The Stranger She Chose to Trust
Chapter 1 - The Hand She Would Not Take
“Please, help me.”
Nora collided with the seated stranger hard enough to disturb the glass beside his hand. Her fingers closed around his black lapels before she could think of a better way to ask.
Three men behind the velvet booth moved at once.
The stranger raised one hand. They stopped.
“Don't let him take me!”
Nora slid onto the edge of the seat beside him. The corridor was still visible over his shoulder. She could hear footsteps approaching, unhurried now. That was worse than the running.
The man looked at her hands, then her face.
“Who are you?”
“Nora.”
His gaze moved past her.
Julian emerged from the corridor with his jacket straightened and a pleasant smile already in place. The gold trim on his shoulders caught the lamplight. He looked like a man arriving late to dinner.
“She's my girlfriend.”
Nora's grip tightened.
Julian bent toward her and held out his hand, palm upward.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
For a moment, nobody spoke. Music drifted from the main bar. Someone laughed beyond the partition. Nora wondered how a room could sound so ordinary while she was fighting to remain inside it.
The stranger looked down at her white knuckles. Then he raised his eyes to Julian.
His expression went cold.
“She hasn't taken your hand.”
Julian gave a small, embarrassed laugh.
“We had an argument. You know how these things get.”
“No,” the stranger said. “Tell me.”
The smile faltered.
Nora felt Julian's attention settle on her like a hand closing around the back of her neck.
“You're making this worse,” he said softly.
The stranger moved the glass away from the table's edge.
“Nora. Do you want to leave with him?”
She shook her head.
“I need to hear you.”
“No.”
It was barely a whisper, but it changed the room.
