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CHAPTER 1
“We fear monsters because we fear the dark parts of ourselves.”
—John J. Geddes
Los Angeles
Delaney
Lightning struck somewhere in the distance, illuminating the dark night with sparks of effervescent blue neon. It wouldn’t ordinarily bother me except for the fact I was being hunted by a monster.
Run! Run! Run!
The little voice inside my head poked and prodded, pushing me harder. I had to run faster. Harder. There was no other way of getting away from him.
Him.
I’d thought he was sexy and mysterious in his dark suit and dangerous-looking mask, the illusion of seduction drawing me to the kink club in the first place. The invitation had been unused by my roommate, time with her boyfriend taking precedence.
Now I was regretting my decision to accept.
I didn’t want to die today.
After thirty minutes of playing cat and mouse on the dance floor, neither one of us saying a single word, I’d allowed the mysterious man in a mask to buy me a drink. Every night held a different event at the club, the masquerade party sounding like fun. But he’d been able to hide his true identity behind the black face mask. I’d found it sexy at first. I should have known better. The sweet scent of sin had lingered in the air, the anticipation of enjoying time spent with a masterful man intoxicating. I’d let my guard fall, engaging in flirtations and a single taste of his bourbon-tainted lips.
Then I’d realized there was something off about him, my need to flee rushing into the front of my mind. When I’d tried to leave, he’d been right there, confronting me. If it hadn’t been for a couple entering the club, distracting him for a few seconds, something terrible would have already happened. I was certain of it.
The moment I’d refused his advances he’d become mean, nasty, the kind of forceful that had sent shivers dancing down my spine. I shouldn’t have come to the club alone. I should never have thought I could get away by myself for even a little while, pretending to be someone else.
Pretending I could live anonymously.
And he’d said something I hadn’t understood in a language I didn’t know, but there was no doubting the man’s evil intent.
Abduction.
Rape.
Murder.
All three and more.
Oh, God. If only this was about my overactive imagination.
I’d always known there were monsters lurking in the shadows, but there was something so twisted about the masked man from the club that my instinct had finally kicked in. I was fighting for my life, and I knew it.
Run faster.
But getting away wasn’t just about running. It was about being more cunning than the beast himself, hiding in the shadows that made me feel invisible. He’d targeted me, singling me out from all the beautiful women in skimpier attire inside the club, including those already performing masochistic deeds on machines and tables that reminded me of something I’d find in the Middle Ages. Why me?
Unless I had a target on my back.
There was no reason. I had no enemies that I knew of. Yet the feeling remained, something about the way he’d looked at me as if he knew who I was. His eyes had been dark, full of rage the moment I’d told him I was leaving.
Prickles remained dancing on my skin, the darkness surrounding me blanketed by the humid air, my heart racing. While I heard nothing but the rumble of thunder and mythudding heart, I could sense him getting even closer. I had no choice but to run.
I blasted through the parking lot, tears of terror stinging my eyes. I wasn’t prone to crying, never had been, but my skin crawled from anticipation, my stomach in knots. No one had ever terrified me like the asshole hunting me.
The streets surrounding the private, secret club were dark, barely any streetlights on the road. If I could only get to my roommate’s car, maybe I’d be able to get away. He had no clue who I was, the costume I’d worn hiding any chance he’d learn my identity. Since I’d used Ginny’s invitation, I prayed to God that would ensure he couldn’t find me.
