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“Hold on.” Eli’s voice grew distant, but his barking tone indicated he was giving orders. Then his voice grew louder again. It sounded like he was running. “Police officers and EMS are en route. So am I. Help will be there in five minutes, Olivia. Just hang on.”
Relief ran through her. The sound of glass shattering cut it short.
Olivia froze. “Eli, someone is breaking into the house.”
They’d been found. Her stalker was here.
“Where are you in the house?” Eli barked. The roar of an engine punctuated his words, indicating he was in his vehicle. If he’d been at the scene of the accident, then he was less than five minutes away. Close. But not close enough. Her stalker was just down the hall.
“We’re in the bathroom,” Olivia whispered. She flipped the lock on the closed door, wincing at the noise it made. “I’ve locked the door, but it won’t take him long to find us.”
“Olivia…” The haunting voice sent a shiver down her spine. “Where are you? It’s time, sweetheart. Time for us to be together.”
Bile rose in the back of her throat. “He’s here.” She clutched the phone with one hand while taking the gun away from Cole with the other. The weight of the weapon was unfamiliar. Trembles coursed through her as she pointed the barrel at the door. “He’s coming for me.”
“Stay where you are.”
Eli’s command made sense. She was in a locked room and help was on the way, but the house wasn’t big and the latch on the door was flimsy. Olivia knew it wouldn’t take her stalker long to bust the door down. Her grandfather had taken her to the shooting range, but she didn’t have any skills with a handgun. Nor could she rely on herself to fire under pressure. Taking a human life, even when the person was out to hurt her, didn’t come naturally to Olivia.
“Sweetheart, come out, come out, wherever you are. There’s not much time.”
The sickening voice filtered under the door and twisted Olivia’s insides. Cole groaned next to her. His life was on the line. If the stalker got into the bathroom, he’d murder Cole without batting an eye. But if Olivia ran… well, then her stalker would chase his prey and leave Cole alone.
It was a risk she had to take.
“He’s getting too close,” Olivia whispered to Eli. “I have to make a run for it to save Cole.”
“Olivia, don’t?—”
His objection was cut off when she lowered the phone to the ground next to Cole. Eli called her name again, but she ignored him. Instead, she pressed a kiss to Cole’s forehead. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for this man. Nothing. He’d put his life on the line many times for her. Now it was her turn to be brave in order to save him.
Olivia rose and crossed to the bathroom door. She opened it and then re-latched the lock so it would engage when the door was shut. With a shuddering breath, and still gripping Cole’s handgun, she slipped into the darkened hall.
A shape came out of the primary bedroom. A man, dressed in black, his face in shadows.
Olivia swallowed back a scream. She turned on her heel and ran for the door.
Her silent prayer was answered when the stalker raced down the hall after her. “Olivia, don’t run, sweetheart.”
She ignored him. Muscles bruised from the car accident protested as she bolted across the living room to the kitchen. The back door was open. Rain poured in, making the tiles slippery. Shattered glass crunched under Olivia’s shoes from the busted pane in the top portion of the back door. She slid on a puddle and slammed her hip against the corner of a counter. Pain vibrated through her. She kept going, darting through the open doorway and into the full blast of the thunderstorm.
Lightning lit up the sky. Olivia dared a glance over her shoulder and caught sight of the stalker coming for her. He was several yards away, but closing fast. Raindrops pummeled her head as she spun and pulled the trigger on the gun. The blast shocked her, the recoil like a stiff kick to her arm.
The shot went wide. She didn’t intend to hit him, or stop her attacker, only to give him a moment’s pause. She was rewarded when he came to a screeching halt and ducked behind a tree. Before he could recover, she turned and ran for the tree line. The dense forest would be difficult to run through, but it could also provide thousands of hiding places. She prayed her stalker would use more caution in his approach now that he knew she was armed.
Was Cole okay? Was he still alive? Olivia was terrified his body wouldn’t be able to cope with the blood loss he’d suffered. Or worse, what if he had an internal injury? The car accident had totaled his truck. Tears threatened to blind her as she ducked under a tree branch. Her feelings for Cole were much deeper than she’d allowed herself to acknowledge. Their shared kiss had proven that.
She’d lost so much. Her parents. Aaron. Would she also lose Cole?
God, please protect him. I know things will happen according to Your will, but I beseech you, please don’t rip my heart out again. I love him and don’t want to live my life without him.
Love. She did love Cole. There was no denying it. The spark that’d existed between them from their first meeting had grown into a powerful inferno fueled by friendship, respect, and unwavering trust.
Lightning lit up the sky again, illuminating the surrounding woods. Olivia had run parallel to the lake. Her breath came in pants and her muscles trembled with exhaustion. She didn’t know how long she could keep going. Frigid air froze her wet clothes and hair to her skin. She paused, straining to listen for any sign of her stalker over the sound of the rain and her own pounding heart.
Her skin crawled. He was there. Close by. She could feel him.
A fresh wave of urgency put her feet in motion again. Thunder rumbled deep enough to vibrate through her chest. Olivia stumbled over a tree root, her hand shooting out to right herself. Another bolt of lightning blazed across the sky. She screamed.
