Page 89 of Knotted their Beauty

Something else most likely being a quick fuck and a lot of cursing, but still.

If I’d have hit some loose gravel, or god knows what else, this could have turned into a disaster, and I’d rather be solo for something like that.

“Do you need any help?”

I turn slowly toward the feminine voice, lifting my hand to block the sun from my eyes as I squint. “Pardon?”

She rolls her window down further, forcing a smile to spread across her thin lips. “Do you need any help? Maybe call for a tow?”

“Thanks,” I say, shaking my head. “But I’ve got it.”

“Are you sure? It’s pretty hot out. A terrible day to be stuck on the side of the road. You could sit in my car and call if you want. I promise, I don’t bite.”

For some reason, her choice of words raises my hackles.

I don’t like this. It feels all wrong.

Sure, it’s common courtesy to offer assistance to someone in need. Some might even say it’s the right thing to do, and while I’m sure there’s truth to that, this feels weird.

I regard her for a moment, my eyes moving from her dark hair to the large sunglasses covering her eyes. Her sharp features and all black clothing. The way she seems to be white-knuckling the steering wheel and shifting around in her seat.

Despite their designation, I wouldn’t expect someone female presenting and clearly on the smaller side of evolution to stop and offer help to someone who is obviously close to double their size. Looks can be deceiving, yeah, and anything can be a weapon these days, but, as I’ve said before, I look like the retired hockey player-slash-felon that I am. I’d second guess stopping for a guy like me any day.

The fact that she isn’t has a red flag raising for sure.

“I’m good,” I repeat, waiting for her to leave, but she doesn’t.

This lady idles her car, staring at me like she has something on her mind, and I don’t fucking like that either.

“Well, maybe you can help me, then?”

I frown as I face her completely and cross my arms against my chest. “Maybe.”

“I think I’m lost.”

“Okay.”

“Can you tell me where…” She turns and reaches into the passenger seat, quickly pulling what looks like an old school map out and spreads it against the steering wheel. “McLain Drive is?”

That’s two blocks over from our air bnb.

Is it the same street? No. Do I have any reason to think that’s her real destination? Also, no, but that just makes the stone in my stomach start growing into a boulder.

“I’m not from around here.” I’m not, and maybe I shouldn’t tell her that, but I don’t really want her to know I’m staying close to there, either. She is giving bad vibes that are almost suffocating.

The lady nods and sighs. “That’s too bad. I’m really hoping to find McLain Drive. I’m supposed to meet someone there, and I’m already extremely late.”

“Sorry,” I grunt with a shrug. “Can’t help you. Could check the police station.”

She lets out a forced, kind of strange laugh and sets her map down. “Heavens, no. I’d hate to trouble them with something as simple as directions. It seems so silly.”

Or just fucking weird.

This entire interaction is creeping me out, and I’m supposed to be the one who does that to people, not the other way around. But even as I watch her drive off, that feeling of doom grows with each passing mile until her taillights are out of view.

I stare long after that, my eyes trained on the road, waiting for any sign of a vehicle or that one in particular to turn around and double back, but it doesn’t.

I blow out a breath and go back to the van then jump about forty feet in the air when my phone goes off.