I could get stuck somewhere 127 Hours style and cut off something. Let’s see, which body part am I least fond of?”
“I feel like I should not take part in the planning. I want to be surprised about the charges when the cops come to arrest me,” Alex said.
He helped the woman put her arm across his shoulder, and they started walk-hopping toward a nearby park bench.
“Do you want me to take you to the ER?” Alex asked.
“Nah, they’ll just repeat the rest, ice, compression, elevation mantra, and I already know that one by heart.”
“Okay, so what’s the plan, then?”
The woman had pulled out her phone from her pocket and tapped it thoughtfully against her chin. “I could call my boyfriend to come and pick me up, but what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I woke him up after a long night of chasing murderers around the city. Plus, I love the dude, but he’ll be all, I told you you shouldn’t go running on that leg yet and who the hell has time for that, right?”
“Sure.”
“Exactly. No, I need somebody nice. Somebody who doesn’t judge.” She smiled and dialed. “Hey, boss,” she said into the phone after a few moments had passed. “How’s the vacay?”
Alex smiled to himself as she listened to the woman arrange her boss to come and pick her up. Based on the conversation full of teasing remarks about her boss’s alleged workaholic tendencies and the total lack of respect the woman showed to the person on the other end of the line, Alex was starting to like her more and more.
The woman hung up the phone after a couple of minutes and beamed at Alex. “Ruined someone’s morning. Check.” She looked down on Alex’s running shoes and winced. “Two someones. I’m really sorry I messed up your run, but you can totally go now. I’ll be fine.”
Alex waved her off. “It’s not a problem. I’ll just stick around and make sure your boss won’t give you too much grief about the early wake-up call.”
“Nah. He’s one of the best people I know. Hey, I should probably introduce myself now that we’ll be spending the foreseeable future together. Can’t keep referring to you as the hot guy in my head.” She grinned and reached out her hand. “I’m Hannah.”
14
Noah got out of his car and locked it. In true Seattle fashion, it had taken forever to find a parking spot, but after ten years of living in the city, Noah was used to it. Besides, he’d already managed to beat the rush hour, so his good luck had been bound to run out at some point. He generally tried to avoid driving, but from time to time it was necessary. Like today.
He crossed the street and headed toward the park with its trees and glimpses of the lake. Noah had never been one of those people who enjoyed running, but he had to admit, being out that early was kind of nice.
Hannah had helpfully narrowed down her location to a bench near Green Lake, which wasn’t helpful at all, but based on Hannah’s usual running route, he took a guess. Luckily it paid off. Pretty soon Noah could spot Hannah’s blonde ponytail in the distance. There was somebody else sitting beside her, but Noah wouldn’t have been that surprised to find that Hannah had managed to make a friend in the middle of her ordeal. Some people just drew others in like magnets, and Hannah was one of those people.
Noah couldn’t see the person Hannah had charmed this time since they were partly hidden behind Hannah, and Noah wasn’t exactly concentrating on other people anyway, his attention fully on his injured friend.
He spoke as soon as he was in Hannah’s hearing range. “You do know that me being a vet makes human injuries something that is out of my field of expertise, so if you were counting on free medical advice, you called the wrong person.”
Hannah pushed herself up and immediately cried out in pain as she put pressure on her injured foot.
Hannah’s companion hurried to help her get her balance back.
And then, Noah could see the man clearly.
It felt like someone had sucker punched him in his solar plexus, slammed a fist in his face and kicked him in the balls for good measure. Everything around him seemed to freeze as Noah stared at the man in front of him.
He looked different. His hair wasn’t as long anymore but shorter on the