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Blind Date with a Predator: The SOS from My Future
NovelShort
new
Completed
My family set me up on a blind date over the weekend, and my mouthy best friend, Chloe Lawson, insisted on tagging along to "vet" the guy for me. The food had barely hit the table, and I hadn't even gotten a word in. Chloe cleared her throat, pointed at the decent, mild-mannered man across from us, and curled her lip. "If you want to marry our Maya, fine. But we want the full luxury engagement wish list: gold jewelry, a diamond ring, a new iPhone, and a luxury SUV. Plus two Costco Executive Memberships." "Miss even one thing, and the answer's no. Door's on your right. Enjoy being single forever!"
Chapters (4)
第1章
On the weekend, my family set me up on a blind date, and my loudmouthed best friend, Chloe Lawson, insisted on tagging along. She said she wanted to vet the guy for me.
The food had barely hit the table, and I hadn't even gotten a word in.
Chloe cleared her throat, pointed at the quiet, decent-looking man across from us, and curled her lip.
"If you want to marry our Maya, fine. Seven pieces of gold jewelry, a diamond ring, the newest iPhone, and a Range Rover. Plus two Costco Executive Memberships."
"Miss even one thing and I'm not agreeing to anything. The door's out and to the right. Go enjoy being single for the rest of your life!"
The man kept his head down, gripping his teacup hard, and said nothing.
Just then, the phone in my bag started vibrating like crazy. A video call request popped up on the screen.
I gave them an apologetic look, got up, and headed for the restroom.
When the video connected, the person on the other end of the screen was me. Bruised, swollen, with three broken fingers!
The me from five years in the future was sprawled in a pool of blood, sobbing and screaming.
"Maya, run!"
"That man will agree to every condition Chloe sets, but he's an extreme misogynist. Three years from now, you'll end up just like me."
I hung up and went back to my seat. Right then, the man lifted his head and smiled at Chloe.
Chloe didn't notice a thing. She was still tapping the table, grinning and egging him on.
"Oh my, the strong, silent type? Can't you talk?"
"If you can't even show that much sincerity, you're going to die alone with no kids to carry on your name, you know?"
...
Adrian Grant's voice was so mild that there wasn't a trace of anger in it.
"Miss Lawson is right. Sincerity really does need to be put on the table."
I stared at the man across from me, cold sweat sliding down my spine and into my underwear.
My stomach churned. I grabbed my bag off the table.
"My stomach suddenly hurts really bad. Let's call it a day."
I had just pulled out my phone to pay the bill at the front desk when someone grabbed my arm with a hard, painful grip.
"Ugh, why are you being so jumpy!"
Chloe yanked me back into my chair and leaned in close to my ear, her voice low.
"Maya, have you lost your mind or what?"
"Mr. Grant owns a private dental practice. He pulls in several million a year. He's a catch!"
"You landing a guy like this is the luckiest break of your life, and you dare give me attitude?"
Adrian took a dark red Cartier velvet gift box out of the inner pocket of his coat and slid it in front of me.
"Since this is our first meeting, I wasn't sure what you'd like, Miss Bennett."
"I passed the boutique and picked up a Ballon Bleu. Just a small token from me. I hope you don't mind."
Chloe snatched the red box and popped the clasp open.
"Mr. Grant, you're way too generous! Maya's just never seen anything like this before. I'll accept it for her!"
She took the watch out and fastened it right onto her own wrist.
I reached over and pulled at Chloe's arm, trying to get the watch off and give it back.
"Mr. Grant, this is too expensive. I can't accept it."
Chloe flung my hand away and shot me a vicious glare.
"Do you have no manners at all?"
"Mr. Grant is sincerely interested in getting to know you. What's wrong with a little first-meeting gift?"
She turned to Adrian and broke into a smile.
"Mr. Grant, just ignore her. She's always so dramatic. Deep down, she's probably over the moon."
Adrian leaned back in his chair, the faintest smile at the corner of his mouth.
He glanced out the window at the rain pouring down.
"It's raining too hard. It'll be tough to get a ride around here."
"My car's parked in the underground garage. Miss Bennett isn't feeling well, so I should be the one to drive you both home."
I opened the Uber app right away, my voice shaking with fear.
"I've already called an Uber. I don't want to trouble you, Mr. Grant."
Chloe grabbed my phone and canceled my ride.
"You'd pass up Mr. Grant's Porsche for some crappy twenty-dollar Uber that reeks of cigarettes? Are you a masochist or something?"
She hooked my arm and dragged me toward the restaurant exit.
I struggled desperately to break free of her grip.
Chloe hissed a threat at me.
"Maya, if you dare make a scene here, I'll call your mom right now and tell her you wrecked this match on purpose!"
Adrian walked ahead of us and casually swiped his card at the front desk to pay as he passed.
We went down into the dim underground garage.
Adrian pressed his key fob, and the headlights flashed.
"Please, get in, Miss Bennett."
Chloe had already eagerly pulled open the passenger door and slipped inside.
I stood outside the car, my legs stiff.
Adrian stood beside me and lowered his voice.
"It's windy out here. Don't you want to get in, Maya?"
第2章
I instinctively took half a step back, ready to turn and run for the garage exit.
"I think I'll just get a ride myself."
Adrian's hand pressed against my back.
"The roads are slick in the rain, and it's dark down here in the garage. Running around is a good way to get hurt."
"Be good. Get in."
Chloe leaned over from the passenger seat, slapping the car door impatiently.
"Maya, are you coming or not? Keep dawdling and the damp down here is going to ruin Mr. Grant's leather seats!"
I clenched my jaw and was forced into the back seat.
Right after, Adrian slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.
Without thinking, I reached for the door handle. It wouldn't budge.
I pressed the window button. The glass didn't move an inch.
Adrian glanced at me in the rearview mirror, his voice gentle.
"The AC is on. If you open the window, you'll catch a cold. Your stomach is already bothering you, so you should be more careful."
Chloe giggled in the passenger seat until she was practically shaking.
"Oh, Mr. Grant, you're so thoughtful."
"By the way, Mr. Grant, what part of town do you usually spend time in? Do you have a place downtown? Girls these days really care about that kind of thing."
I forced down the panic in my chest and clasped my hands tightly together.
"Mr. Grant, my stomach hurts so much I can't take it anymore."
I named a top-rated teaching hospital a few miles away.
"Could you please stop at the ER entrance at City General Hospital? I need to check in."
Adrian's long fingers rested on the steering wheel.
"I have to pick up a rush dental mold at my studio on the outskirts of town. A patient needs it first thing tomorrow morning."
"Once I've got it, I'll take you to the hospital. It won't be too late."
The car drove straight past the turn for City General.
Desperate, I lunged at the back of the driver's seat.
"Then please pull over! I'll walk there myself!"
Chloe turned around and glared at me viciously.
"Are you done yet? What's with the fake sick act and all this drama?"
I stopped paying attention to the idiot and slipped my hand quietly into my coat pocket.
My fingers found the phone's power button, ready to press it five times to trigger the emergency call.
I had just pressed it for the third time.
Chloe suddenly leaned most of her body over from the front seat and yanked my hand out.
"What are you doing?!"
The moment she saw the screen, her face turned ugly.
"Maya, are you out of your mind?!"
She snatched my phone and pressed the power button to shut it off.
"Don't mind her, Mr. Grant. She's not herself today. I'll keep an eye on her for you."
My mind went blank. I was shaking all over with rage.
"Chloe, give me back my phone! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
She snarled at me under her breath, dropping all pretense.
"All I know is that if you ruin this match, I'll skin you alive!"
The streetlights outside the window grew fewer and farther between.
The car exited the beltway and pulled into a desolate suburban creative arts business park where almost no one was out at night.
Adrian rolled down his window and swiped open a rusty iron gate.
The car stopped in front of a small standalone building with no sign of any kind.
Adrian cut the engine and pulled out the key.
He turned around and spoke softly.
"We're here. Get out."
第3章
Adrian pushed open the heavy security door.
The space inside was huge, and the overhead lights flicked on at once.
Shelves lined every wall, crammed with ghost-white plaster dental molds, precise, sharp metal drill bits, and cutting instruments.
Adrian unhurriedly took off his rain-spotted suit jacket and hung it on the coat rack.
Chloe let out an exaggerated gasp.
"Oh my God, Mr. Grant, your studio is so cool!"
She pulled out her DSLR and snapped away at the cold instruments.
"This industrial look is perfect for Instagram. It's so high-end."
Adrian took out a pair of medical slippers and tossed them right at my feet.
"Take off those muddy shoes."
"And your hair's a mess from the rain. Tie it back neatly."
I stared hard at the slippers and didn't change my shoes. Without letting anything show, I shifted half a step to the right until my back was against a stainless steel workbench.
Adrian turned around. His expression had already changed.
"I said, take off your shoes."
"I don't allow a single flaw that's out of control to exist in my space."
I ignored him and suddenly yelled at Chloe, who was sitting on the couch.
"Chloe! Stop taking pictures. I want to go home!"
My shout made Chloe jump. She almost dropped the camera and stared at me in disbelief.
"Maya, what's wrong with you?"
"Your blind date likes you. Why would you go home?"
She marched over to me and raised her hand to hit me.
"Mr. Grant told you to change, so change! You two are going to spend the rest of your lives together!"
I dodged her hand and bolted for the fire exit.
Chloe grabbed the collar of my coat and held on tight.
"Stop right there!"
The momentum threw us both off balance.
She yanked me down to the floor with all her strength.
"What is your problem? Isn't this the rich family your own family picked out for you?"
She turned to Adrian with a fawning smile.
"Don't be upset, Mr. Grant. She's never done what she's told, not since she was a kid."
"Go ahead and set her straight today, and I promise she'll be completely obedient once she's with you!"
第4章
Adrian had already pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
He walked over to the photography equipment in the corner and picked up a metal camera tripod with one hand.
Dragging the tripod behind him, he came toward me one step at a time.
The despair I had felt watching that hammer smash my fingers in the video lined up perfectly with what was happening now.
Like a madwoman, I kicked at Chloe's stomach with my uninjured left leg.
"Let go of me! Chloe, you idiot!"
Chloe cried out in pain and clamped her arms around my leg even harder, refusing to let go.
"Don't you try to turn me against him!"
"A high-net-worth elite like Mr. Grant giving you a beating is just him teaching you some manners!"
"Be a good girl and apologize so he can cool off, and we can still walk out of here today with the perks!"
She jabbed a finger in my face, then turned to keep proving her loyalty to Adrian.
"Mr. Grant, go ahead!"
Adrian stopped right in front of me.
"I don't like noisy women."
"And I like disobedient specimens even less."
Fighting through the searing pain, I rolled over and snatched back the carving knife that had slid away from me.
The instant Adrian raised the tripod, I drove the blade hard at his calf!
Adrian gave a cold snort. The tip only slit the leg of his suit pants.
He lifted his right foot and stomped down hard on my lower stomach.
The violent, twisting pain drained every bit of strength from my body. The carving knife flew out of my hand and skidded several feet across the floor.
I curled up on the ground in agony, bent double like a boiled shrimp.
Fat drops of cold sweat fell onto the icy floor.
I turned my head to dry-heave.
In that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white magnetic card slip out of Adrian's suit jacket pocket with his sweeping movement.
The studio's backup card for the fingerprint-activated lock!
It had landed less than four inches from my right hand.
All I had to do was swipe it across the sensor on that security door, and it would open from the inside.
Summoning the very last shred of strength in my body, I dug my fingers into the cracks in the floor and stretched, inch by painful inch, toward the key card.
Two inches left.
One inch.
Chloe's shriek suddenly exploded right above my head.
"Mr. Grant, look out! She's trying to steal your key card!"
The next second.
Her foot slammed down on the back of my hand!
She ground her heel into my fingers and kicked the key card, my only way out, straight over to Adrian's leather shoes.
"Mr. Grant, the card's right here. Whatever you do, don't let this bitch get away!"
His gaze swept across Chloe's face and finally locked onto my right hand.
"Not only dirty, but badly behaved too."
"There's no need to keep these hands."
Slowly, he raised the heavy metal tripod in his grip.
I stared at the shadow coming down on me, and a cry of the deepest despair tore out of my chest.
With a whistling rush of air, the tripod came smashing down at the fingers Chloe had pinned under her foot!
"No..."