Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
My hands shake, and as my nerves get too much to handle, I pull myself out of bed and walk into Nat’s living room, curling up on the couch with her throw blanket, still staring at the phone.
Another ten minutes pass before I finally find the balls to open the text, and when I do, my heart begins to race.
Alex - Where are you, Mace?
I stare at the words for way too long, knowing I shouldn’t respond, but the way he calls me Mace is my kryptonite. Hearing the nickname come out of his mouth every day has done something to me that I can’t even begin to explain.
My fingers hover over the screen, trying to work out what the hell I’m supposed to do, when another text comes through.
Alex - There’s nowhere you can go where I won’t find you.
Alex - Don’t keep me waiting.
Fuck. Needing this to stop, I start typing out a response, despite knowing that all I’m doing is playing into his vile game of cat and mouse.
Kyah - This needs to stop. I’m done, Alex. It’s over.
Alex - *MULTIMEDIA TEXT*
My brows furrow as an image comes through, and without even a second of hesitation, I open the picture to find a screenshot of a Google map, pinning my exact location. Only there’s a second pin—his location—and if I’m right, if I’m seeing this properly, he’s a lot closer than I could have ever imagined.
My heart comes to a dead stop, fear pounding heavily through my veins.
He’s not just close by, he’s in this fucking apartment.
“What did I tell you, my sweet Kyah?” a familiar tone rumbles through Nat’s apartment. “You better fucking run.”
37
ALEX
Kyah sits curled up on her best friend’s couch, and I watch with a sly grin as her phone casts a brilliant glow across her face. It’s just enough in the darkness to make out the fear shining in those big blue eyes.
God, she’s so fucking gorgeous.
I stand in the kitchen, concealed by shadows, and as Kyah’s head snaps up, she looks around in a panic. I can almost hear her heart thumping from here. She flies up from the couch, backing up toward the front door, her eyes wide as she continues scanning the small one-bedroom apartment.
I step out of the shadows and watch as her gaze follows my movement, snapping right to mine, only her jaw drops, and I live for the fucking small gasp that tears from the back of her throat, knowing exactly what she sees. I stand barely a few feet away in nothing but a pair of black pants and a mask pulled over my face, and while it’s too dark for her to make out any of my features, I know she sees the bandaging across my chest from the tattoo she spent hours working on.
Kyah continues backing up until she physically runs into the main door of Nat’s apartment, and I see the confusion in her eyes. She doesn’t know whether she wants to fear me or fuck me, but surely she knows that I could never hurt her. Not now.
Her hand hovers behind her back, and from the way her muscles are tensing in her arm, she’s trying to work the lock. Then the second I hear the soft click fill the apartment, I take a purposeful step toward her. “Run.”
Kyah gasps, and I watch as she scrambles, whipping around and fumbling with the door as I slowly walk toward her. After releasing the deadbolt, she tears the door open and spares just a second to glance back, catching my eye, and fuck, I’ve never been so hard.
She whimpers, and like a flash of lightning, she’s gone.
I follow her out the door, taking my time as I watch her bolt down the long hallway, her feet slamming against the ground and echoing back up the hall.
She hits the stairs and catches the railing, using it to propel her around the corner before flying down them. Despite how badly I need her to run, to keep this insane thrill pulsing through my body, the thought of her taking a misstep or falling down those fucking stairs makes my skin crawl.
As Kyah starts putting distance between us, I pick up my pace, not willing to lose her for even a second, and as I reach the stairs, I grip the railing and propel myself right over the edge, just as I’d done the first day I’d officially met Kyah and raced her to the laundry room. Only this time, it’s so much better.
I drop straight down through the stairwell, bypassing the second floor, and landing in a deep crouch on the first floor. Kyah hits the bottom step. “FUCK,” she squeals as I all but appear beside her, and I watch with a raging hard-on as her eyes widen again, but she doesn’t miss a step, launching herself toward the main entrance of the building.