The Unexpected Coincidence by Amelia Price Read Free Book Online

found it was less
than half a mile away, her phone buzzed with a response.
     
    No.
     
    Amelia laughed. It
was just like Myron to be so short and to the point. After tucking
the phone in the bottom of her handbag and grabbing the map she had
open on her normal mobile, she headed back out into the city. The
stars were out and the area around her looked well-kept, with
street lamps lighting up the pavement at regular intervals, so she
decided not to bother with a taxi and walked along the road.
    Less than two
minutes later she realised she could hear the sound of quiet
footsteps behind her, heading in the same direction but not
catching up to her. Up ahead, she noticed she would need to cross
the road, and when she got there she paused and used the
opportunity to take a look over her shoulder. Out of the corner of
her eye she saw someone dart behind a hedge.
    Amelia's heart
rate increased, but she knew she had to keep going and stay calm.
Regretful thoughts popped into her head as she crossed the road,
but she pushed them away. She couldn't change the decision she'd
made now, and it was better to focus on getting to her destination.
Next time she would take a taxi.
    After studying the
map open on her phone screen for a moment, she stuffed it into her
pocket. Having to look at it repeatedly would slow her down. It
would be better for her to keep going at a steady pace and appear
confident. If she was worried or got lost and saw another pub or
restaurant, she could always wander in as if it had been her
destination all along.
    Straining her
ears, Amelia tried to listen out for the sound of someone walking
behind her again but they were either gone or were being more
careful not to make a sound with their footfalls. She even tried
holding her breath to keep herself quiet, but too many cars came
past to make any difference. Unable to resist the temptation any
longer, Amelia stopped and looked behind her.
    There was no one
there.
    She shook her head
at her own fears and chuckled. Whoever had been there must have
stopped at one of the houses. They hadn't been following her at
all.
    Feeling lighter
already, Amelia shoved her chilly hands into her jacket pockets and
gazed at her surroundings. Her walk soon took her off the main road
and down a quaint cobbled street with small old shops that lined
both sides. All of them were shut at this time of night but she
browsed the wares in the windows anyway.
    She could see the
bright, welcoming glow of the restaurant's entrance a hundred
metres ahead when a car engine noise caught her attention. The deep
purr of a slow-moving car came up close to one side of her,
accompanied by the rumble of wheels on cobbles. She glanced at the
car, but in the darkness she could only make out that it was a
black Audi.
    “Amelia!” Shelly's
voice cut through the quiet night air and Amelia looked ahead of
her to see the author standing to one side of the restaurant door,
a cigarette in her fingers. With a large exhale, Amelia picked up
the pace and hurried towards the friendly face.
    “You're brave for
walking in this cold. I took a taxi,” Shelly said as soon as she
was close enough to talk without yelling.
    “Yeah, I think
I'll get a taxi back.” Amelia made no mention of the reason why. No
one needed to know how scared she'd been. It wasn't the brightest
idea she'd had, given the letters, but she'd made it safely.
    Forgetting all her
worries for an evening, she followed Shelly into the building and
let her new friend introduce her to the rest of the writers there.
Some she'd met at other events, but most were new to her.
    They spent the
entire meal talking about their careers, from contracts and
advances to deadlines and genre tropes. Only one of the men there
stood out to her as being particularly interesting. He wrote
science fiction and had a good understanding of society's flaws,
but she found herself less interested and more distant than she
used to be around such clever people. The time spent with