envenoMATE

26. End of That.

As soon as Becky slowed to pull into the parking garage, Daniel pulled the door open and slipped out. 

“Hey!” she shouted. She understood his desire to find Adina as quickly as possible, but separating was not smart. Waiting an extra five minutes to find a proper parking spot would not hurt anything. The phone call twenty minutes ago had confirmed Adina was safe. What could have changed in the short drive to the destination? 

Daniel, however, was too focused upon his goal of finding Adina to answer his sister. He blindly waved her off as he sprinted across the street. After his altercation with Tiger, Adina and Daniel had their first fight. He thought he lost her then. When she invited him to the party, and he went only to find her missing, he knew he had lost her. And when a body left as ashes as found in the remains of Adina’s car, Daniel felt for sure he had permanently lost his girl. 

Hope, however, came again. Daniel would allow nothing, not even time, to keep him from Adina any longer. His eyes wanted to see what his ears had heard. Was she okay?

 Becky huffed and began to look for a free parking space in the many levels of the concrete area. She shook her head at her brother’s antics, but there was nothing she could do to dissuade him. Daniel could be as stubborn as a mule when he wanted something strong enough.

Daniel dodged traffic and ignored the splitting pain telling him to slow down and walk the rest of the way. Although he had not run very far, he was pushing himself to go as fast as possible. 

The large entrance gates were prominent, and Daniel headed straight to the yellow banner and red metal bars. He moved from the street to the sidewalk path. The obstacle of the cars was replaced with strollers, kids, and parents. His mind was solely focused on finding Adina as quickly as possible, but his common sense refused to let him run over any people in his way. He was annoyed by their presence, for they slowed him down. However, in the back of his mind, he was grateful for them. The greater quantity and diversity of people around meant more available scents to hide behind.

Finally reaching the brick path and the entrance, Daniel was a few feet away from running inside when a firm hand gripped his bicep and pulled him gruffly over to the side. 

“Slow down!” a man’s voice commanded. “There are children here that I don’t want you running over. Hear me?”

Daniel’s eyes stopped throwing fiery darts long enough to see the man reprimanding him was a security guard around Daniel’s age. Really? A security guard for a zoo? Daniel wanted to rip into the man verbally, but he didn’t have time to waste. He wanted to find Adina.

He nodded and began to pull away, but the guard pulled his arm again. “Let me see your ticket, pal, before you go barging on in there.”

“I don’t have a ticket,” Daniel said, his voice boiling.

The young guard narrowed his eyes and brought his hand to rest on his hip, near a little gadget that probably contained pepper spray. “You are required to purchase a ticket at the kiosk before you may enter this zoo. Do you need me to show you where that is?” 

The young man was an inch taller than Daniel and maybe a year or two older, but Daniel was in no mood to be talked to like a child. His fingers were itching to curl into fists, but Daniel definitely did not want the guard to have further cause for alarm. He tried to keep his voice civilized.

“I’m not here to visit the animals, okay? I’m not here as a freaking tourist! I want to go inside, find my girlfriend, and leave.”

Daniel ripped his arm from the man’s grip, but the guard placed his hand against Daniel’s chest, stopping him once again. “I’m going to have to ask you to calm down, sir. Now, have you been drinking?”