Chain of Vengeance: Chapter Nine - Part Six

There were maybe fifty yards from Molly’s car to the entrance of the mall and no witnesses were in sight. That made her nervous.

It was still highly unlikely he would do anything in broad daylight but she couldn’t be sure. A man capable of what he did to Eden was capable of risking capture to do it again. But she couldn’t risk him clicking that she was on to him by running either. Not to mention the heels she was wearing. If he decided to give chase she wouldn’t get very far in them before he caught up.

The only thing for it was to keep walking, hurrying, but not so fast that he might realise what she was doing. She kept her eyes fixed on the glass doors leading inside the mall, on the chrome push-bar at waist height she’d be using to open them. In the edge of her peripheral vision she could see the blue blur that was his car, parked near the centre of a row. The mall was busy, there were thousands of cars, but still no people in sight.

She wanted to chance a look across to see if he was watching but it was too big a risk. If she’d had her cell phone she could have called ahead to a police precinct to get them ready, then pulled up outside. When the man had pulled up behind her they could have grabbed him. Using herself as bait like this was crazy, but what other choice did she have? At least now she was in control of the situation. Nominally.

There were only twenty yards left to the doors. Through the glass she could make out the movement of people. It was packed. He would have a hard time keeping track of her in those crowds. But her plan relied on him following her in, and he was still just sitting there in the car. Only about ten yards left. It wasn’t going to work. Then she saw the blur of his car shift. The driver’s side door was opening. He got out.

She got to the glass doors and paused, ostensibly checking her hair in the reflection. She patted it down at the top then fluffed the bottom a little. Behind and to her left she saw him coming toward her, trying to look casual. Her pulse jumped up a notch, but she smiled.

He’d taken the bait.