Running Blind Read Online Free PDF

ways, but I’d say
in
trouble.”
    “What kind of trouble? Legal, or man? It has to be one or the other.”
    “Isn’t that the truth,” Carlin muttered, then said, “Man. Stalker, to be specific.”
    Small-town didn’t mean stupid. “Why didn’t you go to the cops?”
    “Because he is one,” she said flatly.
    “Well, that complicates matters, doesn’t it?” Kat’s eyes narrowed. “There are bound to be good cops, too, wherever you’re from. I really hate the thought that one bad apple can force you to take to the road. Maybe you should try again.”
    “Twice was enough to suit me.”
    “Well, shit.” Kat stared at her, hard, her gaze as sharp as a knife’s edge. Carlin had no idea what she saw, but whatever it was, her next words were brisk and decisive. “You’re hired. Just part-time, like I said. Some cooking, the easy stuff, but mostly cleaning, waiting tables. I do all the baking. Business is okay, but I’m hardly raking in the dough, if you’ll pardon the pun. I’ll make it worth your while, though. Still interested?”
    “Yes.” She said it without an instant’s hesitation.
    “Do you have somewhere to stay?”
    Since Carlin had just now—as in the very second Kat had made her offer—decided to stick around, the answer to that was a big
no
. She shook her head. “Do you know where there’s a room I can rent? Nothing too expensive,just a room with a bed.” She hadn’t seen a motel driving in, but surely there was someone in town who would rent her a room.
    Kat tilted her head toward the single restroom door at the back of the café; beside it was that closed door that was decorated with a “Keep Out” sign. “I have a place upstairs. You can stay there. No charge for employees,” she added. “It’s really more of an attic, but in the winter I stay up there when the weather’s so bad I don’t want to drive back and forth from the house. Might as well have someone living up there,” she said, as if the offer wasn’t a big deal. It was, at least to Carlin. She wasn’t so proud that she’d argue about paying rent. Every dollar she saved gave her more of a chance of not getting killed.
    Besides, it wouldn’t be for long. She’d make a few dollars, catch her breath, maybe come up with a more permanent plan. “Thank you.” She managed a smile. Having the near future settled took away some of her anxiety. “I can start right now; just tell me what to do.”
    “Good deal.” Kat offered a hand across the counter. “Since we’re going to be working together, I should introduce myself. Kat Bailey.”
    Carlin hesitated a moment, thinking hard, then took the offered hand. She wasn’t ready to give her real name to anyone, not until she knew exactly how Brad had found her the last time. Not that she didn’t trust Kat; she’d simply learned that she really couldn’t be too careful. Her gaze scanned the counter. A few feet away was a full bottle of ketchup, and inspiration struck. “Hunt,” she said swiftly. “Carlin Hunt.”
    Kat snorted as she ended the handshake. “Well, at least you didn’t look at the floor and tell me your last name was Linoleum.”
    Caught
. She wasn’t a very good liar, and that had to end. Like it or not, she had to get better at spinning tales. Wrinkling her nose and not bothering to deny thefib, Carlin waited for the offer of a job and a place to stay to be rescinded.
    But Kat merely gave her a brisk nod, and that was that. “Get your stuff; you can at least get unpacked before you start work.” Evidently a fake surname wasn’t something that upset Kat Bailey’s apple cart.
    As Carlin went out to the Subaru to fetch her backpack, she blew out a huge breath of relief. She had a place to stay and a way to make a few dollars, a way that didn’t require a lawn mower or a weed eater. And tomorrow there would even be apple pie.
    It was the first time in a long while that she’d been able to think of a “tomorrow” that wasn’t full of anxiety