“Didn’t you think it odd when you got home and the alarm was off? I’ve been waiting for you to slip up and forget to set it.” His creepy smile was audible in the dark.
I’d been caught up with injecting Christopher and my disappointment that he wasn’t cured right away. The alarm had slipped my mind.
“I can get into any house without breaking a thing. I’m an expert at picking locks of all kinds. I’d have come for you sooner if it wasn’t for the damn alarm.”
I leaned away from where he sat, repulsed by his words. His voice brought goosebumps to my arms and my throat was too dry to speak. He slid closer, though I couldn’t see anything.
“I knew you’d forget eventually,” he said. “I’ve spent months watching this place. Too bad you’ve been all alone this week. I could’ve kept you company.”
“Get out,” I whispered. It was barely more than a breath and he laughed.
“That’s the best you can do?” He moved closer and stroked my cheek. At the touch of his slimy hands, I cringed.
I slithered off the side of the bed. He lunged and caught me. I twisted and landed hard on the floor. I got up and ran toward the faint gray outline that must be the doorway. He caught my foot and pulled me to the floor, half in the room, half in the hall. The moon shone through the window at the end of the hall, and I was no longer blind.
I kicked and struggled, trying to dislodge his hand from my ankle. I banged on the wall with my fists, hoping Christopher would hear, but I couldn’t free myself. Eric and I were making enough noise that on a regular night, Christopher would have heard the disturbance, but he wasn’t himself. The serums had compromised his body. Downstairs remained silent.
“I thought I’d solved the boyfriend problem.” Eric’s eyes gleamed above me.
Something sharp jabbed my arm where he must have injected me with something. Despair washed over me.
“You’re coming to my lab.”
His lab?
“Those incompetent idiots who work for me should have brought you to Real Tech months ago. I could have shown you how a real man treats a woman.”
Real Tech was his lab? The insidious pieces clicked together. He was Brandon’s mystery boss. He’d always worked there, even the first time we’d met. At the engagement party, he’d come looking for me, an easy victim. He’d known I’d just been dumped. He’d been interested in taking me from Brandon and had orchestrated our first meeting, both times. Had he injected me with one of Brandon’s serums? I didn’t want to be an emotionless zombie. Bile rose in the back of my throat.
My eyes widened and my breath became ragged. I couldn’t get up, but I needed to fight him now. Soon it would be too late as the strength leached from my muscles, stolen by whatever he’d injected. I didn’t know what he’d given me, but it was a problem.
“What was that?” I said, my voice almost too quiet to call a murmur.
“Something to relax your muscles,” he said. “You’re too tense. Don’t fight it. You’ve secretly wanted to be with me for months.”
“I don’t. You’re disgusting.”
He stroked my face again, and I tried not to gag.
“Hush, Baby Doll. I’m going to take you back to bed first. When I’m done, I’ll take you away where nobody can ever find you again.”
His hand stroked my bare hip. Christopher’s T-shirt barely covered me. I’d worn it to bed because it smelled like him.
My hands and feet grew numb, heavy. I would only have one more chance. I let myself go limp—that’s what he expected. He bent down to kiss me and I smashed the heel of my hand upward and crushed his nose. Like 2020, it was a direct hit. His nose broke with a familiar sickening sound. I’d sworn not to hurt anyone, but I had to protect myself. I kicked him and he fell back against the wall.
“Bitch!” he yelled, covering his face with his hands.
His nose gushed dark blood. I scooted away from him, half rolling, half crawling. I wouldn’t get far, but I had to get away. A tight band constricted my chest as I struggled to breathe. I had to get to my phone or to Christopher. I needed help. The phone was closer. Eric’s moaning came closer as he got to his feet.
“You’re going to regret this.” His voice was an angry growl.
His foot connected with my back as he shoved me down the stairs. I hit the stairs and smashed into the wall with my head. Agonizing pain shot through my body despite the relaxant. I stopped on the landing, my arm bent under me in an awkward position. It had cracked when I stopped and my chest heaved with pain.
I tried to slither down the remaining stairs, but fell and rolled instead. I hit the floor. My arm exploded with heat and pain. It must have broken. I crawled across the floor, tucking my injured arm against my side. My phone lay on the kitchen counter, tantalizingly close, but I couldn’t get to my feet. The torment in my arm was excruciating when I tried to pull myself up using a stool. Eric’s steps thunked on the floor as he followed.
“You can’t get away from me.”
He grabbed me by my hair and my injured arm and dragged me toward the door.
