Not Safe Here Anymore
Chapter 75
Addison’s POV
Seeing that we were leaving, the server told him she would grab a to–go box for him and ran off to grab it. I could hear her calling him back to the table as I headed to the door. He hurried back to the table to grab his food, and I took the opportunity to leave. I would not just stand there and watch him get flirted with again. I had just exited the doors when a handsome man.
approached me from the parking lot.
“Hey, beautiful. Ditch your man?” he asked as he approached. It was no secret to anyone who had paid attention that Garrett and I were not getting along. We were quietly arguing, and most had left us to it. This guy had been watching me earlier. He almost seemed amused by Garrett and me arguing. He had even been bold enough to wink at me before he left. I thought he was gone already. I was not paying him any mind. I think he was just trying to mess with
- me.
“Were you out here waiting for me?” I asked in surprise. I was trying to remain calm even as I felt the hairs on my arms rise. His vibe was off, and he was making me nervous. I didn’t want him any closer to me. I wanted to let Colton know I was outside. I quickly turned and started walking towards Colton’s truck.
“Hey, I am not trying to scare you, doll. I like how you look, and wanted to get your number. Wait up,” he said as he broke into a jog to get in front of me. He now stood in my way to stop
me from leaving.
I could see Colton’s vehicle from here. I knew he would be watching for me after I left the
table. He had been right outside where we had been seated. Garrett didn’t see him, as the tint
on Colton’s truck was dark. You couldn’t see anyone sitting inside it.
“Look, I’m flattered, but I’m engaged. I am not going to give you my number. I just want to go
home,” I told him as calmly as I could.
I was nervous as he was a big guy. I was trying to be friendly, as I didn’t want to piss him off. Probably another college football player. They sure didn’t like being shot down. They all thought of themselves as God’s gift to women. But I wasn’t interested in him. He was about Garrett’s height but had a bigger, more muscular build. He didn’t have a baseball cap in the restaurant, but he suddenly did now. He had it pulled down to create shadows on his face, and
the sirens in my head started to go
off.
1/4
9 Point
Not Safe Here Anymore
“I don’t want any trouble. I only want to go home,” I told him as I changed tactics and ran
around him to run toward Colton’s truck. He grabbed my upper arm firmly as I passed him, and
his laugh made chills run through me.
“I’m not offering to marry you, honey. I just want a taste. One night, no names, and we never
have to see each other again. Unless your luck runs out, Addison, then I assure you we will
meet again. Unfortunately for you, I can promise that the circumstances won’t be quite as
nice,” he told me.
I twisted my arm out of his grip, using his thumb as the weak point. I flinched as I snatched
my arm free, as I knew I was going to have bruises from how tight his grip on my arm was. I
ran away from him a few steps, planning to run to Colton’s truck, when I stopped short and
breathed a sigh of relief. Colton stood directly behind the guy. I had no idea how long he had
been standing there, but I felt completely relieved at seeing him there to help me. Colton held
out his phone straight at the guy’s face when he turned to chase after me.
“I already called the police,” Colton told him in a voice I had never heard. He was fearless and
ready to take action against this guy.
The man tipped his head down a further to keep his face from being seen and gave a low
chuckle. “See you next time, doll. Don’t blame me for having wanted you to come to me willingly. I assure you that you won’t be willing the next time around.”
He then turned and jogged over to his white SUV to leave. Colton followed him, intending to get his tag number, but when I looked, there were no tags on the vehicle. There should have been two on it, one on the front and one on the back. Yet he had neither. His tires squealed on the pavement as he quickly tore out of the parking lot.
I felt sick and was glad that Colton caught me. All I could think about was the fact that he had been bold enough to try to attack me in broad daylight. He wasn’t scared at all of coming after me. Colton’s arm was wrapped around me, and he said, “I got a picture of him, Addison. I’m going to turn it over to the police. I think he may be one of the men working with Tammy.”
“He knew my name, Colton. I think you’re right,” I managed to breathe out.
My mind was all over the place, and I was breathing erratically. That guy didn’t look capable of harming anyone. Not when he first stepped out. But that all changed when he grabbed me. He was scary. His eyes were dead, just like a shark. He didn’t care that he was hurting me at all. I’m almost positive he wanted to kidnap me. I’m trying to calm myself down but can’t seem to
control my breathing.
“Don’t move, Addison,” Colton told me. He pointed down at the ground, and I was shocked to see a syringe lying there on the sidewalk.
2/4
+8 Points
Not Safe Here Anymore
“Can you stand on your own?” Colton asked in concern. I nodded, knowing he would get an
evidence bag from his truck. “Hold my phone for me, and keep it trained on the syringe. I will be right back,” he told me before returning to his truck.
That was evidence as I had been looking at the ground earlier as I hurried towards Colton’s
truck. I shuddered to think what was in it. I suspected what he was going to inject me with. I bet he lost it when I jerked my arm away from him. He hadn’t been expecting me to do that. I bet that was when he dropped it. He looked attractive, but inside, he was disgusting. I could hear the sirens in the distance approaching our location. I tried to focus on my breathing as I
heard Colton running back.
I filmed Colton using the bag to pick up the capped syringe. He was sealing the bag when the police arrived. I was glad they silenced the sirens as they pulled into the parking lot. Some diners were staring out the window now that the police had arrived. Some diners near me had been watching the interaction between me and the man who had just left. I hope they are willing to give a statement to the police. I looked around but didn’t see cameras that would cover where he grabbed me, which is probably why he even tried.
Colton accepted his phone and kept recording until he had turned the bag over to the police as evidence. Colton kept his arm around me as I tried to catch my breath. It had only been about four minutes since I left the restaurant. But where was Garrett? The host and the server were standing between him and the door, and he hadn’t noticed anything amiss yet.
“Can we go to the station to give you my statement? I feel like I’m going to pass out,” I asked quietly. I didn’t want to be there when Garrett finally realized something was wrong. I am utterly terrified right now. I just wanted to feel safe, and I didn’t feel safe, even with Colton by my side. I started to shake, and the officer helped Colton get me to his truck and get in.
The officer gave Colton his name and the address of the station. He said that he would be right behind us. He just needed to ask the other officer to get a copy of the coverage in the parking lot.
“He had been inside, with us, without his baseball cap,” I told the officer. “I think he was waiting for me, and that was why his truck had no tags. If he had succeeded, you might never have known he had been inside the restaurant.”
“We will take care of it. I will be at the station very soon. Just take a seat in the lobby and wait for me there,” he told us before heading back over to speak with the second officer.
Colton grabbed my hand and said, “Addison, you are safe. Look at me. You need to focus on my words and breathe with me.” He gave me a few sample breaths, but it was hard for me to calm down. I knew I was having a panic attack, but I couldn’t seem to stop it. I tried to focus
3/4
+3 Points
Not Safe Here Anymore
on breathing as Colton fired up his truck and headed for the police station.
I watched Garrett exit the restaurant and look at the police cars in confusion. He then started looking around like he was trying to find me in the parking lot. He couldn’t see me behind the tint as we slowly drove past him. I had no reason to tell him what had happened.
I just wanted to laugh about my luck–just four short minutes. Garrett was grabbing his meal, and the two girls in the restaurant were more important than me. He had just told me that he would never fail me again. Yet Phillip was the one who always made sure that I was safe. If Colton hadn’t been here, I shudder to think about what would have happened to me tonight.
I could hear Colton speaking on the phone, probably to Phillip, but I couldn’t focus enough to understand what they were discussing. I knew it was about what happened. I couldn’t get my mind to stop the full–blown panic mode that I was currently in. It kept playing a worst–case
scenario for me, and I felt sick.
This could have been so much worse than what happened with Tripp and Alden. That suddenly seems like nothing when you have a potential r**e to compare it to. I don’t know when I started shaking. I just knew I was. Colton helped me down from the truck, grabbing a jacket from under the back seat to wrap me in despite the summer heat. I was chilled to the bone and didn’t know when this feeling would end.
I sat quietly in the lobby while we waited for the office to return. Colton said nothing, but I was glad to have him with me. I have trusted him for the last five years. I trusted him as much as I trusted my family. He spoke words of comfort as he sent out several texts. I knew that no
matter what, he would protect me.
I realize now that coming back here was a mistake. I didn’t know about the danger lurking here and couldn’t stay here anymore. I can’t risk it. I wasn’t safe here. The threat against me, the one he just threatened, was too horrifying to consider.
