Page 11 of Carnival Nightmare

I reach out and brush a strand of golden hair behind her ear. She flinches at my touch but doesn’t pull away.

I lean in close, lowering my voice so only she can hear. “I couldn’t help but notice a rather interesting headline in the newspaper today. Something about a local woman being terrorized by a stalker.”

Lily’s eyes widen and she tries to pull back, but I grasp her arm again, keeping her in place.

“Now I wonder who that unfortunate woman could be?”I continue. “And I wonder who that stalker might be?”I stare hard into Lily’s frightened eyes. “Why did you call the cops on me?”

Lily shakes her head rapidly. “Ididn’t-”

“Don’t lie to me!”I interrupt harshly. Lily cringes at my tone. I take a breath and force myself to speak gently again. I can’t cause a scene here.

“That bullet I left you was precious to me,”I tell her. “A lucky token I wanted you to have, but now the cops have taken it from your apartment. They stole what’s mine.” My hand tightens on Lily’s arm while anger courses through my veins. “Tell me, did you think it was a good idea to call the cops on me? Don’t you realize now they’ve just made me angry?”

Lily’s eyes fill with tears. “I’m sorry,”she whispers. “I was scared.”

I soften my grip, brushing my thumb over her delicate skin. “Oh, I know, baby. But you don’t need to be scared of me. I’d never hurt you.”

She doesn’t look convinced.

I sigh. “I forgive you for calling the cops. You didn’t mean any harm, but that bullet is important. I need to get it back.”

Leaning in even closer, my mouth brushes her ear. “And once I have it, I’ll come for you because nothing will keep us apart, angel.”

I draw back and release her arm. Lily looks paralyzed, unable to move or speak. I give her a gentle smile. “It was nice chatting with you. I’ll see you real soon.”

I stand and stride out of the diner, whistling cheerfully while I light a cigarette from my pocket. I don’t look back, but Lily’s eyes follow me the whole way. My message has been received loud and clear. Just a little more reeling in, and she’ll be mine forever. But first, I need to get my lucky bullet back. When all the fun of the carnival goes down, I’ll make a late-night visit to the police station.

7

LILY

My hands tremble uncontrollably as I hastily shove clothes and essentials into a duffel bag. The safety of Alice's spare room beckons, but fear grips me after the stalker appeared at the diner again.

Alice grabs my bag. "Come on, let's get out of here. The spare bed's ready, and I've got a bottle of wine to help us unwind."

I nod, the lump in my throat choking back words. We rush to her car, adrenaline spiking as we leave my apartment behind. The place that should be my sanctuary now feels like a war zone after yesterday's chaos—only the carnival might rival its danger.

We arrive at her place, and she hustles me inside. “Come on, let's get you settled.” She directs me to the inviting spare room, urging me to sit on the quilted bed.

“Thanks for letting me stay here. I just...After he cornered me again, I couldn’t spend another night alone in the apartment.” I shudder at the memory.

Alice sits beside me and rubs my back. “Of course. Mi casa es su casa. Stay as long as you need to feel safe again.”

I muster a small smile. “Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best?”

“Not nearly enough,” she teases. Then, her face grows serious. “Did you call Detective Morris? The stalker showing up twice should be enough for them to do something.”

My smile fades. “I tried, but Morris said just talking to me at work isn’t enough evidence for them to arrest him. He has to actually harm me.” I shook my head in frustration.

Alice scowls. “Unbelievable. Men like that shouldn’t be allowed to roam free.”

“I know. I feel so powerless like there’s nothing I can do except hide here and hope the psycho loses interest.” I flop back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

One of the scariest parts of this is how he makes me feel when he does corner me. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced. The pure terror should have been simply that, but it made me feel things that made no sense. Arousal. It’s another reason I’m so scared of him getting me alone because things might take a rather twisted and unsettling turn.

Alice lies next to me. “We’ll figure something out. In the meantime, we can order pizza and hide out here.”

I manage a small laugh. “That does sound really nice.”

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