Driven to Dragonflies ~ Chapter 3

My heart was pounding with fear as I looked into his eyes, searching for a clue to what would come next. I looked back over my shoulder to see Benny going into the walk-in freezer to get the burgers he'd soon be frying up for the next rush. He hadn't seen Owen come in.

I like to think of myself as an intuitive woman who can instantly get a sense of things around me. When you've grown up in an alcoholic, drug-dealing family, you learn to fend for yourself and grow eyes in the back of your head. All the better to sense impending danger.

Normally my intuition never fails me, but Owen had deceived me before. I trusted him with my heart and with no explanation he'd just dumped me. How could I have been so wrong about him?

I searched his eyes for a sign that this fear in my gut was misguided. What I saw there was the reflection of my own terror. I'd never seen this 220 pound Harley-riding biker afraid of anything in the three years we'd been together. That was all it took for me to make the split-second decision to flee. Not alone, but with him.

"Owen..." I started, but he pressed a finger to my lip and jerked his thumb toward the door. I looked around the diner with that surreal feeling you get when you know something is about to make a dramatic change in your life and everything hinges on your next action.

It was as if I was watching from outside of myself. I untied my apron and let it fall to the floor. The ticket pad, pen and straws scattered wildly about my feet. It seemed all in slow motion as we ran past the juke box and out the front door.

Benny was just turning to shut the freezer door when I caught my last glimpse of him through the grimy window of Angel's Diner. We ran through the pouring rain and jumped on the hog, riding without so much as a coat or a helmet. I shivered as the Georgia rain began pelting me hard.Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pressed the side of my face into his old leather jacket and watched as his long black curls thrashed wildly about me.

Then I squeezed my eyes shut tight and bit hard into my lower lip to hold back the wave of uncontrollable fear welling up inside me. I wanted to scream or to cry but that was the last thing I needed. What I had to do now was think. I didn't let it get to me when I was eleven and hiding in the closet when those men came and gunned down my dad right in front of my eyes. I knew then to stay quiet and it would save my life. What was going to save me now? Think. I had to think.