Being threatened with a gun was new for her. She wasn’t sure how good a shot Landon was, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
The freezing wind blew around them, her teeth chattered, and her toes were so numb, she didn’t trust she could get very far if she ran to the door behind him. He’d catch her in no time. Besides, her stilettos weren’t exactly conducive to running for her life. But they could be good for something else. They might be a weapon.
This was a mental game now. Jordan was coming. She didn’t doubt that. The only question was how long it would take him to find her. Surely, Landon was bound to leave a trace or a mark somewhere for Jordan to find.
But for now, she was still on her own, and all she could do was try to buy time.
“I’m cold, Landon.” This wasn’t a lie. The roof of a New York building in February wearing next to nothing was not ideal. “Can we at least go inside to talk about this?”
His eyes softened, but he made no move to lend her his jacket. A gentleman stalker, he was not. “They’ll be lookingfor you. We have to wait up here until I know I can get you out without being seen.”
“Why didn’t we leave the building in the first place?” The wind picked up intensity, growing vicious, more biting, and she fought the full-body tremors threatening to take over. She needed to focus. Keep her head in the game.
Landon cocked an eyebrow. “Would you really have walked out the front door with me?”
Never.
“Landon,” she said gently, rubbing her arms. The friction didn’t help. “We’ve been friends for a long time, but never anything more. You never let me know you were interested in more.”
He was tall and built, much leaner than Jordan, but still stronger than her. Looming over her like this, he appeared fiercer, meaner. Capable of anything.
“I stood by you through everything. I sacrificed my career for you and went to Vancouver to keep an eye on you. I ended Kurt’s life for what he did to you.”
Disbelief froze her even more. “You killed Kurt?”
“I would have, but your brother-in-law stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong and dragged you away from me. So I sent Kurt’s wife the video of you and ended his life another way. He’ll soon be broke, unemployed, and divorced. If we’re lucky, in jail. The perfect fall from grace for the man who tried to screw you over.”
As Landon rambled on, she held his gaze while slowly lifting her leg behind her, the long gown masking the movement until her fingers could grasp the strap of her heel. Every motion was careful, deliberate. She knew one wrong twitch could set everything off.
But luck was on her side, because Landon was so caughtup in his rant that he hadn’t seemed to notice her incremental movements.
The sad part was, she knew that somewhere in Landon’s sick mind, he thought he’d done her a favor. That he’d done it out of love and devotion to her. But there was one thing niggling at the back of her mind. “You still have the video?”
“Of course I do. I knew it was meant for me all along. I cherish it, like it’s meant to be cherished.”
The cold turned burning hot, and a clammy sweat broke out all over. “You’re disgusting.”
Landon’s face contorted in anger. “I’m not! I love you.” He lunged toward her, grabbing her shoulders, pressing a hard kiss to her frozen lips.
She swung her arm up as high as she could and brought her stiletto’s heel down on Landon’s shoulder with all the strength she had left in her.
He drew back with a howl, his hand instinctively going to the wound, and Vanessa lashed out again, striking his head with the heel. Blood poured down his face as he screamed, rage twisting his features as he cradled his cheek.
She tried to bolt, but with one shoe gone her balance faltered, and Landon surged forward, gripping her around the waist and slamming her against the ledge. Pain shot through her, stealing her breath. She swung her heel out again, getting a hit across the side of his head, but from her current position it didn’t land as hard as the last.
“I sacrificed everything for you,” he screamed as he struck, knocking her makeshift weapon out of her hands. “I’ve waited long enough.” His voice was an evil growl, his eyes menacing as brought his bloodied face an inch from hers. “Now you’ll learn that you’ve always been mine.” His gaze flicked to her breasts, his tongue dipping out to lick his lips. Blood smeared across his teeth.
Her stomach pitched violently. This wasn’t her friend. This was the predator who’d hunted her for months and stolen her underwear.
Fear coiled in her gut, but more potent than that was her anger. “I’ll never be yours!”
But he was already on her, his weight pinning her to the ledge, his hands, freezing as hers, tearing at her gown. The ripping of fabric echoed in the air.
She shouted, or maybe she didn’t. She was so numb now she wasn’t sure her lips were moving.
“You don’t know what love is. I could never love you.” If she was going to die on this roof tonight, she needed him to know that. No more delusions and lies. “The man I love would never scare me or hurt me the way you have.”
Landon’s head snapped back. “You don’t lovehim,” he hissed. “He’s a monster, Vanessa. He’s killed people.”
