Page 9 of Protecting Paige

He told me about a woman from work that he’d had a crush on for years. He wanted to know if she’d ever see him as more than a coworker. Rather than give him a definitive answer, I said it might help to ask her to join him for coffee or lunch. Start slowly and let their relationship build from there.

Predictions of the future? No. But I thought it was pretty good advice.

Derrick is still staring at me, waiting for an answer. His foot starts tapping impatiently. His lips thin.

“I—” My dumb voice cracks again. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I can’t see everything. But… maybe I can help. I want to. If you could untie?—”

“No!” he barks, and his face infuses with anger. “I’m not letting you go. Not until you fix things!” He stops. “And if you can’t…” He glances at the gun still held in his hand. “I guess there’s no use for you at all.”

My heart stops.

I always thought that was just a saying. Like, how could your heart actually stop from fear? But now I know it’s possible.

My breath comes in shallow, uneven bursts. A band wraps around my chest and wrenches tight. It’s a struggle to get enough air to speak.

“Okay,” I say. “Okay. Maybe… you could tell me what’s wrong?”

“Don’t you know?” he retorts. “Since you’re supposed to be a psychic and all.”

“It doesn’t work like that. I can’t… I need time. I can’t be…” What? Terrified out of my mind? On the verge of a panic attack?

“I’m scared,” I finally decide on. “It’s hard to read anything when I’m scared like this.”

Derrick huffs. “Fine. I’ll tell you.” He starts pacing again. “First, I did what you said at work. I started calling other people’s clients and offering to take them on myself. I told them I’d be a much better salesperson than their current one. But my boss didn’t like that. Hereprimandedme. And a month later, I got laid off. He said it was budgetary, but I know the truth. He just wanted to get rid of me.”

That’s most definitelynotwhat I told him to do.

“I’m sorry,” I start.

“And,” he continues, “I asked out Emilia. My coworker—no, ex-coworker, now. I sent four dozen roses to her cubicle. I bought her an expensive necklace. And I asked her out right in the middle of the office, so she’d know how much I wanted to go out with her.”

My stomach sinks.

“She turned me down!” he whines. “And when I asked her out the next day, she reported me to HR. Can you believe that?”

I shake my head.

“So I lost my jobandthe girl. And you know what else?”

“No,” I whisper.

“Since I don’t have a job, I don’t get a paycheck, either. The guy I’m renting my house from is going to kick me out unless Icome up with two months’ missed rent. So I’m going to be out a job, a house, and the girl. That is—” Derrick stops in front of me again. He pins me with his gaze. “Unlessyoulook into the future and tell me how to make everything better again.”

What?

Is this for real?

Will I wake up to discover this is just a bad dream?

“Well?” Derrick’s voice dips dangerously. “Do your job. Tell me what to do.”

It’s hard to focus on anything other than the terror raging through me.

It’s hard to focus on anything other than the gun he’s holding.

But if I want any chance of getting out of here, I need to.

What would Cillian do? He wouldn’t panic. He’d be logical about it.