Page 79 of Keeping Kara

His to fuck.

His to hurt.

His to kill.

And he would. Fuck, hurt, and kill. She’d suffer way more than any of the other bitches ever had. He’d draw it out, make her death as prolonged and painful as possible. Make her fully understand the error of her ways. No matter how much she begged—and she would beg—he wouldn’t kill her until he’d had his fill.

This time, he’d make sure she couldn’t escape. Hurricane or no hurricane. Once he had his hands on her, nothing and no one would be able to save her.

She was a dead woman walking, she just didn’t know it yet.

But she would.

Oh yeah, she would.

And Nolan couldn’t fucking wait.

He followed the SUV to the house where he knew she was living with that pilot asshole, parking down the street. As always, the man pulled into his garage and shut the door before either of them exited the vehicle. He was smarter than some people. But it wouldn’t help. Nolan would outsmart them both and have Kara back in his clutches before the week was out.

And he knew just how to do it. He’d finally put together a foolproof plan. He’d use the very people she thought she could trust the most against her. She’d walk right into his trap and not have a clue until it was too goddamn late.

If Jennifer Williams was collateral damage, that was on Kara, not him. The ugly bitch wouldn’t count toward the tally he was keeping track of on his chest. She was just a means to an end. Not anyone he felt pride in killing.

Smiling, Nolan started his car and pulled away from the curb.

He was still smiling when he got to his motel room. Ignoring the whores in the parking lot peddling their wares, he went straight to his room. As soon as he was inside, he dropped his pants and jacked off, not caring when his come landed on the carpet and soaked into the fibers. He jerked his pants back up and went to the bathroom to shower, feeling calmer than he had all night.

It was almost time for Nolan Colins to rise from the dead. He couldn’t wait to see the look of shock and horror on Kara’s face. It would be worth every second of the time he’d had to spend pretending to give a shit about her disgusting friend. Ridding the world of a weirdo like her would be a mercy. A gift to anyone who had to look at the hairless freak.

Nolan fell asleep with a clear conscience and anticipation humming in his veins. Soon, he’d finish what he’d started with Kara and move on to other prey on the opposite side of the country. The cops would never find him. He couldn’t be stopped.

Life was good. Damn good.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kara stared at the words on the screen in front of her.

The End.

She’d done it. Finished another book.

It was hard to believe, after everything she’d been through. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to write another word, not when picking up the pieces of her life had to take precedence. But Arrow had come along and given her a safe place to land. To heal. And she’d found love for the first time in her life. She’d never been so happy.

And that was scary as shit.

But a good scary. Not the nightmare kind she’d lived through.

She had to send the book off to her editor, then proofreaders, then figure out if she was going to put it in audio or not, but for now, she was extremely proud of herself. She loved getting lost in the thrillers she wrote, putting in some twists and turns that her readers hopefully wouldn’t see coming. And reading reviews and knowing others enjoyed her words was extremely satisfying.

Arrow continued to ask for her pen name, and she was about ready to tell him. She knew now that he wouldn’t disparage her. Wouldn’t tell her that she wasn’t any good. He’d probably enjoy what she wrote, if the books on his shelves were any indication.

Being sure to save her book in several places—she’d lost fifty thousand words of a book once, and didn’t want that to ever happen again—she closed her laptop and arched her back, trying to work out the kinks.

Looking at her watch, she saw it was just after lunch. She needed to get some accounting work in, as she’d put it off this morning to finish her book, but first…she was hungry. Wandering into the kitchen, Kara realized she was smiling as she made a peanut butter and banana tortilla roll up. It wasn’t the healthiest thing in the world, but it had protein, fruit—wait, was a banana a fruit or a vegetable?—and besides that, was super yummy.

She leaned against the counter to eat, and had just finished, was debating if she was still hungry or not, when her phone rang. She grinned, assuming it had to be Arrow. He’d taken to calling her around this time to check in. She loved knowing when he was thinking about her.

The threat of him leaving on a mission was always hovering in Kara’s subconscious, and she was as worried about that as she was proud. She’d never deny someone else his expertise when it had literally saved her own life.