Chapter One
Becca sippedher green kale smoothie and watched the shift change at the hospital. All of the new workers arrived bright-eyed and wearing pressed uniforms, as the others who were leaving, looked ridden hard and put up wet. She hadn’t spotted the next person who was going to die, but all of these people shared one thing in common with the next victim: the same uniform, which was reason enough to stalk the place.
The dream from last night sat fresh behind her eyelids. Each time she closed them, she could remember the woman’sface, the style of her hair, and even the direction that the stalker plaguing her dreams normally watched from. Becca was in the same location at the same time of day. He had to be close by.
A gun was tucked securely beneath her shirt as the once-warm engine beneath the car’s hood turned cold against her butt. For some reason, she was linked to this killer, and she was determined to find out why. Her days of being a scared child, and helpless watcher of his crimes during her dreams was done. She was old enough to stop him now.
Unease crept down Becca’s spine, leaving her feeling vulnerable; at the same time, her stomach rumbled in displeasure from the vegetable drink. It was as if her entire body was one big, deathly radar device alerting her of the killer’s presence. He was here. Becca slowly slid off the hood of her car and scanned the other vehicles parked nearby. Cars, of all makes and models, covered the ten rows in this section of the hospital parking lot. Some had tinted windows to block the Florida heat; others did not.
He was here.
She knew it like she knew her sister, Quinn, would invent new cuss words during labor for everyone within a mile to hear. It was happening.
Blood coursed through her veins, making her temples throb, as she slowly moved around her car while placing her hand on the butt of the gun beneath her shirt. She wouldn’t be caught off guard like the stalker’s normal prey. She wouldn’t end up a statistic, not with the insight she’d seen in her dream. The hair on her arms stood at attention. The typical butterflies in her stomach were replaced with killer bees. Okay, maybe not killer bees, but more like those harmless, fat bumble bees. Her normally serene nature was way out of whack.
She stepped gingerly down the length of the rows, peering into the car windows as she passed. Empty. She wouldn’t drop her guard. Her sister wouldn’t let her live it down if Becca was killed for such a stupid move. They’d make fun of her even in her afterlife, much worse than they currently did on a daily basis. Focus, Becca. She had to stay alert.
Becca stepped into the next line of cars as she continued her hunt. She was about as stealthy as an unoiled door hinge thanks to the soles of her tennis shoes squeaking with each step. She cringed at the noise. The puddle she’d stepped in this morning was killing her stealthy ninja moves. She’d never be a successful hunter. She’d end up starved.
The sound of a car door shutting had her dropping into a squat out of sight and pressing her back into a car door. The muscles in her body tightened in protest as her heart raced. She slowly turned and rose to peek through the windows to look around the parking lot in an attempt to find him. A short burst of a siren filled the air making Becca squeal. Her racing heart momentarily stopped. She spun around to find a cop car had pulled up and the window was down.
“Becca Thatcher, what in God’s name are you doing sneaking around the parking lot?” Her childhood best friend, Danny Thompson, asked from the driver’s seat.
Becca slowly rose and straightened her shirt. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. What areyoudoing here?”
“Michael’s psych doctor is here. I came to pick up his release papers. He’s coming home again today, so when a call came in about suspicious activity in the parking lot, they gave it to me.”
Michael. Becca had almost forgotten Danny’s older brother. The one they’d had committed back when she was younger. She hadn’t understood it back then, not like she did now. Michael had violent tendencies, at least that was how Danny explained it. When the family dog went missing, and Becca helped them searchfor it, they’d found Michael standing over the dog’s body with blood on his hands. “How’s Michael doing?”
“He’s doing better.” Danny got out of the car in full police uniform. He rested his elbows on his gun belt. “I guess that call about suspicious activity in the parking lot was just you chasing ghosts?”
Someone had called the police? Police were needed. They might be able to thwart the killer’s abduction plans. Hope blossomed in her chest. She should have made the dang call herself. Even if dispatch didn’t believe her, Danny always would.
“Do you remember those nightmares and premonitions that started when I was a kid and would occasionally crop up over the years?”
“Yeah.”
She could hear the hesitation in his voice.
“He started again two weeks ago.” The entire experience had been traumatic, and even as an adult, they still freaked her out.
“Who?”
Danny’s brows dipped as he squeezed his neck. Danny had always been a good friend. He didn’t care that Becca’s family was a little on the nutty side, or even the fact that they could all see ghosts. He’d always believed her. He’d always beenaround when she’d tried to hide how scared she’d been from those dreams. He’d gone as far as to tell her he’d grow up to be a cop to keep her safe. And he had. It didn’t hurt that he was good looking, or that he was the man she’d given her virginity to all those years ago. He was genuinely a good guy, and the only one that would believe what she had to say.
“Knife Boy.” Okay, so she probably needed to rename the childhood monster. Knife Boy made him sound like a superhero who used chef-like knife skills to save innocent lives. There was nothing pure about the man she was connected to. “I think we should rename him to Slasher Freak.”
Danny crossed his arms over his chest and gave her that you’ve-gone-off-the-reservation look. “Are you telling me that Knife Boy is back?”
“Yeah, but he’s no longer a boy, and neither are his kills. He’s graduated from animals to women through the years. He’s resurfaced every few years, but not enough to figure out who he is. As of two weeks ago, he’s been pretty consistant. He’s killed three women already and I’ve seen his next victim. He’s been stalking her from here.” A shiver rolled down her spine, causing goosebumps on her arms.
Danny dropped his arms to rest his palms on his gun belt. “You’re telling methat you came here to find him…by yourself? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Danny grabbed her arm and started guiding her back toward the car. He was treating her like an overprotective big brother.
“I’m not that same scared little girl, Danny, and I brought the gun you gave me. He wouldn’t have hurt me.”
Danny yanked open her car door and waited for her to get inside. She shut the door and rolled down the window. “I’ve seen her, Danny, and we can save her.”
