Rising Tide: Lantern Beach Blackout by Barritt Christy

Author:Barritt, Christy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: River Heights
Published: 2020-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

CJ fisted her hands and turned. She may not have a gun, but she was going to fight using every skill at her disposal.

Was this Pek? One of the Savages?

She had no idea, but she needed to do whatever necessary to stay alive.

She pulled her arm back, ready to throw the first punch. Before she could, a deep voice said, “Whoa! Didn’t mean to scare you.”

A light flickered in front of her before a beam cut through the dark.

She kept her fist raised as the man brought the light to his face, illuminating his familiar features.

This was the man she’d talked to in the gazebo after the Ferris wheel incident. The man who’d thought she and Benjamin were a couple.

CJ lowered her hands slightly. “What are you doing in here?”

“I saw you step in here, so I thought I’d see if you knew something I didn’t.”

“What does that even mean?” CJ wasn’t in the mood to play games right now. Not while she was in a dark store, with no one knowing where she was, with a stranger.

“I thought maybe something was open out here on the strip after all. Or, best-case scenario, I thought maybe I might have another opportunity to talk to you. But it was so dark in here that I couldn’t even see you. I thought maybe I was seeing things so I decided to walk around the edge of the store. And now here you are.”

CJ wanted to believe his story. Wanted to believe that this man wasn’t a killer or in any way associated with the Savages. But she was smarter than that.

“Who are you?” she asked, muscles still poised for action if necessary.

“My name is Rick Thompson.” He shook his head. “Look, it’s obvious that I’ve upset you. I didn’t mean to do that. I could have been much more suave with my approach to this. If it hadn’t been so dark in here, I might have seen you ahead of me and been able to call out a warning. Please accept my apologies.”

His words sounded sincere. But CJ still needed to be cautious.

She glanced on the other side of the store. If Pek had been in here, no doubt he was gone by now. But she was beginning to wonder if he’d ever come inside in the first place.

She had a feeling that the shadow she had seen moving was simply the door opening, and this man stepping inside.

“How about we go back out to the boardwalk to talk?” CJ said. This was a little too isolated for her sensibilities.

“Seems like a good idea.”

She made sure Rick remained in front of her as they walked from the store and stood beneath the overhang near the door. The breeze outside was considerably cooler, and big drops of rain started to plop onto the wood planks of the boardwalk.

CJ would be lying if she didn’t admit that this man in front of her had her curious. She had some questions for him.

CJ turned to him, still cautious.

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