“I hope you survive this night, Camille Parker. I’d like to take you with me when I leave Raven’s Crest in ruins.”
I don’t have time to process what he’s told me because a door slides open, and I immediately know where we are. It’s the Coleman Lumber Mill. Located on the outskirts of Raven’s Crest, on the edge of the forest, it sits by the Ohio River, where logs can float to the mill as they’re chopped down.
I haven’t been here in years. The last time I set foot in here, Rex’s parents were still alive, and I took a tour. It smells like different types of wood, fresh and earthy like oak, pine, and cedar. The hint of sweet resin combines with damp earth. There’s a hint of something sour, like decaying wood andchemicals, as I see the first flurries of snow being carried on the wind.
The temperature has dropped. It’s grown bitterly cold. The snow isn’t sticking and probably won’t until at least November, but I shudder as the wind sweeps through where I’m standing.
I don’t have a coat. I’m going to freeze outside before Rex can ever arrive. “Why Rex?”
I need to know.
“It’s never been about you, Blissy Girl,” he tells me with a hint of anger and disgust. “This is about getting closer to the Kings of Anarchy and taking everything from them before we kill the club and bury it like the poisonous snake it is. One town, one member at a time.”
It’s not really an answer. “But why Rex?”
“Because you’re his and I want you for myself.”
I’m so shocked and appalled that I feel sick to my stomach.
“I found you by accident. If he didn’t have an obsession with collecting information about you, I wouldn’t have found my sweet baker. I just need to be sure that you’re strong enough for the future.”
There’s no way I’m leaving Raven’s Crest with this freak.
“I don’t know your name or anything about you.” It’s a stall tactic, and it doesn’t work.
He chuckles. “Bad girl, Cami. Don’t distract me with that pretty smile. I can’t take you yet.”
I don’t want to learn what he means by that. The idea that he could take me away, hold me hostage, rape me, or hurt me almost breaks me. The terror just keeps escalating in his presence.
“I told you fear would bind us together. Time to prove your worth, Camille Parker. I truly hope you’re as resourceful as I think you are. I’m going to enjoy the hunt.”
A hunt? Where I’m the prize?
It occurs to me that Rex will show up and have no idea about any of this. He’s walking into a trap.
The stalker lifts his rifle as he steps closer and gestures toward the cornfield I can see stretching to the left outside the mill’s walls. “Run.”
Chapter 14 Camille
My arms pump as I run into the cornfield, too pumped with adrenaline, fear, and worry to notice the cold. Since the stalks are high, they’re excellent at preventing the snow flurries from touching the ground. I can see them sparkling in the wind above my head as I slow down, huffing and moving more slowly now that I’m concealed.
I haven’t run through cornfields like this since I was a girl. It’s been so long that I don’t remember how they scratch your face and clothes, especially with the cold air nearly freezing and sharpening the outer leaves. I’m going to have tiny wounds all over by the time I get out of here.
And I will. I’m determined not to be caught by the crazy psycho stalker who’s never really been my number one fan at all. He’s been deceiving all of us. It makes me wonder who he’s working with because he said ‘we’ more than once.
“Camille. Where are you hiding? Can you tell I’m not too far behind you?”
I slap a hand over my mouth as the urge to scream takes over. He’s taunting me. I won’t be stupid enough to give him any further clues about where I’m at.
Instead, I slowly begin to walk between the stalks, staying away from the edge of the cornfield. It’s a vast area, and if I’m smart and careful, I have a chance to elude him.
His voice sounds farther away as he taunts me again, trying to spook me into revealing where I am. It won’t work.
I think I’m safe until someone grabs me, slapping a palm against my mouth to keep me quiet. It’s instinctual to fight. I flail and kick at the attacker, using every ounce of strength to get free. When I bite down on his hand, he curses.
“Baby, it’s me.”
All the fight leaves me with an audible exhale. Why didn’t he say something sooner? With a soft cry, I spin around and throw myself into Rex’s arms.
