Protecting You - Complete

Chapter 1 - Ana

Loitering inside a shoe shop near the front windows, I looked up through my eyelashes to the mall beyond. The same man was there, sitting side-on but angled toward the front of the store. He wasn't actively looking this way, yet I was sure he had me fixed in his periphery. I'd first noticed him several days ago on the bus. Since then, I'd seen him four more times—each time somewhere unexpected.

He'd been sitting in an outdoor café opposite a publishing house I'd interviewed at downtown. I'm sure he wasn't there when I went in, but he was sitting there when I came out. The interview was a bust, which in retrospect was a relief—I'd hate for him to know where I worked. I didn't see him the next day, but the one after he'd walked in the opposite direction to me in an aisle at the local First Hill supermarket I visited to stock the pantry for my new studio apartment. Later that day, I spotted him when I was wandering Cal Anderson Park checking out my new neighborhood. And now, on the other side of the I-5 expressway, he'd been trailing me through the Pike Place Market district for at least an hour.

Daring not to stay in the high-priced shoe store any longer—I'd already fended off two condescending inquiries from salespersons dressed infinitely better than myself—I started to form a plan. What would Ray have suggested!? My heart sinking as I thought of my step-father, I pondered once again the injustice of him dying mere weeks into my freshman year of college. The man who had raised me, although he had no obligation to do so, deserved better than to die five miles from home, the victim of a distracted driver. My only comfort was that the vehicle which neglected to give way hit Ray's on the driver's side. They had assured me his death would have been instant and painless.

Find a group of girls. Pretend you know them and ask for their help.

I could almost hear Ray's words from years ago when he'd coached me on how to protect myself. A former military man, Ray taught me to be observant and trained me what to do if I was in danger. After five days of being followed by the same man, push had come to shove.

Putting down the outrageously expensive red-bottomed shoes I'd been considering, I looked through the window and contemplated my next destination. Not jewelry—one look at my inexpensive clothes and they'd send me on my way quick smart. Not lingerie, either. If I was being followed, the last thing I wanted was for him to think about me in that way! Spotting Forever 21 three shopfronts down, I smiled. It was the perfect place to hook up with a girls' shopping group, and with the mannequins in the front window, I'd be at least partially obscured inside.

Gathering my courage, I left the shop, ambling toward my next destination. Appearing to peer into the stores between the one I'd left and Forever 21, in reality, I was using the reflection in the polished glass windows to check whether my stalker was following me. My heart sunk when I realized he was. I took my time approaching Forever 21, thinking meeting a group outside the shop would be more believable than emerging on the periphery of a group afterward. Eyeing several prospects, I finally settled on a group of four girls approaching.

Led by a gorgeous girl with a chic black bob, the other girls seemed to defer to her. The leader's first friend had bleached blonde hair and was short but curvy. Beside her was a petite brunette with what I could only describe as a resting bitch face. Finally, there was a very tall and thin blonde who, despite looking like a supermodel, moved like a baby giraffe still getting used to their long limbs. Despite all four girls being dressed so much better than I was, the tall blonde and the black-haired girl looked kind. I felt confident approaching them—and they were the only group approaching the store—so psyching myself up as they approached; I set my shoulders back and tried to radiate confidence.

"Hey!" I called out, meeting the ringleader as she looked up at my exclamation. "Perfect timing—I've just got here!"

Not giving her time to pull back, I embraced her, whispering in her ear: "Please help me. I am here alone, and a man is following me. Can you pretend you know me so I can walk with you then get away?" Feeling the young woman's initial tension abate, she pulled back from me.