Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Me: I keep saying this but…I truly don’t know what it says about me when I admit…I like that you watch me.
X: You sure you don’t want to hand your phone into the police again?
Me: I rather like talking to you, so no.
X: You’re unlike anything I expected.
Me: You sound as if you’re disappointed?
X: Disappointed?
He sent another one straight away.
X: I think you mean in big fucking trouble.
Me: What sort of trouble?
X: I can’t believe I’m going to say this. Even thinking about writing it makes me break out in a cold sweat.
Me: You’ll definitely have to tell me now.
X: I watch you because I find you drop-dead gorgeous, smart, brave, and… Damn, this honesty clause keeps biting me in the ass.
Me: Go on………
X: The real reason I watch you is because. Fuck, it sounds so cheesy. If it doesn’t freak you out, it’s going to make you laugh.
Me: Try me.
X: I watch you because I have a crush on you. I think I always have. But now I’m ending this conversation before I say something else that gets me into trouble. I’m around if you need me. Message me if you’re struggling. Sleep well.
I fell onto my side in a dramatic swoon.
He has a crush on me?
How long had it been since I’d heard that word? When I was fourteen at school? Why did it deliver the same delicious shivers and tingles as it did back then, knowing a boy liked me?
He said he was in trouble?
What about me?
How had this happened?
How did I stop it?
Did I even want to stop it?
Snuggling on the couch, I drew the blanket up to my shoulders and shoved a cushion under my head.
I lay there in the soft light of the Tiffany lamp, rereading every message we exchanged.
And then, I fell asleep in the very spot where a man tried to kill me, all while thinking of the one helping me move on.
* 18 *
Zander
Barefoot and Masked
I WOKE TO SOMEONE SCREAMING.
The noise cut straight into my nightmares and yanked me from sleep so fast, my heart palpitated. Vertigo scrambled my eyesight as I got up too quick, sending me swaying sideways. I bashed my toe on the end of the bed as I bolted to my window.
Sailor!
Another scream. Her horror floated easily between our two houses, thanks to our open windows.
I didn’t think.
Hauling on a pair of black tracksuit bottoms and fighting my way into a black t-shirt, I bolted down the stairs. Skidding through my conservatory, I went to fly off the deck, but common sense had me sprinting back into the house and snatching my motorcycle scarf and hat.
Yanking the balaclava over my head, I jammed my hat into place and brought the scarf as high as it would go to just below my eyes. My vision was fuzzy without my glasses, but not so bad that I couldn’t beat the shit out of whoever was hurting Sailor.
Prying the palings apart, I fought my way through the fence. The loose screw snagged my t-shirt as I wriggled into her back garden. Barefoot and absolutely panicking, I charged onto her back deck and tried the door handle.
Locked.
Fuck.
Hurry.
Hurry!
Ducking to one knee, I found the lavender pot where Melody always kept the spare key. Shoving it into the lock, I swung the door open.
Moans and thrashing came from the living room.
My hands curled into fists. All my training as a doctor switched from saving a life to taking one. I knew what artery bled the most. I knew what bone to snap to cause the most pain.
He’s dead.
Skidding into the living room, I flicked on the light, then snapped it off again.
Shit.
Shit!
This is bad.
So bad.
So very, very bad.
Sailor woke up, thanks to me blinding her with the overhead light. It took a second for her brain to work and another second to drink me in. Sweat glittered on her temples, her phone beside her where she’d fallen asleep, her legs tangled in the blanket I’d given her when she’d slept outside.
Our eyes met, and for a second, she didn’t react.
And then, she exploded into action.
“No. Don’t. Help!” Scrambling to the opposite end of the couch, she hunched into a ball and went to scream again.
I did the only logical thing I could do.
Throwing myself over the arm of the couch, I landed beside her and slapped my hand over her lips. With my other hand, I reached behind her and turned off the side lamp, suffocating the room in darkness.
Everything Colin had said echoed in my head.
The Clark Kent effect. The fact my face and hair were hidden but my bright green eyes were not. I had to stay in the dark. I had to act different, speak different. If I wanted any chance of her not recognising me, I needed the night to be my ally.