Page 23 of Puck Me Twice Over

How the fuck did he know? Damnit, I was more predictable than I expected. Swearing and clambering to my feet I raced for the front door, listening hard.

No footsteps.

He’d stopped. Giving me space. Time to run.

Damn you, Knox. He was drawing this out. I rattled at the door on its hinges, forgetting he had secured it.

“Fuck,” I muttered, twisting the lock. It swung open easily and I shot outside, launching off the porch and toward the forest.

Four steps.

Six.

I can make it. Breath hissed between my teeth, my arms pumping at my sides hard.

The edge of the glow created by the house lights was right there. Goals! If I could make that milestone with a Chimera after me, even given a head start and a little mid-game reprieve, I’d call that a win.

“Run, Flick. Run,” Knox called from the house.

My lungs wanted to burst but I put on an extra round of speed. If he wanted to see my ass jiggle, then jiggle this girl would.

Darkness enveloped me as I hit the tree line and darted through the underbrush.

One row of trees. The next.

Cold air filled overworked lungs. The reprieve I needed. He’d never let me get this far before.

“Fuck you, Knox,” I wheezed in triumph, and slammed face first into a warm body.

A pale face that didn’t resemble any Chimera I knew split into a horrendous smile as I bounced off him. Not Knox’s bulk. My back hit a tree and my remaining breath burst from my lips. I’d need that really soon, wish I had it back.

“Did you think you could just walk away from me, Felicity? I know all his secrets. Including you.”

I stared into eyes I thought I knew, eyes crazed well beyond any sort of obsession that I understood. “You’re insane,” I whispered, not enough air remaining in my body to scream.

He never said another word. His hand raised and fell.

My world darkened, and pain split me from the head down.

CHAPTER EIGHT

KNOX

“Three.”

I waited until I couldn’t see Felicity's stumbling silhouette any longer, letting her just trip inside the tree line before I opened the door and strode out of the house after her. Where was the fun in taking her down so easily?

Younger me had been too enthusiastic, catching my prey within a few steps. Sure, that had been fun, but I’d always wanted to play out the chase. Back then, playing out what I wanted had seemed a taboo fantasy, something I couldn’t do with so many people watching us. Waiting to tease her afterward.

Flick might have thought I didn’t see or hear what they said once we were back home, but I’d always known. And I wished even then that she’d come to me. Back then I’d done what I could to protect her.

Those fantasies roiled about in my mind for years, each one more prominent than the last. And every one featured the woman panting along the cabin path.

Younger me might have tackled her where she paused, for the barest fraction of a second. Where once, she might have glanced over her shoulder to check if I was coming for her.

Tonight, she kept running.

Tonight, I had no such reservations.