It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t an offer. There was an impliedor elsebehind the order.
Screw it.I was hungry.
I picked up another kettle chip, fingers hovering over the digital keyboard to type out a heated response. Who the hell did this person think they were? Messing with me like that!
As if to taunt me, my phone vibrated before I composed my response.
Unknown: Good girl.
Those words sent a rush of heat south. My core contracted in response. Holy shit….
I looked around my office. There was no one in the hall. And yet the timing was too precise to be a coincidence.
When I looked back at my phone, the new messages were gone. Not a trace.
I imagined it. I had to have.
It was a sure sign of madness.
Later, I would deal with the inconvenient problem. I set the phone down, screen to desk, and reached for the Caesar wrap. That first taste of food hit my empty stomach, and now I was ravenous. I inhaled the wrap, licking my fingers when I was done. It might just have been the best food I’d ever eaten.
Not that I would tell my stalker that—if he even existed in the first place.
Chapter 6 – Amanda
Locking my apartment door, I trudged to the elevator. My flip-flops slapped against the carpeted hallway, obscenely loud at this late hour.
“I just need to sleep,” I muttered as I pushed the button in the elevator for the top level. If the red wine didn’t help me pass out, exercise was the next best choice. I plucked at my loose cotton shirt. The swimsuit bunched underneath. I adjusted the grip on my bag containing my swim cap, goggles, and earplugs. By the time the doors opened, I took one look at the pool and decided to hit the sauna instead.
I paid through the roof for the smaller condo in the middle of the building, but it was worth it for the 24-hour fitness center and spa amenities. Once in the ladies’ changing room, I slipped out of my shirt, dumped my things in a locker, and grabbed a fluffy robe on the way to the sauna. In the middle of the night, this place was blissfully empty.
Warmth enveloped me as I entered the cedar space. After cranking the heat and sluicing water on the hot stones, I sank onto the hewn wooden bench. It was time to dissect recent events and process my life.
In the space of a day, I had both a fiancé and a stalker—or a fiancé and a deranged mind.
I shivered against the warm wood. Lying down, I threw an arm over my eyes. There was a food baby in my stomach, a buzz in my veins, and the rest of me was ready for a good night’s sleep. But my brain refused to shut off until I processed every scrap of information.
Earlier, I’d made the mistake of pulling out a legal pad and pen to hash out the situation. My brain spun until I was ready to scream. When the clock struck one, I’d come up here to relax. The twin problems should be able to wait until tomorrow, when I could assess them with fresh eyes. That was why I’d left themessy yellow pad on my kitchen counter. I knew better than to try to write a pro/con list after dancing with a bottle of red.
It can wait!
With a huff, I began some deep breathing exercises to clear my mind. At this rate, I would have to take two sleeping pills and meditate. But that would spell out disaster for tomorrow’s productivity.
A loud beep muffled through the door of the sauna. The lights whizzed and blinked out, as did the heater. I sat bolt upright, staring into the dark. The power was out. It was still warm in here, but the lack of puffing steam brought a temperature shift.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
The blackouts that plagued the metropolis weren’t a problem here, because high-end buildings like this had backup generators. When thirty seconds passed and the power was still out, I pushed to my feet.
The door to the sauna opened.
I shot backward with a gasp. Someone entered.
The skin on the back of my neck felt as though it’d come in contact with a live wire. It tingled and zapped wildly.
“Hello?” I hated how small my voice sounded. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “What’s going on?”
The door shut, but the spectral presence was strong enough that my lizard brain sensed the other being. A raw energy sizzled through the dark. Knees cracked, and the sound of someone sitting on the bench across from me made my heart skip a double beat.
