Page 26 of Fated Love with You

EPISODE 9

Autumn

Istare into the distance, waiting for Kylie to return to me, but her taillights dissolve into the highway’s red and white blur.

As the seconds slip into minutes, my mind spins endlessly. I remember that these men are far from the first to follow me since I’ve fallen into Ryder’s world, and I suddenly feel like I’m watching my character in a novel with third-person narration.

Autumn clutches her chest as it tightens, and reality slowly dawns. She’s just turned away her best friend again, this time for a man she barely knows…

What the hell is she thinking?

Taking out my phone, I call Kylie but it doesn’t ring.

It goes straight to voicemail.

I swallow the lump in my throat and try again. This time, I’m met with a message, “The number you’ve reached is not currently accepting calls.”

She’s blocked me.

Turning around, I walk past the dumpster and spot Ryder’s men sitting in a black car.

Unnerved, I approach and tap the window.

It slowly rolls down.

“Yes, Miss Jane?” the driver asks.

“Why is he making you follow me?”

He blinks.

“How long have you been working for him?”

No answer.

“If you’re being forced to serve as my unwanted shadow, you could at least speak to me.”

The man in the passenger seat keeps his gaze straight ahead while the driver adjusts a setting on the dashboard.

“I’m going to Target now. Will you be joining me there?”

“Target is closed at this time of night, Miss Jane,” the driver finally speaks. “There’s a twenty-four-hour Walmart two exits away.”

“I’d like for you not to follow me anymore,” I say. “And I’d like you to tell your boss that I don’t want to hear from him for a while.”

He blinks.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” I raise my voice. “Can you at least shake your head and act like I’m not speaking another language?”

He rolls up the window.

I tap the glass again, harder this time, but he stares ahead like he can’t hear.

Frustrated, I head to my car and try Kylie again before calling Ryder.

“Yes, Autumn?” he answers on the first ring.

“You just cost me my best friend.”