Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
But it was easy to see they were images of her. There were photos of her on the slide at the playground. Of her carrying her groceries. But the one that made her feel completely ill was the photo of her eating a Pop-tart. In this apartment.
She dropped the photos then rushed around the room, drawing all the curtains.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
He could see in her apartment. How? From another apartment building? Or did he have a camera in here?
Out. She had to get out.
She gathered up the images. Each one of her had a heart drawn around her face.
And then there was the note.
She put her hand over her mouth as she read the words.
Little birdie, it’s time to play
Will you flap your wings and fly away?
Shh, don’t tell anyone
It will ruin all the fun
And I won’t be happy with you,
I’ve been watching you, it’s all I do,
Little birdie, I’m coming for you . . .
Okay. Yep. Definitely going to vomit. She barely made it to the toilet before her lunch came up.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
What should she do?
This time, it was clearly a threat. This guy was playing a game. He’d been watching her.
Little birdie, I’m coming for you.
Clearly there was only one thing to do . . . only that seemed to be what he expected her to do.
To run.
Shit. Fuck.
But this guy didn’t know that she wasn’t without resources. If she left, she had more of a chance to escape him than she did if she stayed.
What about Gray? Should she warn him?
Shh, don’t tell anyone.
Would telling him put him in danger?
What should she do?
Crawling out of the bathroom, she moved around the room and pulled all the drapes.
Pack up. She needed to get everything packed up. Luckily, most of her clothes were in her duffel. She added her blanket and throw.
Then she got her backpack and put in Squish, her vibrator, and some of her work stuff. It nearly didn’t all fit but she managed to get it in there.
Please, don’t let the zipper break.
She grabbed her key and moved to the door.
Wait. This was stupid. It was still light out. Maybe she should wait until it grew dark.
But would it make a difference?
She didn’t know.
Call Sampson. Or Cat.
Either one would come for you.
Any of them would. Fuck, Alejandro could be here in hours.
If Alejandro came for her, then he’d probably lock her up in his fortress and never let her leave. Maybe calling Sampson was better. Or Jenner. Jenner had a private plane.
“I hate relying on other people. I don’t want to be the charity girl anymore.” She glanced over at Squish, tears filling her eyes. “When am I going to get over this, Squish?”
Darn dog didn’t have any words of encouragement for her.
She didn’t know what to do. And what about Gray?
Shh, don’t tell anyone.
She’d text Gray when she was on her way. Tell him she had to go. That she was sorry.
Tears dripped down her cheeks and she took a moment to draw a deep breath. She’d go take her key to the landlady. Then she’d call a taxi to the bus station.
She’d call Sampson. Let him know what was going on and ask for help. But she couldn’t stay in here. She felt ill. Like he was going to come for her at any moment.
Not him. He’s dead.
But someone else.
Then she’d call Gray. Or maybe text him. She’d have to come up with something. Tell him she had a family emergency or something.
God, that sounded so pathetic. She hated lying. She was terrible at it. But she couldn’t tell him the real reason. At least not until this asshole was taken care of.
If she told him the truth, what would happen? It would go one of two ways most likely. He’d distance himself from her. Or he’d want to help her.
She bit her lip. She didn’t want him to risk himself. Especially when she didn’t know what sort of threat this was. And when he wasn’t committed to her. Perhaps if they were dating, it would be different.
And she didn’t want him feeling obligated to do something or getting hurt. She needed to keep him safe.
Telling him the truth wasn’t an option.
Moving out of the room, she headed downstairs to the landlady’s room. She wasn’t the nicest person and Maeve was tempted just to slide the key under her door.
Yeah, that’s what she’d do.
Getting there was a problem, however, since it was on the basement level.
God, she hated it down here. The whole place was creepy. She held back a whimper as she moved to the door. Then she tried to push the key under the door. Shit, it didn’t fit. Crouching, she pushed it under the door as hard as she could.
“So you decided to run, Little Birdie, interesting.”
Oh, fuck.
The voice wasn’t one she recognized.