Page 2 of The Quiet Witness

She squinted but couldn’t make out any of his features underneath the black hoodie he was wearing. If her life hadn’t been hanging by a thin thread, she might have commented on the cliché of the color. As it were, the last shreds of her courage sank right into her shoes. The hidden confidence of the man was betrayed in the ease of his movements. There was no tension in his broad form. Every move was as smooth as a predator’s, even though one of his supposed prey had survived…

…thus far…

Kate shivered violently, the cold fingers of desperation sinking into her failing muscles as she cradled the gun to her chest. Please, just leave.

But her prayer went unanswered.

“Come out, come out… Wherever you are!”

She shook in place as the sing-song voice mocked the space between them.

Too close.

The sheer ice in his words crept into her veins, urging her to freeze over like a lake in winter’s grasp. If she didn’t get to her feet now, she might stay frozen in place, hunched behind the cabinet like some kind of…. Prey… no, never again.

Legs trembling, she pushed off the wall and stepped into view.

“There you are.”

His eyes snapped to hers, the shock in his green depths unmistakable. But that wasn’t what kept her rooted to the spot. They regarded the world with such a coldness, roaming over her not cruelly, but like a predator sizing up his next victim.

Finally, his gaze halted at the gun as her trembling hands leveled it toward him, aiming right for his heart. The killer cocked his head to the side, eyes boring into hers.

“Now that is a surprise.” He gestured to the gun with a loose hand and took a step forward. “If you plan on using that… I would urge you to hurry up.”

“Stay back.” She took one step back, clinging to the same space between them while her voice shook. “Or I will shoot you.”

A glint flashed over his eye. He nodded in… admiration?

“I trust you would actually.”

So why isn’t he staying back?

Sweat trickled down her brow, burning in her eyes when a desperate idea hit.

“If you leave now, I won’t tell anyone that I saw you.”

A low chuckle escaped the man. “Everyone says that in the panic, girl. But after? When all is quiet?” He shook his head. “Not a chance.”

Her stomach flipped, her breath hitching. She could feel her chances slipping through her fingers as the cool metal bit into her palms. She didn’t have a choice.

He moved closer, nearly towering over her. A nameless man, hellbent on ending her life. She couldn’t even name a single reason why. Yet, here he was. His presence foreign in the Christmas decor, too heavy for the little old house in which they stood.

The man halted just out of arm’s reach. Holding her gaze steady, he spread his arms wide, palms up as if in surrender.

“Time to use it, don’t you think?” He was right. She’d had enough. She’d offered him the choice, and he’d made it. Her lips formed a thin line of resolve. Hopefully one shot would be enough.

But then she saw his mouth open, words poured out.

“You might wanna—,” She pulled the trigger. Click. She saw him fall, blood pooling from his chest. Straight through his heart… a death sentence.

Wait… click?

Silence fell. Horrified, she stared between the weapon and the man still standing before her unharmed. The sound echoed in her mind.

Click, click, click.

“—Take the safety off,” He continued, cutting through the fog.