Trust Me

Chapter 7

The show ended just as Ranalla finished her juice. She set it down on the coffee table and glanced over at the stranger next to her.

"I don't know your name." She waited for him to say that he couldn't tell her. If he told her, that meant he planned on killing her. Everything hung on his answer.

His eyes met hers. For a few moments, he said nothing. The air between them was pregnant with fear and uncertainty. In a half smile, he said, "Vince. My name is Vince."

She stopped breathing for a minute as her heart pushed into her throat. Death it was to be then. "Is that your real name or something you're just saying to me?"

He concentrated intensely on running his finger around the rim of his glass. Taking her by surprise, he looked up. "Vincent de Marte. That's my real name." He watched her face closely.

Ranalla squeezed her eyes tight. "So, that means you're going to kill me." Her eyes shot open when he laughed.

Vince was shaking his head. "No. No, I'm not going to kill you." He stood up and took the popcorn bowl into the kitchen.

She jumped up and ran after him. "Why not?"

He turned around with an incredulous look on his face. "You want to die? You wanted to get away so bad earlier that you tried to bash my head with a skillet! Now, you're upset because I'm not going to kill you?"

"You told me your name. How can you let me go if I know your name?" She stopped a few feet away from him in case he decided to go ahead and get it over with.

His face became serious. He walked toward her and pushed her backwards until her posterior was against the island. He looked over her face and tried to read what was going through her mind. "I'm the reason you won't die. Keep that in mind. I don't want you to die."

Abruptly he turned to put up the bowl and his glass. He leaned his arms against the sink and hung his head. "Go on to bed. You've had a long and stressful day."

Unsure of what to do, she stared at his bent back. She closed her eyes against the confusing thoughts racing through her head. Maybe it would be safer just to go back to the room and find some peace. She turned and retreated down the hall.

He listened to her footsteps fade and the sound of the door click. This was not how he wanted things to be. She deserved more than a life on the run, but that is what she was faced with. Her life hung in the balance, and he was determined to make sure it didn't fall into an abyss.