Page 104 of Stalkers Anonymous

“Cole. Cole, listen to me. We are not doing this at her front door.” He’s trying to be the voice of reason, but there’s nothing he can say right now that’ll stop me from confronting this piece of shit.

“We’re not at her front door.”

“We’re close enough that she’ll hear it.”

I’m already jumping out of the car.

Lars hasn’t seen me yet. He’s too busy looking back toward her building, eyes locked on her windows.

I’m fast but quiet. The natural-born predator in me tells me to close the distance before he knows I’m here.

Tyler catches up behind me, hissing under his breath. “Do not touch him, Cole. Do not fucking touch him.”

I don’t answer.

When Lars finally turns, it’s because I’m close enough that he can feel my presence. He knows he’s in trouble before his eyes catch up. I watch the realization land on his face a half second after the fear does.

“Hey, shitbag.”

He startles and takes a step back, then looks up and down the street like he’s just now noticing how empty it is. There’s no one here to save him.

Except maybe Tyler.

“I don’t know who you—”

“Yes, you do.” I don’t raise my voice. I don’t need to. “You keyed her car. You threw a brick through her fucking window. You’re standing in front of her apartment trying to see through her windows. We both know exactly who I am, and we both know exactly who you are.”

His mouth opens, then closes as he fumbles for words.

“You think you’re here to play hero.” He finally finds his voice, and his words are half question, half accusation. Like he’s offended I’m here.

“You think I care about what someone as vile as you thinks of me?” I take another step forward. “What should matter to you is that I know your license plate. I know your address. I know your name. I know every place you’ve been in the last six weeks, including the bar you hit last Thursday after you watched her leave her shift. If you come within a mile of this block again, I’ll find you before the police ever do. Do you understand me?”

His entire body seems to shrink, and then he begins to tremble.

He’s literally shaking in his fucking boots.

Good.

“You can’t—”

“I already did.”

Tyler steps up beside me, scanning the area around us. “Cole,” he says quietly. “Enough.”

Lars looks at Tyler like he might be a savior, but the joke’s on him—he won’t find one. Tyler’s expression is cold when he looks at Lars.

Knowing someone is on my side sends a warm tendril through the stone-cold heart of me.

“Go,” I tell him. “Run. You’re being given a chance to leave, and you’re never getting this chance again.”

Some semblance of self-preservation kicks in, and Winters doesn’t hesitate.

Fast at first, then faster, until he’s almost sprinting, glancing back at me every few steps like he thinks he’ll suddenly find I’m closer than I was a second ago. By the time he rounds the corner at the end of the block, I’m sure he’s running for his life.

I stand there long after he’s gone, still breathing hard, still lit up and angry.

“Get in the car,” Tyler says.