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“You’re just going to leave me here?”

“Mm-hmm…See, I still haven’t quite forgiven you for the last two times you messed with my flowers. Now, you’ll have some time to reflect on that. Besides, you just said how much fun it was to annoy me. I figured I’d give it a shot, see what all the fun is about. I have to say it’s kinda fun.”

“Rude. Quite rude. Understandable. But ruthless.”

I don’t miss the tightness in his pants as he adjusts himself.

“See you back at my place,” I say through a grin and head down the path.

When I step into the creek, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. A feeling of alarm crawls over my skin. My senses heighten. I peer through the trees, but the lightlessness makes spotting movement impossible. The sound of branches crunching and leaves rustling catches my attention. Lowering myself to the ground, I try to restrict my movement. Hopefully, whatever it is will pass through without taking my presence as a threat. A few more light sounds pass through the underbrush before the forest falls silent again.

The feeling of unease returns. The branches and trees offer too much cover for whatever animal hides in the shadows. Deciding my best bet for defense is getting to the clearing on the other side, I head up the bank of the creek.

The field comes into sight as I crest the top of the bank. Suddenly, an arm comes down around my neck, hooking my head and pulling me into a thick chest. My adrenaline spikes, sending my body into practiced movements.

A punch to my side forces the air out my lungs. I bend my legs to widen the strength of my stance. Shifting my body, I move my left leg behind my attacker. He struggles to contain my head in the arm lock as I get into position. Reaching my left hand around to his face, I dig into his eyes. He lets loose a struggled grunt. Spinning in his hold, I turn to face him. The absence of light makes it impossible to discern his features, so I push his head back to expose his chin. Bringing my right arm up, I toss three punches in rapid succession. Two of my punches land lower than his chin, striking his throat. Luckily, the blows are enough to stun him momentarily as his arm drops. I don’t hesitate as I sprint toward the creek.

My foot hits the water before splitting pain wracks my body. My vision blurs.

Releasing the air in my lungs on a scream, I fall to the ground.

Then…silence.

31

Irun my fingers over the soft skin of her hand. The bruises along her face bloom in an array of colors. The dark purples, greens, and blues—a stark contrast to her naturally fair skin. I’ve never been so terrified as I was to find her in that creek. Battered and bleeding. The only emotion capable of overriding my rage is my concern for her.

I replay the whole thing over and over in my head, searching the depths my mind for anything I missed. An alert pulls up on my phone. I open the application to see Mark’s car pulling into the driveway. About fucking time; I called before I even left the field. A few moments later, his signature stomping up the steps reaches my ears. He enters the bedroom, stopping in the middle of the room, his eyes widening as they land on Patience in my bed.

“What the fuck happened?” He steps over to my side, concern written across his face as his hand comes down on my shoulder. A gesture of comfort.

“We were out at her spot and she was working on her flower, when⁠—”

“Wait…flower?” His eyebrows knit in confusion.

I don’t hold back the frustration in my voice at being interrupted. “Yes, flower. Just let me fucking finish. She finished working on her kill. Then she set off down the path to her car. A few moments later, I heard her scream.” Running my hand across my face, I try to scrub away the memory of the scream as it rings in my ears. “I followed the shrill pitch of her voice, and when I found her, she was as you see her. Face down in a stream. Blood everywhere.”

“She was attacked?” The tone of his voice makes the words sound more like a statement than a question. “Did you see anything or anyone?”

“If I had, I would have ripped their heart out through their throat. So, no. I heard a car a few minutes later, but I wasn’t going to leave her side,” I say through gritted teeth.

“You said someone was in her house?”

“Yes. I looked through the footage from the front camera, and nothing.”

He nods. His face holds that same stupid look he had as a child, when he was trying to hold his tongue.

“What?”

“So, whoever it is has been following her for a while.”

“Clearly.” Reaching for a lock of her hair, I rub it through my fingers.

“You’ve been following her as well. In all likelihood, you’ve crossed paths or at the very least you’ve seen him while you were doing…what you were doing.”

I’ve thought of that countless times since her house was broken into. Each time, I come up with a handful of names that we’ve already checked out. I was so consumed with our game, so consumed by her, that everything else faded into the shadows.

“I know. I should have seen something.” Running my fingers through my hair, I close my fingers and tug at the ends. The sharp sting offers a brief relief from the frustrations reverberating in my bones.