Chased by a Stranger (Craved Series #3) (4 page)

I was locking the door to my apartment when I got the call.

Tip was so frantic I could barely tell what she was saying as
she went in and out of hysterical Thai mixed with sobbing.

“Where are you?” I repeated over and over.

Finally, I got an intersection out of her. I looked at my watch.
I was going to be early for the date anyway, and I couldn’t leave Tip in the
lurch. I pulled my keys out of my pocket and ran down the stairs for my bike.

But it was gone.

That’s when I realized something was seriously wrong.

I ran to the street and flagged down the first tuk-tuk I could
find. I didn’t haggle. In fact, I said I would pay even more than he asked if
he could get me there fast.

My heart was racing as he rounded every corner, my hands
gripping the sides of the little blue cart so I wouldn’t fly out into traffic.

As we approached the intersection, I noticed there was a buildup
of cars. I shoved some money at the driver and got out, running on foot through
the traffic as cars inched by and mopeds weaved through the standstill.

The first thing I saw was the mangos. They were everywhere. The
yellow and green fruit was rolling all over the highway beside a cart that was
completely overturned.

That’s when I saw Tip, bleeding from the face as she squatted
down on the other side of the cart.

I tried to call her name but nothing came out of my mouth.

Fortunately, my feet took over and I was soon at her side.

She was crying, her tears mixing with the blood running down her
cheeks.

My eyes followed her narrow wrist to the hand she was holding.
“Dad!” I knelt down in the dirt. “Are you okay?”

He nodded.

“Can you talk?”

He blinked and wheezed.

I stood up and lifted the wooden fruit stand off his lower body.
Most of it came away in pieces, some of them falling back down on his legs.

Which were still straddling my bike.

My heart sank.

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to know what right he
thought he had to drive my bike. I never even told him where the spare keys
were. Sure, I’d hidden them in his apartment, but he had no right.

“Did you call an ambulance?” I said, kneeling back down beside
them.

“Yes,” Tip said.

A moment later, I heard the sirens in the distance. “Is anyone
else hurt?” I asked, grabbing Tip’s face in my hands. Her wounds were only
superficial, a few cuts around her eyes and hairline. She’d have to be checked
more thoroughly, but as long as I could keep her conscious, I was confident she
would be okay.

“Dad,” I said, looking at his leg crushed under the bike. Well,
I wasn’t sure if it was crushed, but I didn’t want to lift the bike yet, not
without medical assistance on hand in case he passed out from the pain or tried
to bleed out on me.

“Jack,” he wheezed.

I was so relieved to hear him speak I nearly cried.

“Where is the mango seller?” I asked Tip without looking at her.

“He went for help,” she said.

I could smell the familiar scent of booze off my Dad’s breath.
It was impossible to tell how much of his condition was a result of the
accident and how much was from his blood alcohol level. “What happened?”

Tip didn’t answer.

I looked at her. She was shaking her head, her eyes brimming
with tears as she looked at my Dad.

“Tip!” I said loudly. I knew yelling at her might make her feel worse,
but I had to know. I could hear the police sirens coming, and I didn’t want to have
to get my information from them later.

“We were going to the night market,” she said. “For dinner.”

“How drunk was he?”

“Not bad,” she said. “Better than normal.”

“Why did you get on the bike with him?”

She shrugged. “I needed a ride. He seemed excited, and it’s not
far so I said okay.”

I shook my head and looked back at my Dad. His eyes were on me
and I was relieved to see so much pain in his face, relieved he could feel
where he was hurt.

“I don’t know if I can bail you out of this one,” I said,
hanging my head.

“How’s the bike look?” he asked, not looking down.

“It looks like that was its last ride so I hope it was a good
one.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I sighed. It was too late for sorrys. I didn’t know what to say or
think. Depending on his injuries, he’d either be going to the hospital or he’d
be going to jail. Part of me wished they’d take him to jail. At least then I’d
know he would stay put. Cause I wasn’t fucking bailing him out. Not this time.
Not for twenty thousand baht when he was drunk driving. I’d fucking leave him
in there for a month. In fact, maybe I should ask the cops if that was an
option. I bet for the right price they would keep him there.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see several officers in blue
uniforms running towards us. Then I looked towards the road. There was a pile
of orange flowers littering the road side. I recognized the strands as the ones
people bought for good luck to hang on their rearview mirrors. Apparently,
someone had thrown one towards us as they passed by and others had followed
suit.

Despite my heightened anxiety, I was momentarily moved by the
show of support.

But I was interrupted a moment later when the police began
speaking rapid Thai.

Tip stood up and spoke with them. I took my Dad’s hand when she
let go. Behind the cops, I could see two men running towards us with a
stretcher. “It’s your lucky day, Dad,” I said under my breath.

A paramedic came up to Tip and took her by the arm.

“Are you okay for me to go, Jack?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “You go ahead and get checked out. I’ll see you
at the hospital.”

She nodded while the paramedic dabbed at the blood on her face
and escorted her back to the ambulance.

“You need to go, sir,” one of the stony faced officers said to
me.

“I’m a doctor,” I said. “And this is my Dad.”

“You cannot compromise the-”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, rising to my feet and staring
down at him.

He looked down at my Dad.

“I’ll help you move him.”

The cops seemed satisfied with this after exchanging a few
brusque words amongst themselves.

One of them grabbed the back end of the bike and I grabbed the
front while the paramedics held my Dad still.

The sound he made when we moved the bike was so loud and angry
that I was both relieved and afraid for him.

But at least he wasn’t paralyzed. Not yet anyway, and I had
every confidence in the Thai medical services to take good care of him,
especially since I intended to supervise them closely.

I watched as they lifted him onto the stretcher. “Don’t worry,
Dad,” I said, walking beside him on the way to the ambulance. “It’s going to be
okay.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “This is all my fault.”

“Yeah.”

“And your bike I-”

“Forget about the bike. Let’s just make sure you’re okay.”

He tried to smile at me, but it was more of a pained grimace.

I could see he was trying to be brave, but I was in no mood to
be impressed.

As far as I was concerned, he got lucky. Again. It was just
another close call and at this point there had been too many. Plus, not only had
he essentially stolen from me this time since I never even joked about letting
him take my bike out, but he made a mistake that led to more people getting
hurt than just himself.

And I couldn’t abide by that.

He could’ve killed himself.

Or someone else.

I crawled in the back of the ambulance beside him and watched as
the paramedics poked and prodded him, checking his vitals and cleaning his
wounds in a flurry of automatic, highly trained movements.

I would make sure he was okay.

That was my duty.

But as far as enabling him going forward, well, his luck with me
had officially run out.

I didn’t feel
any better after cleaning out the mini bar. I was positive that some
overpriced, travel sized shots of liquor would be just what I needed to take
the edge off, but it was no use.

Fortunately, I
wasn’t quite low enough to eat the overpriced Pringles and the chilled
M&Ms, though it did occur to me that room service might be able to bring me
some of the sorbet Megan mentioned. But after some careful consideration, I
decided that eating my feelings was something I could look forward to doing in
Seattle and not the way I wanted to spend my last night in paradise.

Plus, it would
be a shame to spoil the good buzz I had going.

Since the last
thing I wanted to do was think about my life, I decided to channel my energy
into packing. In fact, I figured that instead of my usual strategy of stuffing
my suitcase like a toddler, I would go to great lengths to fold and roll
everything so my laundry was sorted and at least one tiny corner of my life was
perfectly controlled, admirable even.

So, naturally,
I was still wide awake and packing when Megan got back to the room just after
midnight.

“Hey,” I said,
looking over my shoulder when I heard her come in.

“Hey,” she
said, closing the door behind her. “Have you been crying?”

“No,” I said,
going back to folding with purpose.

She walked up
beside me. “Are you sure? Because your nose is red and your eyes are puffy.”

I shrugged.
“It’s my allergies acting up.”

“You don’t
have allergies.”

“Maybe I’m
allergic to Thailand and I’m only just realizing it.”

“Or maybe
you’re allergic to feeling rejected?”

“Ouch.”

“Like
everybody else,” she added.

“It’s a theory
anyway,” I said, bending down to roll a skirt against the bed.

“Seriously,
though.” She sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at me, wedging her hands
between her knees. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Really?” she
asked. “Cause it’s okay if you’re not.”

“Really. I’m
fine.”

She nodded and
hung her head, deciding not to push me, but her silence was unbearable.

“I mean, I’ve
been better,” I said, laying the rolled skirt in my suitcase.

“Maybe there
was some sort of emergency,” she said. “He could have been in an accident or
something?”

I tilted my
head at her.

“It’s
possible.”

“It’s also
possible that I just have terrible taste in men and am an appalling judge of
character.”

“I really
don’t think his absence tonight is a reflection on you.”

“Thanks,” I
said. “That’s a relief.”

“Good.”

I raised a
knee to rest it on the edge of the bed and folded my arms. “Cause I was totally
myself with him, ya know? Maybe even a version of myself I liked better than
normal.”

“That’s silly.”

“Maybe, but
that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“Everyone
likes themselves better when they’re on vacation.”

“What?”

“That’s why
it’s called a vacation,” she said. “It’s not just a break from your life at
home, it’s an escape from the things you don’t like about yourself, too.”

“I see your
point. But one of the things I like least about myself is my shitty knack for
falling for the wrong guys, and it seems I forgot to leave that at home.”

She shrugged.
“Old habits.”

“He did seem
excited when he accepted the invitation though. Didn’t you think?” I asked.
“You were there. Didn’t it seem like he was looking forward to going to
dinner?”

“Yeah, of
course,” Megan said. “But I never really got to know him that well, and
regardless of what went down between you guys, you probably didn’t either.”

I pursed my
lips.

“I mean, how
much personal stuff did you really tell him about yourself?”

I shrugged.
“Some.”

“Yeah, but after
three days, it’s not like you really know the guy. For all we know, he’s not
even a real doctor.”

“I’m pretty
sure he’s a real doctor. That’s, like, public knowledge. If he weren’t, Oprah
would’ve ruined him publicly and we’d all know about it.”

“Okay, so
what? That doesn’t mean he’s not a douche.”

“I know.
That’s what I’ve been telling myself.”

“At least you
had a good time together.”

“Yeah, when he
bothered to show up.”

“He blew you
off that first night, too. Remember? I mean, maybe he’s just shady.”

“Yeah,” I
said, plopping a pile of unfolded tops on the bed. “He didn’t seem shady though.
He seemed honest and decent and kind.”

“Maybe you
were just seeing what you wanted to see?”

I swallowed.
Was I? Had I invented him? Was my relationship with him no more real than the
one I had with Emmett? I mean, that one was definitely fabricated. His feelings
for me were only ever real in my imagination.

“I blatantly
did that with Matteo,” she said. “Like he’s obviously not perfect, but I just
focused on the parts of him that could meet my needs this week and did my best
to ignore the rest.”

“When you say
parts, do you mean-”

She raised her
eyebrows. “His dick and his accent and his hair?”

I laughed.

“Yes,” she
said. “And maybe you should do the same. Just focus on what was good about Jack
and forget tonight even happened.”

“I know.”

“It was going
to be over after tonight anyway, right?”

“Yeah,” I said.
“Of course, but part of me believed-”

“What?”

“That maybe we
would keep in touch or something?”

Megan smiled
at me.

“Does that
sound totally stupid and naïve?”

“No.”

“Yes it does.
I know it does. Clearly, I got carried away in the last few days because he was
so… and the sex was so…”

“I know,” she
said. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out differently.”

“Me, too,” I
said, meaning it more than she would ever know. “I guess the fantasy of the
situation just seduced me.”

“Like he did.”

“Pretty much.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Did you at least have a nice night with
Matteo after I left?”

“Yeah,” she
said. “We just finished dinner and then went for a walk.”

“To his
apartment?”

“Basically.”

“I’m glad,” I
said. “At least one of our nights wasn’t a total wash.”

“Audrey?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m all for
letting you feel your feelings and everything, but there is a bright side you
could be looking at, too.”

I lifted my
eyes towards Megan and cocked my head.

“No really,” she
said. “It was just supposed to be a bit of fun anyway, remember? No strings
attached. That was the whole point.”

“Yeah, well.
I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an
idiot. You still had great sex with a celebrity doctor in an exotic location.
It’s a great story!”

“Well, when
you say it like that I feel a little better.”

“Good.”

“But I still don’t
like the ending.” 

She pursed her
lips as the air conditioner roared to life in the corner of the room. “Well,”
she said. “At least the ball’s in your court.”

“Is it?”

“Sure.” She
leaned back on the bed. “You could always sell your story to expose him and go
on another holiday with your winnings.”

“Not helpful.”
I shook my head. “I would never do that.”

“Never say
never,” Megan said.

“Never.”

“Sorry,” she said.
“I was just trying to make you feel better.”

“Leave it,” I
said, placing some folded t-shirts in my suitcase. “Just leave it.”

Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw Megan open her mouth to speak, but she closed it a
moment later.

I knew she
meant well, that she was only trying to help, but there was nothing she could
say that would change the fact that I got stood up by the first guy I liked who
had more than just a dick going for him.

And even
though Jack was long gone, my feelings for him weren’t.

So for the
first time since we arrived, I couldn’t wait to go home.