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There was something so satisfying about correcting your own mistakes. Joy Kingsley was one of the memories he loved to replay, of course – they were all so cherished – but it had been far from perfect. He had to feed off the terror created by another man. She hadn’t been alone, and he hadn’t wanted to target her. But when she stepped right into the trees, his trees, in order to get away from someone she perceived as a threat – well, then she had stepped right into the line of his attack. She had seen him. Once she had seen him, he couldn’t very well allow her to just go about her business.
Besides, she had been drunk and terrified, and the temptation had been too great.
But she hadn’t been his alone. He’d shared her fear with someone else, and that made it a little disconcerting. He wanted the memory to be his and only his. That man had never come forward as a witness, at least to the press, so he didn’t even have a name to put to the other figure in his story.
But he could make the story again, and do it properly this time. He could even make it better than the original. That was what he had decided to do.
Hayley stirred again and he smiled to himself, looking down at her. She was going to be perfect for the role. She was just his type: a twenty-something who had been out having far too much fun, dressed in those skimpy clothes like the women who attacked him had worn, those high heels just right for stomping. She wouldn’t be using them for that today.
He checked his watch. It was a shame that she had taken so long to wake up. He obviously had underestimated how hard he had choked her. Then again, the alcohol must have played a part as well. She had started breathing again almost right away, but she had stayed asleep. At first he had thought that maybe she was faking, but she’d slept the whole night. Dawn had broken and she was still here.
And that was exciting, too. There would be more cars going by on the road – the illusion that someone might catch them, without really adding any of the danger. That was exciting. He had never done this in the light before. It was going to be so much better for reading the fear on her face, for knowing the look in her eyes when she saw it was over.
He was going to savor this one more than any other.
Hayley opened her eyes, and he shifted to watch her, grinning. It was starting.
“Wha…” she began, looking around blearily. Her voice was a little rough. She cleared her throat and coughed. The next move she made was to try to put her hands to her neck, to find out why it was so sore – but, of course, she couldn’t. He had been smarter than that. He had tied her up, so she wouldn’t be able to start without him.
“Good morning,” he said cheerfully. He waited until her eyes settled on his face, and he grinned wider. He let her see what was behind that grin. What sharp white teeth he had.
Oh, and this was new, and so sweet too. To be able to talk with her. To see how scared she was. To watch that fear grow, to hear it in her voice. So many years he had been doing this, and it was the first time he’d had the chance to really engage.
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice a hoarse whisper, and the fear tingled down all his nerves and thrilled him with its potency.
“I’m your worst nightmare,” he said. “But today is your lucky day, because I’m giving you a chance to get away.”
“A chance?” she asked, confused. She was still trying to figure out if this was real. If she was really awake, or stuck in a bad dream.
“Get up,” he said, bored of her confusion. He wanted her awake and aware. He wanted her to know what was happening to her. She needed to wake up properly.
“What?” she said, groggy still.
“Get up,” he snapped, angry now, getting to his feet. He grabbed her by her tied hands and hauled her to her feet. She swayed for a moment but stayed upright, wincing as she found purchase on the floor with her high heels. Stupid girl. She shouldn’t wear heels if she couldn’t run for her life in them.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked, and there it was. Beautiful. She understood, now. She knew what her situation was. She must have woken up enough to connect the soreness in her neck with his hands, the ropes around her wrists with his wide and toothy grin.
“I’m going to give you a chance, like I said,” he repeated. He nodded over into the corner. “Do you see that?”
She looked, and then she shuddered.
“What is it?” he prompted. He wanted her to play along. It wasn’t going to be fun if she didn’t play along.
Well, maybe a little.
“It’s a gun,” she said, barely breathing.
“A rifle,” he said triumphantly. “Do you know what that means? It’s easy to shoot. You don’t have to aim so precisely. So long as you point it at me and pull the trigger, it will throw out these pellets and get a wide range. And they’re absolutely lethal, I assure you.”
“You want me to shoot you?” she asked. She was trembling. He could feel it where he held her by the hands.
“I want you to have a chance at shooting me,” he corrected. “What I really want is to kill you.”
She stared at him, almost uncomprehending.
“See, it’s like this,” he said. “We’re going to walk back through the trees a way. You’re going to have to remember the route, so keep that in your mind. And when we get back to the starting point, I’m going to cut this rope between your wrists and let you go. With me so far?”
She nodded dumbly, her eyes wide, apparently too frightened even to answer.
