I shoved back from my seat, ready to head out. Jeff strode over, his eyes raking over my body greedily the way he always used to do.
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the check from Alyssa and shoved it at him. “Stop ogling me and check us out.”
“That’s precisely what I’m doing, Cass.”
The nickname sounded foreign on his lips when Sam had used it so many times before. Only from him, it sent shivers down my spine in a way it never would with Jeff.
“You know what I mean. Stop being a pervert.”
“Hey, you used to love me,” he frowned.
“As in the past,” I reminded him. “And it was puppy love.”
“Hey!”
“Puppies are cute until they grow into full-grown dogs.” I smiled sweetly at him, but he didn’t look any happier about the reference.
“I was desperately in love with you,” he grumbled.
“You were desperately in love with sex. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, well…”
I smirked at his lack of argument. “The check?”
“Yeah, fine.”
Grumbling, he strode away. I took a moment to thank God that he was back to his normal self and not still lying in that hospital bed, fighting for his life. I may not love Jeff anymore, but he would always hold a special place in my heart.
“Man, you just have them lining up at the door,” Alyssa smirked, tossing her purse over her shoulder.
“Jeff is not lining up. He’s teasing me, which he happens to love to do.”
“Still, what I wouldn’t give for a man to look at me the way they all look at you.”
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
One was a previous boyfriend, and the other would never commit.
Jeff returned with the receipt, and then we were off. It was only as I was heading to the door that I noticed the brooding eyes staring at me from across the restaurant. I tried desperately to ignore them, but the way he was watching me only made me wish he was looking at me like that because he needed me for more than just sex.
Brushing off that thought, I shoved the door open and headed out. I refused to think about Sam anymore tonight.
The cold air smacked me in the face, but I relished the bite on my cheeks. Along with the sting came the harsh reality that I was playing a dangerous game I would never win.
“We should get a movie and?—”
A scream tore through the darkness, and as I spun around, my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I found Alyssa in the grips of a man I’d never seen before. With his hand fisted in her hair, he kept her pressed against his body as a knife against her throat.
He took a step back, dragging Alyssa with him just as the door to the restaurant flew open and Sam came rushing out with Jeff hot on his heels. With a quick glance to make sure I was alright, he turned his attention to the man holding Alyssa. His whole demeanor changed from tense to downright murderous.
“You thought you could hide?” the man sneered, pressing the knife into her throat. “I found you, bitch. You’re coming home with me.”
Tears poured down Alyssa’s cheeks as she stumbled along with the man, trying to keep from slicing her own neck on the knife. “Will?—”
“Shut up!” he hissed.
I took a step back, peering over my shoulder. If I ran hard, I could get to the police station across the street and get help. The man was distracted, barely paying any attention to me.