Chapter 6 We Have More Than Enough Time

While keeping his eyes on the road, Darin could feel the tension in the car.

Her lips pursed in a distorted grin and her hands twisting her dress, Nicole glanced at the man beside her from the corner of her eye. She wanted to ease the tension, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.

She called for a stop in a hurry as they passed a convenience store on the roadside.

Darin merely looked at Damon, awaiting his instruction.

"You heard the lady. Stop the car." Damon's low voice had a dangerous edge to it.

Now the sky was clear and the only remains of the rainstorm were making the pavement glisten softly.

Nicole jumped out of the car and rushed to the convenience store. She was back in less than a minute. She handed a bag to Damon.

"Sir, I'm sorry."

She bowed down, closed the door and left without another word.

Damon examined the bag. It bore the logo of a well-known pharmacy. Inside was a box of anti-inflammatory ointment.

He rolled down the window to have a better look at the woman walking away.

She didn't remember him.

She had resisted him.

His slender fingers stroked the medicine box, and a faint light glimmered in his eyes.

'It doesn't matter.

Nicole, right?

We have more than enough time.'

Nicole found a nearby supermarket, hoping to find a bathroom to change into a T-shirt and shorts.

She left the bathroom to buy some daily necessities.

The night had already fallen and the supermarket was almost empty.

As Nicole walked to the checkout counter, she heard a voice berating someone behind her. "Where are you parents? How dare you steal food? Who is with you?"

Nicole turned her head in time to see the saleswoman pulling the arm of a little boy who looked about three or four years old. She cursed at him and pushed him away from the shelf.

The boy was dirty, with matted hair and trousers covered with mud. He was holding a half-eaten piece of bread.

The saleswoman yelled angrily, "You're a kid, but you are already a thief! I could sent you to the police station!"

The little boy took a defiant bite of the bread and looked up at the saleswoman stubbornly.

"How dare you stare at me? Do you think stealing is right? You haven't paid for that bread, and still you eat it! Call the police! Ouch!"

The little boy head-butted her head and managed to escape her grip. He was running toward the door.

Enraged, the saleswoman shouted, "Stop him! Naughty boy!"

"Leave him be." Nicole had seen enough. She took out some money from her wallet and handed it to the cashier. "I will pay for him."

Nicole left the supermarket, still a bit shaken by the night's events.

Her apartment was not far and she elected against taking a taxi. She needed the walk to clear her head.

Was she going crazy or was someone following her?

She turned her head several times, but there was no one in the dark street.

She felt nervous. The street was only illuminated by a single lamp and she was alone.

She lived in an area that was to be demolished. She knew hooligans were often out in the streets. If it was not for the cheap rent, she would never have chosen to rent an apartment here.

She quickened her pace. The light in her corridor was broken, and she had to use her phone's flashlight to see around her.

A rustling sound rose behind her.

Trembling with fear, Nicole turned around and saw a pair of sparkling eyes staring at her in the darkness, only three meters away.

She took a deep breath to settle her voice and asked firmly, "Who is there?" She would not let her fear be apparent.

As her eyes adapted to the darkness, she could make out the stranger a little bit better. It was the little boy from the supermarket.