A threat is a threat.
“Please, if you could…” The lump in my throat, God, it’s so hard to breathe. I cough, wiping any emotion from my voice. “Please tell me you won’t hurt me.”
Please tell me the first time I’ve wanted a manlike thatwon’t end with me dying.
Silence.
More silence.
As the seconds tick by, my pulse settles. The heat at my back is gone.
That’s how, even without looking, I can tell my stalker isn’t there anymore.
What I can’t tell is whether I hate it or am grateful for it.
“What the fuck!” My sister’s scream tears through my thoughts. “No. No, no, no!”
Bronwyn’s in trouble.
For some unfathomable reason, I cling to the charm as I jolt up and take off in the direction of her scream. I was right. Whoever was here with me has vanished into the shadows.
Maybe he isn’t a monster after all? A monster would kill me, right?
Enough of him.
Bronwyn needs me.
Cold sweat trickles down my spine as I sprint through Main Street. It runs down my face too, my eyes stinging with it.
Don’t care. I push harder, running faster than I ever have, kicking up dust.
Gotta be prepared for the worst.
Dammit. My scalpel’s in the SUV. I’ll have to be quick. Grab it from the car, make sure no one comes close enough to hurt her.
A few more feet and I’m there.
“Bronny.” Easton sounds only mildly worried. “Calm down. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Relax.”
My sister’s screaming, and he’s telling her to relax?
What the hell’s wrong with him?
“How am I supposed to relax?” she squeals just as I reach the SUV, where I find both of them.
My first thought isthank fuck, she’s unharmed.
Without a scratch on her, and with no one other than Easton nearby, air filters back into my lungs. I thought I’d lost her, dammit, but she’s okay. Her lips are pinched as she watches Easton leaning under the popped hood, using his cellphone as a flashlight.
Oh, so that’s what’s wrong.
Shit.
“The car won’t start?” I ask, my voice hesitant.
