I lower my voice and, as bluntly as possible, I ask, “Rys? Is that you?”
“Reese? Am I supposed to be?”
I squint, peering closer myself. Either the way I saw through Rys’s glamour earlier was a fluke or this guy is exactly what he appears to be: a dirty, dingy drunk slumped in the alleyway.
Huh. Guess not.
I shake my head. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else. Anyway, thanks for the tip, but I think I’m gonna see what this shop’s got to offer. I need the caffeine.”
He shrugs, hunched shoulders rising, then slumping under the weight of his tattered rags and dirty coat. “Suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Not gonna lie. At that very second, their coffee could be straight up piss and I’d still buy a cup just so I could use the excuse to get away from this weirdo. Mumbling a thanks I don’t mean, I shake the ends of my hoodie so that they’re covering my gloves. A quick swipe up top to make sure that my stupid pointy ears are tucked away and I’m set.
Purposely hurrying past him, I approach the cafe and immediately reach for the metal door handle—before going still.
I don’t pull on it just yet. Instead, I wait.
Ever since I’ve escaped the asylum, the old paranoia is back. It’s not just the fae I’m running from. Humans might not be as dangerous as the Faerie races, but I’ve learned to trust my gut. It’s one of the only things keeping me from getting caught, getting trapped, and getting carted back to Black Pine. I know better than to ignore it.
So when my stomach goes tight? I pause. The little hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight as a chill shivers down my spine.
Something’s not right.
Bowing my head, I let my sunglasses slide down my nose that I can get a better peek inside of the coffee shop. I don’t know why, and it’s entirely possible the bum put the worry in my head,
but it seems as if I’m sensing… not danger, not really… something wrong coming from inside the cozy cafe.
A second later, I whip the sunglasses off. Using the edge of my sleeve to rub roughly at my eyes, I press my nose against the glass. I squint in disbelief.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
It’s the shock of red hair that hits me first, so bright that I’d put it down to a bad dye job if I didn’t know better. Then there are the gold-rimmed glasses that shield his knowing gaze. The wispy goatee is gone, leaving behind a chin even weaker than I remember.
I recognize him in an instant. Dr. freaking Gillespie, my psychologist from Black Pine, is standing just inside the cafe, talking to the tall Asian kid manning the counter. The doctor’s stocky body is angled so that I get a full-on peek of his profile.
It’s enough. I know that it’s him.
And I’m pretty sure he didn’t come all the way to Acorn Falls for an espresso.
He’s got a manila folder with him. It’s tucked under his arm, though I watch as he pulls it out, flipping it open, and removing a sheet of paper from inside. The ink bled through the page enough that I can tell it’s a black and white photo.
How much do you want to bet it’s a picture of me?
I knew it. I freaking knew it. So what if it’s October now? My gut told me that the Black Pine staff wouldn’t let me get away so easily—and that was before Nine explained how he and Rys arranged it so that I was put in that facility because it was full of fae-touched humans.
I don’t know how Dr. Gillespie is involved. He only came to take over the psychologist job about a week before Nine broke me out of the asylum. He was so weird, though.
And now he’s here.
I let my hand fall away from the door handle. No chance I’m going in this cafe now. I can’t risk Dr. Gillespie seeing me.
Too late.
Before I can back away from the door, I watch as he nods at the associate, then turns.
I curse, then throw my body to the side. My back collides with the brick siding, scraping the crap out of my left arm and my hip as I try desperately to avoid being seen. My heart jumps to my throat and, without glancing behind me to check if he’s coming, I kind of awkwardly half-hop, half-jog a few steps away from the door.
Anything to escape now.