His eyes narrowed, anger flickering across his expression.Willow resisted the urge to grin, though inside she was fist pumping and doing a happy dance.She loved small victories, especially when they involved men like Marcus.
“Well, yes, I do have to get back shortly,” Marcus said through gritted teeth.“I’m not sure what the business would do without me, if truth be told.But now that I’ve run into you, would you like to have dinner with me before the meeting tonight?”
Willow’s jaw dropped.“Um, dinner?”The word came out as a squeak, her shock impossible to hide.He’d spent months sneering at her when he thought she wasn’t looking and making cutting remarks at her expense.Dinner?Really?
“Yes.I can see that you’re shocked.You’re not exactly my usual type”—and there it was, the narcissist showing his teeth—“but I thought I’d offer.It would get you out of that tiny, shitty studio apartment of yours at least.”
Willow’s eyes narrowed.Her cheeks heated with indignation, but her voice stayed cool.“Thanks so much for the heartfelt offer, but I’m already having dinner with a gentleman tonight who thinks I’m exactly his type.”
Marcus stepped closer, his hand snapping out to clamp around her upper arm.Willow gasped at the iron grip, fear tightening her throat.“Who?”
“H–His name is Hugo,” she whispered, the lie tumbling out as much from instinct as fear.Her cat’s name was the only thing her panicked brain could grab.
Marcus’s scowl darkened.For a heartbeat, something moved in his eyes—something not human, not warm, but dark and dangerous.It was as though a shadow rippled there, hinting at something beneath the surface she couldn’t name.“I will see you at the meeting tonight,” he said, his voice dropping an octave, resonant with menace.“Don’t think about skipping.That would not please me.Make sure you get your ass there.You don’t want me banging on the door of your fucking apartment looking for you.”
He shoved her away with a growl of disgust and stalked off.Willow stumbled, rubbing her arm where his fingers had dug into her flesh.She was certain bruises were already forming.The sting on her skin was nothing compared to the chill that lingered from that look in his eyes.
Shaken, she started toward home again, her mind racing.The bustling street around her seemed to blur; people passed by, unaware, wrapped in their own errands and lives.To them it was just an ordinary afternoon.But for Willow, the world felt tilted.Marcus’s words clung like cobwebs she couldn’t shake off.
Halfway there she froze, his words replaying in her head.He had mentioned her apartment—her studio apartment.She had never held a meeting there.She had never even told the group where she lived.
So how the hell did Marcus know?
****
“Willow?”
Willow jolted at the sound of her name, looking around the room at the rest of her book club and realizing that everyone was staring at her.
“Yes?”
Lisa Colman smiled in that patronizing way that always made Willow want to poke her with a stick.“Sorry, dear, was this book a little beyond you?There are a lot of hidden themes and nuances that can present people with a challenge if they’re not up to it.”
Perhaps stabbing her with something sharper would be more satisfying.Willow opened her mouth to launch into her actual opinion—that the book was poorly written, with plot holes so large you could drive a tractor trailer through them and an ending as predictable as sunset—but then she caught Marcus’s eye.The look he gave her was chilling.Hatred and desire mixed in a way that made her skin crawl.
“Perhaps it was a little more than I’m used to,” Willow murmured instead, dropping her gaze to the floor.The conversation resumed around her and she tried to blend into the ugly couch beneath her.
Earlier that evening, she’d debated with herself about whether she should even show up for the meeting, but Marcus’s warning had been too dire to ignore.If he did know where she lived, she didn’t want to risk him pounding on her door in the middle of the night.Her apartment wasn’t in the safest part of town, and she doubted her neighbors would care enough to come to her aid.
No, the best thing she could do was talk with Marcus at the end of the meeting, let him know she wasn’t interested and convince him to let it go.At least, that was the plan.
An hour later, the meeting came to a close and Linda thanked everyone for coming.Willow forced a wan smile as she stepped into the hallway.She was ready to bolt for the stairs when Lisa called her name.Barely resisting the urge to wince, she turned back to their host.
“Thanks for coming, Willow.Some of us were thinking that it might be time for you to host the next meeting.From what Marcus was saying before you arrived, you don’t live too far from here,” Lisa said, smiling.
Cold washed over Willow, her pulse skipping.Slowly, she turned to Marcus, who leaned against the wall outside Lisa’s door.His smug smile made her stomach churn, bile burning her throat.
“Yes, I do live close by.Perhaps I could post on our Facebook group page with a date?”Willow murmured, praying neither Lisa nor Marcus caught the tremor in her voice.Thinking Marcus might know where she lived had been one thing.Having it confirmed was another.Her heart thundered in her chest, threatening to give her away.
“Of course,” Lisa said, giving her a strange look.“Well, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.And if you’re going to host, don’t forget to post the theme.”
Willow nodded quickly and turned, desperate to put distance between herself and Marcus.She had barely made it to the stairs when she heard him bid Lisa goodnight.Then—her name, sharp and too loud.
Fear surged and she ran.She tore down the stairs, taking them two at a time, Marcus’s roar echoing behind her.
“Willow!Don’t you run from me, bitch!”
She sobbed, slamming into the wall at the bottom of the first flight before pushing off and racing down the second.She cursed herself for leaving the relative safety of Lisa’s apartment, but there was no turning back now.She burst through the stairwell door and into the foyer, her eyes darting wildly, searching for someone—anyone—who might help.
