The warning

Chapter twenty-five

Harley

I know this man.

He is Ryker's friend.

He walks over to my table "I am here with her,'' he points to me and the waiter just smiles and walks away. I watch him as he takes a seat on the opposite side of me. He is dressed in a white shirt and black pants with dress shoes. Unlike Ryker he has a smile on his face. Looking at this man, I don't feel an ounce of intimidation.

He doesn't scare me.

There is something warm about him. Something kind and gentle.

He is different from Ryker, but he doesn't interest me.

"Hello Harley.''

His voice is deep and assuring. Something about it makes me feel frightened. I look at him as the words leave my lips "Have you been following me all day?'' I ask him immediately.

"I wanted to talk to you,'' he doesn't deny my accusation.

'Why?''

This waiter comes back with two menus and drops it on the table in front of the two of us. He waves the man off and opens the book "Let me pay for your dinner,'' he smiles.

I frown "I didn't come here for dinner. Why did you follow me here?''

I just want him to get to the point. I don't want to have this conversation with him because the last time I saw him, he made it very clear that he didn't want me with Ryker. It seems like all odds are really against us.

"Like I said, I want to talk to you," he signals the waiter back and I hear him as he orders two drinks. A scotch on the rocks for himself and a virgin mojito for me. I shake my head because apparently, he is not listening to me.

"What do you want to talk to me about?' I ask him immediately.

"We should eat. Then we will talk,'' he replies so calmly that it gets on my nerves.

"Does Ryker know you're here?''

His eyes open wide and I see an expression that I can't read. "Ryker huh?" The waiter comes back with the drinks and I watch him as he takes a sip from his 'You are on first name basis with him now?'' he says it like he can't even believe it.

I don't know what is going on here but this has me worried. Why does this man feel the need to come and vet me, who is he to him?

"What is this about?''

He signals the waiter back and does the same thing again. Orders for the two of us. Unlike Ryker, this man is very controlling and he doesn't take no for an answer.

"We eat and then we talk,'' he repeats.

At this point, I feel like I have no choice but to sit down here and look at this man. This man that I don't know anything about, this man that seems to hate me even though he doesn't know anything about me, this man that scares me with how warm he is.

It takes a couple of minutes for the food to get here and I see the steak as the waiter drops on in front of me. It looks rare, I hate rare steak. I watch the man as he digs into his meal, slowly eating. His eyes dart from the food to me. He is waiting for me to eat, I don't have a choice right now and the sooner I eat, the sooner this can end.

I grab the fork and knife and he watches me as I take my first bite. A slow smile sprawls on his face and he looks satisfied.

We eat in silence for a couple of minutes and I watch him as he watches me. This is the most awkward dinner I have ever had and all I want to do is go home and leave this mess behind. Not even halfway done with his food, he drops his cutlery and I watch him as he pushes the plate away from him.

"Do you know when you are in a dangerous situation?'' he finally speaks up.

I have no clue what he is talking about.

"What?''

His stretches his smile "Would you know if you were in trouble?'' he adds.

I frown.

This man is talking crazy.

"No, how could anyone know.''

"What if I told you that you were in a dangerous situation, would you believe and run for the hills?'' he asks.

"Depends.''

"On what?''

"On what kind of trouble I am in?''

I know he wants to talk about Ryker and he is one of those people that don't think we are good together. Unless he gives me a tangible reason, I don't think anyone can talk me out of this. Especially this man in front of me.

"I know you Harley Davis. I know the things you have done in your life.'' he smiles so calmly that it irritates me.

He is looking at me like he actually knows me and I haven't even said a word to this man before today. So why does he act like he knows more about me than I would like anyone to know.

"I don't know what you are talking about,'' I retort.

"You know, usually when people meet mysterious men in cafes, they stay away."

He is talking about Ryker.

"I am not most people.''

He nods "That is true but you should also know that just like most people, you are going to die.'' he says the words so casually. Something inside me winces, almost like he actually knows something that I don't and it scares me even more.

"Yeah, death is inevitable. Just like I know you are going to die too''

He scoffs and then chuckles.

"Not everything you see is what it is. This life is an illusion and the people that you think you know might be the monsters you should run away from."

He keeps on talking in riddles.

I can't understand him.

"What are we talking about? Let me guess, you think I shouldn't be with Ryker. You think what we are doing is a mistake?''

He shakes his head "There are no mistakes in life but there are choices and you have a choice to take a step back. You have a choice to walk away before you are both destroyed."

I watch him drop some bills on the table for the food and then he stands up "Do not ruin that man by staying close to him. Leave him while you still can.''

With that he stands up, walks away from me and out of the restaurant.

What the fuck just happened?