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She thought about the fact that the Polidoris, Zach, and the police knew where she was staying.
Slowly, her nerves tight as piano wires, she pushed her key into its lock and swung the door open. It creaked and banged against the far wall.
She stepped inside and reached for the light switch.
Click.
Nothing happened.
The room was still dark as night.
Every hair on her arms stood straight on end. “What the—?”
She heard it then, the sound of heavy breathing, laborious breathing. She turned, but it was too late. She saw a shadow, a dark figure raise its hand. She feinted right and something hard slammed down on her head.
Crack!
For a second the world went black. Pain blasted through her skull. Her knees wobbled and she fell against the door frame. She tried to scream but a hand was on her throat, cutting off her air, forcing her downward to slither down the wall. She kicked and clawed, gasping, trying to scream, attempting to fight.
“You never learn, do you, bitch?” her attacker growled as Adria swung hard with her fist, flailing in the direction of the sound, all the while trying to drag in air, her lungs on fire. She saw only a glimpse of a face, hidden by a mask, as her attacker struck again, pounding the side of her head. “Leave before it’s too lat
e,” the voice—a voice she’d heard before, she thought weakly—warned before raising the heavy object again.
Adria saw the blow coming, lifted an arm, and as the attacker swung, the hand on her throat loosened. Adria screamed and rolled. The object slammed into the wall, crashing through the plaster, then glanced against the side of her head. The room spun and she nearly lost consciousness, but not before she let out another hoarse, painful scream. A gloved hand covered her mouth and a cloyingly sweet smell assailed her nostrils. Adria clamped down hard with her teeth.
Her assailant let out a hiss of pain and let go. Adria was ready. She moved quickly and screamed again for help. She was almost free! Kicking madly, inching toward the door, she yelled just as, from the corner of her eye, she saw it coming. The same dark object aimed at her face. She recoiled, holding her arm over her head.
Smack!
Pain exploded through her skull and she thought she might pass out completely just as she heard the faint, faraway sound of a siren splitting the night.
Faintly, she heard a door open and a man’s’ voice yell, “Hey, what’s going on?”
Her attacker froze. Adria clawed her way to a sitting position. “Help me!”
A kick landed in her chest. Painful and crushing, the blow made her wretch and curl into a protective ball.
“You goddamned bitch!” Breathing hard and limping, the intruder climbed off her and scrambled with an uneven gait through the door. Gasping, the metallic taste of blood in her throat, Adria struggled upright and crawled to the threshold. Just one look, that’s all she needed, and she was sure she could identify the intruder. It was someone she’d met, she was certain of it, but the ache in her gut prevented her from thinking clearly and the edges of her vision blurred as if she might black out. She tried to concentrate, to hold on to consciousness as the attacker fled through the shadows of the huge trees surrounding the motel.
She took in deep breaths and held on to the door casing in a death grip as she squinted into the night. She saw the stars, and lights switching on in nearby units, but her attacker had disappeared. Damn it all, she thought as she spit blood onto the porch. She tried to yell again, but could make no sound.
A second door opened, just two doors down. Light spilled onto the small porch.
“Hey, you! Hey, are you all right?” A male voice. Unfamiliar. She drew in a long, painful breath.
Footsteps. Crunching on gravel. Running in her direction. Ready to kick her again. She cringed. A man loomed over her as the lights in the unit blazed on. Her stomach heaved suddenly and she retched.
“Oh, shit,” he said, looking around the small room before bending on one knee. “Now, don’t move, miss, you’re hurt!” She squinted up at him, but couldn’t make out his features as he turned toward the open door. “Marge!” he bellowed in a voice that pounded through her brain. “Marge, wake up the manager and call 911!”
“What?” a woman’s voice screamed back as doors creaked open and banged closed, rattling the loose windows in their panes. The man knelt beside her again. “Now you just lay still, help’s on its way.”
Voices filtered in through the open door and pierced Adria’s pain-racked brain.
“What the hell’s going on?” a woman asked.
“Hey, shut up! People are trying to sleep over here!” A man this time.
“Holy shit, what’s going on in unit thirteen?” A younger man. “Mary, come look at this, will ya?”
