Page 5 of The Stolen Dagger

CHAPTER THREE

THE PRESENT

KATHERINE

T he pounding in my ears drowned out the music and chatter of the bar.

The steady thumping of the bass through the room was the only thing grounding me to the present as I re-read the handwritten note.

Mi Princesa,

I finally found you.

You can’t escape me again. You know what I want.

Ready or not, here I come.

As his words set in, the ice that had kept me frozen where I stood finally melted, and the itch to run was stronger than ever.

How did he find me? Why send a note?

“Who’s Adrian?” Drew asked. His voice brought me out of my stupor, and I looked up into his concerned gaze. “Katherine? You okay?”

I was not okay. I was definitely not okay. And if I stayed here any longer, no one else would be because Adrian found me.

Closing my fist around the note, it crinkled under my grip. I cleared my throat and turned to Sarah, who still stood beside the bar. Her dark eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Who gave this to you?” I asked desperately.

“Um …” Sarah looked around the bar. “I don’t see him now, but he was wearing a black hoodie. A real big guy. I think I saw blond hair under the hood.”

Blond? Adrian didn’t have blond hair.

I searched through the handful of people still in the bar. The crowd tonight was mostly regulars and a few groups of college kids.

Nothing looked out of place until movement caught my eye in the farthest corner behind the band.

A man in a hood stepped out of the darkness into the low lights that hung from the stage. I couldn’t see his face, but he stood over six feet tall and filled up most of the doorway.

That wasn’t Adrian. Who is that?

I squinted, trying to make out a face in the low lighting, but couldn’t see any discernible features. I needed a closer look.

Feeling brave, and equally stupid, I moved closer, but a large hand wrapped around my upper arm.

I startled.

“Hey,” Drew soothed, drawing back my attention. His dark eyebrows creased in concern. “What’s going on? Who’s Adrian?”

I looked back to where the person in the black hoodie stood, but they were gone, and so was my courage. Fear slithered up my spine and triggered a familiar response inside me.

I have to get out of here.

“N—no one.” I stammered out an answer to Drew and untied my apron. “Um, Sarah, can you cover for me? I have to go.”

I didn’t wait for her answer as I walked around the shelves of alcohol in the center of the bar to the swinging door on the counter.

“What do you mean you have to go?” Drew questioned, following along on the other side of the bar. “What’s wrong?”

I ignored him, not ready to give him an answer and unwilling to come up with another lie. My vision tunneled as I rushed to the breakroom for my things.

If Adrian found me, then Pearl could be in trouble. She was the only one who knew why I had left, and she was in her seventies. She didn’t stand a chance against Adrian if he got his hands on her.

I have to call her. Make sure she’s okay.

After I retrieved my things from my locker and stuffed the crumbled note into my purse with shaky hands, I headed for the bar’s back door, but Drew appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path.

“Katherine, please,” Drew pleaded. His gaze was sharp and shifted between my eyes and the purse in my hand. “Tell me what’s wrong. Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, looking down. “I have to go.” I couldn’t look into his eyes because the moment I did, I would spill everything. I couldn’t do that to him.

“You’re scared.” Drew bent down, trying to catch my gaze. “Whatever it is, I can help you. I’m a cop, remember?”

“That is exactly why you can’t help me,” I snapped. “Just leave me alone.” I twisted around him and exited the bar.

Drew didn’t follow me a second time. It was better that way. Drew, Leah, and Tyler needed to be as far away from this—me—as possible. Adrian was my own problem to deal with.

I speed-walked to my car at the far end of the parking lot. The wind swirled around me, rustling the trees that surrounded the back of the property, and goosebumps broke out along my arms. It was a chilly night in Hawthorn, Oklahoma.

When I reached my beat-up silver Honda Civic, I unlocked my phone and called Pearl’s number. The dial tone rang at an obnoxious volume.

“Come on,” I whispered. “Pick up.”

The line beeped dead. No answer.

I dialed her number again and, with the phone to my ear, glanced behind me.

The large blue neon sign titled Jerry’s Bar and Grill was mounted above the many wooden beams that adorned the front entrance. Red and brown layered brick walls wrapped around the single-story building.

There were a few patrons meandering outside, and the security guy, Tom, who sat on a stool by the front double doors.

He crossed his meaty, tattoo-covered arms over his chest, resting them on his bulging stomach. Like all security guards, he was a big guy and looked just as mean, but Tom was really like a teddy bear.

The phone beeped against my ear. No answer … again.

When Tom saw me across the lot, he raised his large, dark hand in a wave and lifted his chin in farewell.

I gave him a small smile in return, about to climb into my car when a figure off to the right made me pause.

The same man in a black hoodie stood in the distance around the corner of the building. He didn’t make a move to approach me but just stood there, watching .

Then, he lifted his finger up to his mouth as if to say “shush,” and a chill slithered up my spine.

I looked back to Tom, who was now checking a group of sorority girls’ IDs at the door, and thought of alerting him, but what if the man in the hood was armed? He was closer to Tom than I was, and I didn’t want to put Tom’s life at risk.

An overwhelming urge to leave town came over me, but could I do it again? Could I leave everything behind?

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave Leah or Tyler or even Drew. I’d made a life for myself here. Like hell, I’d go back to Adrian.

With one last look at the creeping figure in a black hood, I opened my car door, got inside, threw my purse into the passenger seat, and drove away.

I had to get home. I would decide what to do then.