Page 24 of Bloody Quarter

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, unsure where the obsession stemmed from. “I did you a favor tonight.”

Removing the knife from her throat, I slipped it into its sheath before spinning Alora around and pressing her face first up against the wall, my body molding to hers. Her ass flexed and unwittingly gripped my hard cock. This time, I shuddered. Alora didn’t cry out, but the fearful noise she made had me so hard that I was going to need an ice-cold shower to get the fucker to stand down.

Grabbing her hands, I stretched them over her head, linking our fingers together. She didn’t grip my hands back, but I didn’t care. “Thomas won’t be bothering you anymore,” I said, kissing her neck. “I took care of him.”

“What did you do?”

I chuckled. “Do you really want to know?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think so either, Doll.” Nipping the skin at her neck had her body wiggling against mine. “I’m going to go now, and if you’re smart, you won’t try to leave the city or hide from me. I will find you, and you don’t want to piss me off,” I said, but then I thought about how much fun it would be to hunt her down.

“It is you, isn’t it,” she asked, her voice ending with a stifled moan as I pressed my cock between her ass cheeks again.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. Just know that I’m always watching. You can’t escape me. I advise you not to try.”

“What if I go to the cops.”

“Go ahead. I’d love to see what they say. I’ll be seeing you around, Doll.” Pushing away from her, I darted out the door, slipped into the storage room, and ran out the back in record time. I got in my truck and laid my head back on the headrest, shuddering. Giving up the fight, I unzipped my pants.

“Don’t do it, it’s too dangerous,” I mumbled even as I pulled my cock out.

Fuck it, it was a cheat night, I might as well indulge.

Alora

“Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,” I mumbled over and over even after he left, like saying his name might summon him to help. My knees shook, wanting to give out. He didn’t need to confirm it. I knew it was him. This was the edge that I saw in his eyes. Why the fuck did I have to bump into a goddamn stalker and most likely killer? Only I would have that kind of fucking luck.

Stepping away from the wall, I turned on the light, and even though I knew he was gone, I jumped at my reflection. Gripping the counter, I tried to get control of my breathing. When the door opened, I leaped away, and Paula stood in the doorway staring at me, confusion all over her face.

“You okay, sweetie?”

I smiled at her and waved it off. “I was all up in my head and just didn’t expect anyone to come in. I’m fine,” I lied, his threat still loud in my ears. It wasn’t what he said but what he didn’t that had me keeping my mouth shut.

“Are you sure? You look pretty shaken up?” Paula picked up my pack in the middle of the floor and held it out to me as she laid her hand on my shoulder.

“It was just a really long, weird day yesterday, and I’m still shaken up.” I’d spoken to Paula about what the police had said when I arrived. She’d set my cot aside so that it didn’t get taken, but as it turned out, it was a quiet night, and the place was only half full. I hadn’t even seen Rex, which worried me.

“It’s going to be okay. The police have nothing on you because you wouldn’t do something like that. This detective you mentioned will see that, and it will all blow over.” She pulled me into a hug, and I held on to her, wishing that I could ask her for help with my new issue, but the last thing I wanted was to put those who had been kind to me in danger.

“I hope you’re right.” The words coming out of my mouth didn’t match how I felt. It was more like the beginning of something far worse.

“Come on, you don’t look like you’re going to sleep anyway, and I could use help stocking the kitchen to start breakfast.”

Paula led me out the door, but nothing was going to stop the trapped sensation from closing in on me. The detective told me not to leave the area either, so taking my chances and trying to run from Mr. Laurent would only make me look guilty of a murder I didn’t commit. This Mr. Laurent was good. He hadn’t done anything that I could use as proof for the cops, and everything that I mentioned to the detective made me look crazy.

What was that saying? Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Who was I kidding? I was damned from the moment I was born.

Alora

I couldn’t even remember the last time I slept through the night or ate a solid meal. I hadn’t seen Mr. Laurent or Greyson or whatever he called himself. But the nervous jitters I felt thinking that he was lurking nearby were very real. A car horn blared, and I almost gave myself whiplash. Someone was trying to parallel park and holding up traffic. My poor heart was getting a workout, and I hated that this was exactly what he wanted. I was giving in to him, he said so himself, and he wasn’t wrong. I thought about him constantly.

Some tiny part of me liked the feel of him, the sound of his voice, the sheer will and confidence that ebbed off him. If he was who I thought he was, he was undeniably hot, but no one was hot enough to be okay with a knife pressed to their throat in the dark. Were they? Ugh. Fucker.

I had to go to the mall last night to get new sneakers, and I swore I saw him out of the corner of my eye multiple times, but as soon as I looked in that direction, no one was there. Scared shitless that he would grab me off the street on the way to the shelter, I purchased the first pair that fit. Luckily, they were comfortable. I sprinted the whole way back. I couldn’t live like this, but how the hell to get out of this mess eluded me.