“Hey there, pretty girl.” He smiles, displaying crooked teeth a shade lighter than mocha.
My lungs are still demanding air, so I breathe through my mouth, wondering whether to go around this person or just turn and jog back the way I came.
His eyes twinkle. “Gonna show you something good.” He yanks the coat open.
“Agh!” I jump back, raising my hands to block the view, but it’s too late.
Rotten lemons, and now a disgustingly dirty sausage? Fuck you, universe! I seethe inside. If I didn’t have to screen out the sickening display, I’d be shaking my fists.
He laughs triumphantly, then starts walking toward me.
I step back, my heart beating hard for reasons that have nothing to do with the morning run. This isn’t the kind of torment my stepbrother enjoys, but he could’ve expanded his repertoire.
Please, for God’s sake. Let this guy be a random pervert freak!
I run my gaze down the man’s naked torso and legs. Just lots of filthy, hair-matted skin, no tats or writing mentioning Roy. Thank God.
Apparently Roy hasn’t found me yet, even though he has to know by now that I’m no longer in Cincinnati. That’s good. Very good.
Then I realize something else. The section of the huge park this freak and I are in is secluded. Lots of trees and nobody around. At least not anyone I can hear.
I need to either fight or run. I don’t want to run, but it’s the most logical option. No matter how unhygienic this man is, he’s taller and bigger than me. Probably stronger, too, although I doubt he’s fit enough to chase and catch me if I take off.
But suddenly I’m too full of rage at the world. I have to run from somebody as pathetic and fucked up as this? It’s unfair that a predator like him can thrive, while I have to hide, run and cower when I haven’t done anything wrong.
Is there anything I can swing at him? A branch? Or is he drunk and slow and stupid enough that a kick in the balls will work?
A piercing whistle cuts the air from behind me.
Someone’s here! Maybe I won’t have to run or deal with this pervert myself. If I’m lucky, the other person will be a cop who’ll arrest this disgusting subhuman and toss the jail cell key into the ocean.
I turn around, ready to call out for help, then stumble back and literally fall on my butt in surprise when three huge Dobermans rush up, their teeth fully bared. Their ears are clipped and pointed. Spiked collars encircle their necks. Obviously, they’re not cuddly pets who want to play.
There’s no time to get back to my feet. The canine paws eat up the ground at a pace I could never match. In any second, those fangs are going to rip into me. Tremors shoot through me, and my mouth is full of bitter sourness.
A flasher…and now hellhounds? Maybe the universe really wants me gone from Los Angeles.
The flasher lets out a small whimper and starts to stagger backward.
Don’t worry, perv. Given my luck, they’re after me. For all I know, they’re Roy’s dogs—
The dogs blow past me, two hundred pounds of canine determination. I stare after them, my face slack.
One of them jumps and pushes the flasher back. He lands with a thud. The others help the first keep him on the ground, looming over him, growling and snarling. One snaps at his dick, which shrivels faster than a balloon deflating.
Then the flasher pees in his non-pants.
So. Gross.
I stand up slowly, so as not to upset the dogs or get their attention. But they seem occupied with the filthy asshole on the ground. I try to get my breathing under control, my legs shaky. The Dobermans obviously aren’t after me, so that’s good. Maybe they’re trained to only attack perverts in the wild.
“Thanks,” I murmur, backing away. I don’t extend a hand for the Dobermans to sniff. I need my hands to start my job at the café. The manager’s probably not going to appreciate it if I c
all in hospitalized on my first day.
One of the dogs smacks the flasher’s crotch with its paw. The man lets out a pained whine, his body curling, despite the dogs on him. The dog that smacked him eyes the man’s ass like he wants to sink his teeth into it.
“Don’t do it,” I say. “You’re going to get lice or butt cooties or something.”