Hunted Love (A Dangerous Kind of Love Book 2) (10 page)

“Baby, don’t be like that,” Nathan said. “Think about the opportunity this could mean for you. I heard one of those guys talking about a commercial he was planning on producing. He said you’d be perfect for it—” He paused as the front door closed and glanced around. “Oh, hey Sarah. Goodnight, thanks for everything,” he said with a wave goodnight.

She waved as Nathan turned back to Holly, and then she ran to her car, checking the backseat and locking the doors as soon as she slid into the seat.

It wasn’t until she was almost to the interstate that she noticed the car behind her. She tried to convince herself that it was nothing. It was probably one of Kristen’s guests heading back to Lexington, same as she, but she couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that.

When she reached a four-lane highway, she slowed down, waiting for the car to pass her, but when it didn’t, her anxiety increased. She pressed on the accelerator, watching as the car faded from view. She was just starting to relax when she noticed in her rearview mirror the headlights coming up quickly behind her.

Was it the same car
? She asked herself staring at the mirror, waiting for it to approach. She turned her attention to her side mirror, expecting the car to pass her at any moment. To her surprise, the car slowed, keeping pace with her.

She spent the rest of the drive checking her rearview mirror every few seconds, her hands clenched on the steering wheel, making a plan as to what to do if the car followed her to her apartment. She was visualizing herself driving to the police station several blocks away and running inside, when the car turned down another street.

She unclenched her fingers and she turned into her apartment parking lot.
I’m losing my mind
, she thought as she entered her apartment building. She was still chastising herself for her overactive imagination when she opened the door to her apartment.

A bundle of red fur launched itself at her, whining in excitement, as he tried to crawl up her legs.

She picked the puppy up, allowing him to smother her face with kisses. “Well, I’ve missed you too, Rory,” she said setting him on the floor and reaching for his leash. “I bet you want to go out.”

The puppy let out a series of excited barks already jumping at the door.

A few minutes later, she and Rory were outside in the park across the street from her apartment. “Come on, baby,” she encouraged as Rory took his own sweet time sniffing the ground. He suddenly raised his head and stared at a spot behind her for a moment before letting out a low growl.

“What’s wrong? See one of those scary squirrels again? Or is that vicious dog that frightened you the other day out here?” she asked in amusement looking around for Precious, her downstairs neighbor’s teacup poodle. “Well, don’t worry, baby, I’ll protect you.”

Rory suddenly leapt forward, spinning Sarah around, and letting out a series of barks and growls as he ran.

Sarah automatically pressed the button on the leash bringing Rory to a halt within a few feet of a man standing under a tree.

Sarah took a step forward, preparing to run and grab Rory, but froze when she took a good look at the man.

Standing underneath a large tree, far away from the old-fashioned lamps spaced along the park pathways and covered head to toe in black, nothing about the man was visible. He was just one big faceless shadow. He didn’t make a move as Rory lunged for him, trying to break free of the leash. The man, if it was a man, just stood there, staring at her, while holding a small black trash bag in his hands.

Sarah pulled on Rory’s leash bringing him back to her. Once he was at her feet, she bent down and picked up her dog, making sure to keep one eye on the hulking shadow just in case he tried anything.

He never moved.

Just simply watched her.

Not once, as she quickly backed toward her apartment did he move or make any threatening gesture, yet, he still terrified her just the same.

When she reached the street in front of her apartment, she turned around, running with Rory in her arms towards the door. She fumbled with the key card for a moment, only relaxing when she was safe inside.

She glanced through the glass door at the empty street and pressed a shaking hand to her face. “Get a grip, Sarah. The man was probably just out for a walk. That’s all it was.”

She glanced down at her puppy in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. “You probably scared him half to death, you know?”

Rory looked back at her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his tail wagging a mile a minute.

She smiled down at her puppy. “You ferocious thing, you.”

Suddenly, Rory turned and leapt at the door, his teeth snapping at the glass.

Sarah spun around.

The man stood on the other side of the street, facing her door.

Just watching.

Sarah felt the blood drain out of her face. Her hands trembled as she checked the door making sure it was locked before backing up to the elevator.

Once she was inside her apartment, she sank down to the floor holding Rory close to her chest.

Every sound became magnified as she sat there, her heart hammering against her chest.

The wind whistling through the trees.

The creak of the floorboard.

The sound of her neighbor’s TV next door.

She started to stand up but froze when the elevator dinged.

Footsteps.

She could hear footsteps coming closer.

Rory too, she thought from the way his ears perked up. He suddenly growled low in his throat.

There was a knock at her door.

Sarah backed away as Rory attacked the door. She pulled him back and held him close, waiting for something else to happen.

She heard footsteps again, this time leading away from her apartment, and then the elevator dinged again.

Sarah cautiously approached the door, pressing her eye to the peephole. When she didn’t see anyone and after several minutes passed by without another sound, she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack.

Her gaze fell to her red high heels sitting just outside her door. The Valentine’s Day card of the pretty ballerina laid next to it. She bent down and retrieved the card. She felt the blood drain from her face as she read the note scrawled on the inside.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“What are you doing here?” Emily asked the next afternoon when Sarah walked into the pub. “Aren’t you off today?” Catching Sarah’s eye, she walked to the other end of the bar nearest the door.

Sarah slid onto a barstool. She tucked her hair behind her ears and looked anxiously at her friend. “Yes, but I needed to speak to you.”

Emily examined Sarah’s face closely. “Dear Lord, are you okay?  You look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”

“I didn’t.” She glanced over at Moose sitting a few stools away flipping through a magazine before turning back to Emily. “Rory and I were up all night,” she said by way of explanation. Details would come later. Right now, she needed to know something very specific. “Did you see anyone playing with a laser last night?”

Emily looked thoughtful. “You asked me that last night. I don’t remember anyone having a laser. Why? What’s wrong?”

Sarah looked over at Moose who simply shook his head. “Did either of you notice anything strange?”

Moose and Emily exchanged a look before shaking their heads.

Closing her eyes, Sarah ran her hands through her hair, pushing it back and away from her face.

“Do you want something to drink?” Emily asked.

“Coffee would be great right now.”

Grabbing a mug off the counter, Emily turned to the coffee pot. “It might help if you told us what happened.”

“Someone followed me home,” Sarah said.

Emily glanced over her shoulder as she filled the cup. “What happened?”

“Someone kept pointing a green laser at me last night. When I was standing in the kitchen and then later when I walked to the stables.” Sarah reached for the sugar as Emily placed the mug in front of her. “Scared me so much that I kicked off my high heels and ran to the stables. Phoebe thought it was teenagers just messing around, but then I noticed someone followed me all the way from there to home. They turned off right before I turned down my street but they kept with me the entire drive. Then a few minutes later, I saw this creepy man dressed all in black standing outside my apartment building. I ran inside but he somehow got past the keycard entry. There was a knock at my door, and then a minute later I opened the door to look out and found my shoes.” She took a drink. “Rory spent the entire night with his nose pressed up to my front door growling. Every few minutes, he’d freak out as though someone was standing nearby. We were only able to get some sleep when my sister, Ashton, finally showed up this morning.”

She glanced over at Moose who was staring at her. He flipped the magazine over before sliding off the stool and disappearing into the back of the pub.

“Why didn’t you call the police?” Emily asked.

“I did. They sent someone out to take a look but they didn’t find the guy. They seemed sympathetic but they said it wasn’t against the law to stand in the park and stare. Neither is returning my high heels.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Apparently, neither is leaving a rather creepy and disturbing Valentine’s Day card about the color of my blood.”

Emily’s mouth fell open. “Come again?”

Sarah buried her head in her hands. “I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“Well, did you look through the peephole when he knocked or when the guy came by?”

She folded her arms on the bar. “I never saw him at the door. I just know Rory was acting as though someone was there.” She laid her forehead on her arms. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I just laid there waiting for something to happen.” She lifted her head up and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked a wreck. Dark circles surrounded both eyes, which were reddened from lack of sleep. “I can’t go through this again, Em. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

“Maybe you are,” Holly said coming up to stand next to her.

“Thanks,” Sarah said, watching as Holly joined Emily behind the bar. The bell above the front door jingled. She glanced back up at the mirror, just as a man with sandy blond hair walked by. She spun around in her seat only to spin back around when she noticed the man’s face.

“It’s not him,” Holly said.

Shaking off her disappointment, Sarah turned back to Holly, only then registering that the other girl had spoken. “Who?”

“Who?” Holly mimicked derisively.

Sarah raised her eyebrows in surprise at Holly’s rudeness.

“The one you’ve been waiting for the last month and a half,” Holly said in clipped tones.

“Who said I’m looking for Jamie?” Sarah asked in annoyance.

Holly snorted. “If that wasn’t who you were looking for just then how did you know I meant him?” She placed her hands on the bar and glared at Sarah. “I’m glad Jamie’s gone. If he knows what’s good for him, he better stay gone too.”

“What’s your problem?” Emily asked giving Holly a side eye.

Holly looked at her in surprise. “My problem? How about the fact that everyone around me seems to have forgotten that Jamie murdered my cousin and best friend? How about the fact that my family seems to be obsessed with recreating the crime and pinning the murder on someone else all for a few extra dollars? I don’t know what makes me madder. That they want to cheapen her memory with a made for TV special or that we can’t even do the stupid thing unless we can get Jamie on board with it.”

“None of that has to do with Sarah, so why are you snapping at her?” Emily asked.

Holly flung her hand out towards Sarah. “Because she’s one of the ones pining for him to come home. Be honest, Sarah, if he were here right now, would you throw that drink in his face or run into his arms.”

“Right now, probably both,” Sarah said closing her eyes.

“I can tell you what I’d do,” Holly said. “I’ve been dreaming about it since I learned they let him go and he was here.” Her upper lip curled in disgust. “I can’t believe Kristen allows him to hang around here. The very same place where he killed Robin. I thought I was going to lose it when I heard. That’s why I came home for Christmas. I wasn’t planning on it but I wanted to see him one more time. I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him what I thought about him. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt all of us, but he ran away.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Robin was more than a cousin to me. We were best friends. We were inseparable and then Jamie Murphy took her away from me. He killed her and now she’s dead and I’m all alone.” She blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over. Once she had her emotions under control, she said, “I’ll never forgive him for that. Never.”

Sarah gave her a sympathetic nod. She knew how she’d feel if someone killed her sisters or someone she was close to but… “What if he’s innocent?”

“He’s not.”

“Kristen and Phoebe seem to think so,” Sarah said.

“Kristen doesn’t believe he’s innocent,” Holly said snidely. “She just doesn’t care whether he’s guilty or not and Phoebe is too flighty and self-absorbed to care about anything except for those stupid horses of hers.”

“It’s not just Kristen and Phoebe. Brian thinks he’s innocent too.”

“Brian also thinks Jamie is in lo—” She pursed her lips together, cutting off whatever she was about to say.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Holly said with a smirk. “Brian’s obviously wrong. Jamie’s guilty. Everyone knows that.”

“I don’t know that.”

Anger flared in Holly’s eyes. Her fingers curled into a fist as she glared at Sarah. For a moment, Holly looked like she was about to hit her, but instead she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she appeared much more relaxed and friendly. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I shouldn’t take out my anger on you. It’s just frustrating.”

“It’s all right. I understand.”

“Please don’t take what I say personally. It’s not you. I understand why you
think
you’re in love with Jamie. Believe me I get it. The man’s handsome. There’s no denying it. He’s also got the bad boy thing going on. Some girls find that really attractive. You obviously do.”

“Holly, please. I have more pressing concerns than my love life at the moment,” Sarah said before describing what happened after the party, hoping Holly may have seen or heard something that might help her figure out who followed her home.

Holly’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God. It makes perfect sense now.”

Sarah sat up straighter. “What does?”

“That’s why you’re so obsessed with Jamie,” Holly said thoughtfully. “I knew it had to be something like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Sarah asked.

“You think you’re in danger. Oh, sweetie, you’re still traumatized by what happened on Halloween.”

“New Year’s Eve,” Emily corrected.

“What difference does it make?” Holly said turning back to Sarah. “No one is trying to hurt you, Sarah. It’s all in your head.”

Sarah exchanged an annoyed glance with Emily.

Holly pressed her fingers to her temple. “I understand now. That’s why you don’t want to believe he’s a murderer. I was thinking it was because you were shallow, but it’s actually because you’re scared. And since you’re a good decent caring person, you don’t want to believe the man you think you need to keep you safe is a cold blooded murderer. You have to believe he’s innocent in order to justify wanting his help. But sweetie, listen to me, you don’t need Jamie to protect you. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Holly, I’m not delusional. I’m telling you, someone followed me home last night. I didn’t imagine it.”

“Sarah,” Holly began in a lecturing tone of voice, “you don’t need Jamie. You’ve got an education, money in the bank, any guy would be lucky to have you. Go find a good decent man before Jamie destroys you like he did Robin.”

“Jamie’s not going to destroy me,” Sarah said in exasperation. “He’s not even around anymore.”

“Oh please,” Holly sputtered. “How much do you want to bet, he’s going to come riding to your rescue the first time something bad happens and like a fool, you’re going to take him in because you think you need him.”

“Something bad happened last night but I don’t see him here, do you?” Sarah turned to find Kristen staring at her anxiously and Moose standing off to the side near the door to the back offices, looking as though he was waiting for something.

“Sarah, can I speak to you privately, please?” Kristen asked gently.

Sarah automatically nodded, noting Kristen’s own dark circles and red eyes. She followed the other woman through the dining room to the offices in the back.

Moose held the door open for them and Sarah could have sworn she saw a gun in a holster under his arm, which was something she had never seen on the big man before. Once she was through the door, he stepped inside the hallway, and stood there with his back against the door as Kristen unlocked her office door.

Kristen opened the door, motioning for Sarah to take the chair across from the desk. When Sarah sat down and looked at her employer, she was surprised to see Kristen pressing a tissue to the corner of her eye. 

“Sorry,” Kristen said. “I can’t seem to stop from crying.” She neatly folded the tissue into a triangle before dabbing at the other eye.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t stopped since last night. I feel like I’m living on borrowed time.” She laid the tissue down. Reaching into her desk drawer, she brought out a piece of white paper. Disgust written on her face, she held it out from her and towards Sarah. “This is a copy. The police have the original.”

Sarah unfolded the paper, revealing a copy of one of the Valentine cards she had noticed on the kitchen table the night before. She clasped a hand to her mouth as she read the vile threatening words written on the paper.

“I found that on my pillow last night when I went to bed. Phoebe found this one,” she said thrusting another piece of paper in Sarah’s direction, “taped to her bathroom mirror when she woke up this morning. It’s even sicker than the one I received. Moose told me that someone followed you home last night. Did you receive a threating card too?”

“Someone left it outside my door along with the high heels I lost last night.” Sarah handed the copies back to Kristen who waved her hands and leaned back as though touching the paper again could somehow hurt her. Sarah let the papers fall to the desk.

Kristen looked confused. “I don’t understand . . . Why us?”

“I don’t know.”

Kristen twisted her fingers nervously. “Did you get a good look at the guy outside your apartment last night?”

“No.” An image of Kristen and Wade Hogan arguing last night leapt to mind. “Could the man you spoke to last night have left this note for you?”

“What man?”

“Wade Hogan.”

Kristen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wade? No, of course not. Wade would never do something like this. Never,” she said vehemently. “Whoever wrote this is sick.”

“Did the security cameras around your house catch anything?”

“Nathan checked them but didn’t see anything suspicious. There were so many people walking around that night. Besides, we don’t have cameras upstairs. I just don’t understand what’s going on. Why would someone shoot up the pub? Why leave these disturbing cards in our house? Why would they follow you home?”