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The power blinks back on, the lights momentarily blinding me. By the time my vision clears, the figure is gone and the door to the break room is cracked open—almost like an invitation, adareto come seek him out. I consider doing the smart thing and getting the fuck out of here. But something urges me forward. I’m tired of this asshole screwing with me.
Taking a deep breath, I cautiously push open the back door, holding my taser at the ready. Inside, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The break room is small and windowless, with a table and a couple of chairs. Connected is the cramped storage area leading to the back exit of the store. The air is heavy with the smell of stale coffee and food, a reminder that the trash still needs to be taken out.
Hearing a strange humming sound, I creep across the scuffed linoleum, my taser gripped tight. As I’m about to approach the storage room, the humming stops. The door to the store slams shut behind me, cutting off my escape—and before I can register what’s going on, arms coil around my waist and yank me backward.
I scream and try to wriggle out of my abductor’s grasp, but their grip is too iron-clad. In desperation, I throw back an elbow, earning me a mechanical grunt. Then, I trigger my taser and drive it into whatever part of my assailant’s body I can reach.
“Fuck!” the modulated voice growls, and I jump out of his grasp.
But he’s on me, slapping the taser from my hand before snatching me once again. I let out a startled yelp as my feet leave the ground, watching helplessly as my taser skitters across the floor. My hands scrabble for purchase on his arms, trying to tear them away, but it’s no use. He throws me against the counter face-first, his weight against me as he wrenches my arms behind my back and holds me there.
“Nice to see you, too,” the robotic voice remarks.
“Let me go!” I yell as loud as I can, causing him to tighten his grip. “Who are you? What do you want from me?!”
“This isn’t how I intended us to meet,” he says, leaning down, his body covering mine.
“You won’t get away with this! The police?—”
He laughs, the sound eerily inhuman. “Oh, them? Remember that police report you tried to file? The one they didn’t take seriously?”
My nostrils flare in anger. Recalling how the officers laughed and made demeaning remarks about me as I left the station, my humiliation returns in force. They called me paranoid and hysterical, not even caring if I was out of earshot. An all-too-typical response to a woman in distress.
“But the cameras,” I protest, knowing full well that they’re just for show.
He laughs again and leans in closer, the mask against my ear. “Nice try. But I know your boss is too cheap to pay for security services,Gwen.”
My veins go ice cold. “How do you know that name?”
“You can say I’m a big fan of your father,” he replies, nuzzling my neck with that stupid mask in mock affection.
I struggle against his hold, but he keeps me pinned against the cheap counterfeit marble counter. “Is that why you’re after me? Why you broke into my apartment and terrorized me? Because you have a sick fascination with my father?” He cracks up as if what I’ve been going through these past months is nothing but a joke to him. God, I want to punch him and break his fucking jaw for his heartless mockery of my pain.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven’t been the one breaking your shit and vandalizing your property.”
I lift a brow, craning my neck to peer up at him. “But youhavebeen breaking and entering, haven’t you?”
I can almost see him smirk behind the mask, choosing not to fight my accusation. “But I can help you figure out who it is. Bastard’s in my territory, after all.” My breath hitches as his hand wanders down my spine and rests against the curve of my ass. “I’ve been doinginterrogationsof my own since the police are fucking useless.”
I swallow nervously. “So the murder last week …”
He nods, and I just know that he’s grinning at my unease, derivingjoyfrom it. I don’t know whether to believe him. What are the odds of two psychos hanging around this town, both obsessed with me? I chew the inside of my cheek. Trusting this guy and taking him at his word would be a colossal gamble, one I’m not confident I’m ready to make.
“And outside the apartment building,” I begin, choosing my words carefully, “that wasn’t you who threatened and chased me?”
He chuckles darkly, the sound made even more unnerving by the voice changer. “No, but,” he says, his fingers creeping underneath my shirt to graze against my ribs, “if you wanted me to chase you, all you had to do was ask.”
I feel him, his hardness against my back. I draw in a sharp breath as his gloved fingertips brush against the underside of my bra-clad breast. A lump forms in my throat, and my mouth goes dry. “I … I don’t appreciate you doing that. I have a boyfriend.” A lie; even prior to the threat being painted on my wall, we weren’t officially together.
He snorts, his tone incredulous even through the modulator. “That dork? Seriously?”
I glare up at him. “Blake’s a nice guy.”
“A nice guy? Judging by the way you’re reacting …” He grinds against me, his erection obvious, and I’m unable to hold back the small whine that escapes me. “He doesn’t give you what you need. Doesn’t fuck a lady like she deserves.”
My face grows hot as I rub my thighs together. I hate to admit it, but I’ve refrained even from masturbation for a while now. Especially with everything going on. Shame fills me as my mind wanders to sex instead of what’s important right now—namely, being held hostage by this goddamn creep. “Shut the fuck up! What the hell do you know, anyway?” I snap. “Blake respects my boundaries, and?—”
In a flash, he brandishes a knife and places it against my throat. “This Blake guy, he seems too perfect. You ever consider that he’s your stalker, hm? I can takecareof him for you, you know.” I gasp, and he laughs, a rumbling sound that sends shivers down my spine. He digs the blade ever so slightly into my flesh and presses himself against me. “Seems to me you could use a roll in the sack.”
