Free Malevolent by Jana DeLeon

the street. The bagel had filled her up just fine, but a latte and doughnuts sounded like a much better option than spending the next thirty minutes hanging around the waiting area of the garage.
    Halfway down the block, the skin on the back of her neck started to prickle. She stopped short and spun around, scanning the street. There were probably fifteen people in her view—a couple of vendors changing signs outside their shops, two mothers pushing strollers down the sidewalk, three young boys with bicycles talking at the corner, a crowd of older men hovered over the engine bay of an old Mustang, and some random couples and individuals making their way to wherever they were going.  
    No one looked out of place. No one was looking at her.
    But she could feel eyes on her.  
    She turned around and continued down the street, chiding herself for being so jumpy. Now was not the time to get paranoid. It was broad daylight, and she was in the middle of a street with a bunch of other people. He wouldn’t be foolish enough to approach her here. Not when there were witnesses.
    At the end of the street, she checked for traffic and was just about to cross when she heard someone yelling behind her.
    “Ma’am! You dropped this.”
    She turned around and saw a boy of probably fifteen or so approaching on a skateboard. His long blond hair was dirty and pulled back into a ponytail. The rest of him didn’t look much cleaner than his hair.  
    He stopped in front of her and stepped off the skateboard. “You dropped this.” He held up a light blue scarf with white stars.  
    Panic raced through her body and she felt her knees buckle. She took two steps backward and leaned against the wall of the nearest building. “Where did you get that?”
    The boy stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “It’s just a scarf.”
    “Where did you get it?”  
    “Some dude down the street. He said he saw you drop it and asked me to bring it to you. Are you going to take it or what?”
    He took a step closer to her and presented the scarf again.  
    Even though it made her stomach roll, she took the scarf from the boy. Her hand felt as if the silk were burning it. “What did the man look like?”
    The boy shrugged. “Like a white dude.”
    “Please. It’s important.”
    The boy stared at her for a bit and she thought he was going to tell her to take a hike, but something in her tone must have convinced him to talk. “He was good-sized. Not skinny or nothing. Had really short black hair. Military cut, you know?”
    With every word the boy spoke, Emma’s breathing became more and more shallow. “How old was he?”
    The boy shrugged. “About your age, I guess.”
    “Did you see which way he went?”
    “That way.” He pointed behind them.
    “Have you ever seen him before?”
    “Nah, but folks come from all over to have their cars fixed at Andy’s. I ain’t ever seen you before, either. I need to get going. I got work to do.”
    “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
    “No problem.” He gave her a nod, then put one foot on the skateboard and rolled off down the street.
    Emma pushed herself off the wall and headed back to Andy’s, forcing herself to walk rather than run. That scarf had been a Christmas gift from David.  
    One of the items that she’d boxed up last week and thrown away.  
    By the time she reached Andy’s, she was drenched with sweat and her pulse was racing. She pulled open the door to the shop and stepped into the tiny waiting area. A small refrigerator full of bottled water stood in the corner. She hurried over to grab one of the bottles, but her hands shook so badly that it slipped from her grasp twice before she got it out of the refrigerator and onto the end table located next to the fridge.  
    She managed to get the top off and chugged back a big gulp. The cold water burned as it ran down her dry throat. She plopped down on an old wooden chair with a red-and-white plaid cushion, then put the cap back on the bottle