Page 31 of Chasing Amanda

She looked over her shoulder.

The man calmly locked the door, then crouched beside her and pushed her onto her side. She pulled her knees up, ducking her head. Still struggling to pull breath into her lungs.

“It was only a matter of time before he left you alone,” the intruder said. “Fortunately, I’m a very patient man.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mark waited for the light to change, tapping his fingers to the beat of the music playing on his stereo. Trying not to think about Amanda.

But she was all he could think about, all he’d thought about since he’d first seen her Thursday night. And now he’d left her alone. Probably with another man.

He figured Carl had wasted no time checking to make sure she was all right. Mark had seen the guy standing in the same spot as he had that morning, a dark shadow in the alley beside Amanda’s building. Had he waited there all day?

Obviously, Carl was more into Amanda than she realized. Because to stand there, waiting for her to get home…?

That was stalker behavior.

Mark’s neck prickled.

Stalker behavior?

What if the dark figure hadn’t been Carl?

What if you’re wrong?

The light turned green, but Mark didn’t move.

The driver in the car behind him beeped, impatient, but he ignored him.

When the left lane was clear, he yanked the wheel into an illegal U-turn, grabbed his phone and dialed her number.

No answer.

His heart raced as he sped past a bus, through a yellow light, and onto her street. He stopped in the space in front of the hydrant, tires squealing as he hit the brakes.

He lurched from the car, up the stairs, and into the breezeway. The inner door was locked. He pressed every button on the wall.

Come on, come on.

Somebody would buzz him through.

A female voice came over the intercom. Not Amanda. “Who is it?”

He took a chance and said, “It’s me.”

The door buzzed.

So much for security.

He yanked the door and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the third-floor landing. He found the door that must be hers and rapped on it with his fist.

“Amanda?”

He turned the knob. Also locked.

He banged again, louder this time. “Amanda? Are you okay?”

Something smashed.