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“Oh my God,” I whisper. Concern and fear rip through me. “A-are you...?”
He clutches at his stomach—and I notice his hands are filthy, grimed with mud.
He stops like he’s just realizing he isn’t alone.
His head lifts sluggishly and muddled eyes look at me from beneath the disarrayed mess of his silver hair, his gaze set deep in rough hollows.
He lets out a guttural sound, gurgling pain.
Then he turns and nearly flings himself out the door, making it bang violently with his weight as he stumbles back onto the sidewalk.
“Hey—wait!” I yell, stretching out a hand.
But he’s gone, disappearing into the street.
I only hesitate a second before I find my strength, my head.
Some wild urge hurls me out after him.
Yes, I know it’s risky, but I have to know.
What does he want with me?
I burst out into the frosty afternoon, sucking in cold, searing breaths, looking left and right.
No sign of him, but there’s something else.
Blood.
Right on the sidewalk.
Small gory droplets leading left in an uneven line.
I follow the faint trail until it vanishes between Mom’s shop and the pâtisserie next door.
Then I duck into the alley between the buildings, just in time to see the flash of his tailcoat behind him.
I don’t know how he moves so fast in his condition, but he’s a whole two blocks down, struggling past the buildings on the opposite street toward the thick clumps of trees leading into the hills.
“Hey!” I call, racing after him.
I go careening off the side of a building as I rush down the pavement, pumping my short legs as fast as they can go, desperate to catch up.
Stalker Guy has a visible limp.
As injured as he is, he shouldn’t be able to keep so far ahead of me, but he’s as tall and leggy as an ostrich, so his unstable steps cover two of mine. There’s a stitch in my side and my ribs hurt by the time I break past the buildings, just as he vanishes into the trees.
Panting, I bend over for a second, hands on my thighs, sucking in a few harsh breaths.
“Not again,” I gasp.
Then I decide I’ve had enough.
I’m not letting go this easy.
Gathering my last strength, I plunge into the woods after him, ignoring the burn knifing through my whole body.
It’s like chasing a ghost.
