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Authors: Linda Gerber
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posted on the wall. I paused long enough to find my train and platform number. My heart sank. There were ten minutes before the next train. What was I supposed to do for ten minutes? Where was I supposed to hide?
I spun around, looking for someplace—anyplace—but there was nothing, not even a bathroom to duck in to. All I saw were a handful of pay toilet booths, and I had no change.
It was well past rush hour, so only a few people milled about, waiting for the train—no crowd to get lost in. Even worse, I realized, the platform itself was a dead end. No escape routes. I was trapped.
By then I was in full panic mode. I spun around to head back to the main platform and ran smack into Ryan. He was breathing heavily and his face glistened with sweat.
He caught me as I stumbled backward. “We’ll need to work on your evasion technique.”
My hands curled into fists. “That was you chasing after me? Why didn’t you just tell me? I about had a heart attack.”
“You didn’t exactly hang around long enough for me to tell you anything.”
“Ever heard of calling after me?”
“Would you have stopped?”
“No. Why are you following me, anyway?”
“To make sure you were safe.”
I thought about me dodging cars on the boulevard and I wanted to hit him. “Go back home, Ryan. You’re not going to stop me.”
“Stop you from what?”
“Oh, come on. I know what you’re doing.”
He raised his chin, challenging. “And what is that?”
“You found out where I’m going and you came to take me back to my mom.”
“Of course not,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”
“What? No.” What was I, twelve? I didn’t need him to hold my hand. “I can do this myself.”
“So you know where to find your boyfriend?”
I don’t know why that made me mad, but it did. Maybe because I knew it could never be true. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I said darkly.
Ryan started to reply, but his voice was drowned out by an incomprehensible voice coming over the loudspeakers. He cocked his head as he listened and then pointed his chin toward a long line of cars rumbling into the station. “This is our train.”
“ My train,” I corrected.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close so that his face was within inches of mine. “It’s my job to protect you,” he said in a low voice. “I’m coming with you.”
CHAPTER 6
I stared him down. This was not the first time Ryan had told me he had been assigned to watch over me. When we were in the Cascades, he’d said the same thing. What was he, my permanent guardian? I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea or resented it. In any case, it made arguing with him pointless. I had little alternative but to give in. At least for the moment. “Fine,” I grumbled.
Ryan ushered me onto the train and steered me toward a couple of vacant seats. The weight of his hand on my back felt at once comforting and confining.
As soon we sat, he grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. My eyes grew wide and I quickly tried to pull my hand away, but that only made him tighten his grip. Again I pulled and once again his fingers tightened. It was like getting caught in one of those Chinese finger traps you get at cheap arcades. Anyone looking on would think we were just two lovers holding hands, but I knew there was nothing romantic intended; Ryan had tethered me to him as surely as if he had locked handcuffs onto both our wrists. His smug smile made me want to fight. I wasn’t as weak as he seemed to assume. On the other hand, any action I took would cause a scene and my mission would be over before it began. I sighed and let my hand go limp.
It wasn’t until we transferred trains in Gare de Lyon that I realized Caraday had booked a private compartment for the overnight trip to Varese.
Ryan grinned like a little kid. He plopped down on one bench seat and stretched out his legs, resting his feet on the opposite
I spun around, looking for someplace—anyplace—but there was nothing, not even a bathroom to duck in to. All I saw were a handful of pay toilet booths, and I had no change.
It was well past rush hour, so only a few people milled about, waiting for the train—no crowd to get lost in. Even worse, I realized, the platform itself was a dead end. No escape routes. I was trapped.
By then I was in full panic mode. I spun around to head back to the main platform and ran smack into Ryan. He was breathing heavily and his face glistened with sweat.
He caught me as I stumbled backward. “We’ll need to work on your evasion technique.”
My hands curled into fists. “That was you chasing after me? Why didn’t you just tell me? I about had a heart attack.”
“You didn’t exactly hang around long enough for me to tell you anything.”
“Ever heard of calling after me?”
“Would you have stopped?”
“No. Why are you following me, anyway?”
“To make sure you were safe.”
I thought about me dodging cars on the boulevard and I wanted to hit him. “Go back home, Ryan. You’re not going to stop me.”
“Stop you from what?”
“Oh, come on. I know what you’re doing.”
He raised his chin, challenging. “And what is that?”
“You found out where I’m going and you came to take me back to my mom.”
“Of course not,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”
“What? No.” What was I, twelve? I didn’t need him to hold my hand. “I can do this myself.”
“So you know where to find your boyfriend?”
I don’t know why that made me mad, but it did. Maybe because I knew it could never be true. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I said darkly.
Ryan started to reply, but his voice was drowned out by an incomprehensible voice coming over the loudspeakers. He cocked his head as he listened and then pointed his chin toward a long line of cars rumbling into the station. “This is our train.”
“ My train,” I corrected.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close so that his face was within inches of mine. “It’s my job to protect you,” he said in a low voice. “I’m coming with you.”
CHAPTER 6
I stared him down. This was not the first time Ryan had told me he had been assigned to watch over me. When we were in the Cascades, he’d said the same thing. What was he, my permanent guardian? I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea or resented it. In any case, it made arguing with him pointless. I had little alternative but to give in. At least for the moment. “Fine,” I grumbled.
Ryan ushered me onto the train and steered me toward a couple of vacant seats. The weight of his hand on my back felt at once comforting and confining.
As soon we sat, he grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. My eyes grew wide and I quickly tried to pull my hand away, but that only made him tighten his grip. Again I pulled and once again his fingers tightened. It was like getting caught in one of those Chinese finger traps you get at cheap arcades. Anyone looking on would think we were just two lovers holding hands, but I knew there was nothing romantic intended; Ryan had tethered me to him as surely as if he had locked handcuffs onto both our wrists. His smug smile made me want to fight. I wasn’t as weak as he seemed to assume. On the other hand, any action I took would cause a scene and my mission would be over before it began. I sighed and let my hand go limp.
It wasn’t until we transferred trains in Gare de Lyon that I realized Caraday had booked a private compartment for the overnight trip to Varese.
Ryan grinned like a little kid. He plopped down on one bench seat and stretched out his legs, resting his feet on the opposite
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