I flinched and grit my teeth. Luckily, Dominic came back very quickly, accompanied by the ambulance.

“Up you go,” he said, and he hoisted me up into his arms before I could stop him.

He started carrying me toward the ambulance, where the paramedic who had been pulling the gurney out frantically tried to get him to set me down.

Dominic put me straight onto the gurney, and the paramedic started to assess my injuries. After I had an IV inserted and was strapped onto the gurney, I was rolled into the ambulance.

“Can he come with me?” I asked the paramedic, pointing to Dominic. “I mean…if you want.”

Dominic nodded and grabbed my hand. He scooted into the ambulance, and we took off.