Page 36 of Catch Me When I Fall

But I wasn’t afraid.

Fear didn’t exist right now, only the overwhelming desire to see his face, to find out the color of his eyes. Somehow, deep within my soul, I knew this shadow man didn’t have bright eyes.

No, my soul knew that everything about this man was dark, inside and out.

Time seemed to pass, and neither of us moved, locked in on one another. The scary thing was…I was perfectly content with spending the rest of my life right here in this moment, staring at a stranger.

Had he been watching me? Yes. Did that scare me? No.

The spell was broken when my phone started ringing, making me jump. I fumbled with the device in my hands, looking away from the shadow man to answer it.

“Yes?” I breathed, my body on fire.

“Did you still want to come over?” Sarah asked, worry lacing her voice.

“Of course, I’m on my way. I just got…sidetracked,” I explained, still breathless, putting a hand to my chest.

“Carrie, it has been half an hour.”

My eyes widened. “What?” I blurted, my eyes snapping to the time on the dash. Thirty minutes had passed since our last call. I’d been entranced by the shadow man for that long?

“Holy shit.”

I twisted my neck to look at the man once more, and a chill ran down my spine, quickly washing away the warmth I had been feeling.

He was gone.

Chapter 10

Grayson

As I watched Hale’s taillights disappear into the night with my jaw tight, I silently cursed myself for letting her see me so soon.

After spending the morning dealing with Sheriff Dipshit, I spent the afternoon in my hotel room, going over Hale’s file once more, giving her one more day in this quiet coastal town. Once that was done, Jake called me to confirm she had purchased a house with her large trust fund and finalized the paperwork with the title company. She was quick to settle somewhere, that was for damn sure. I don’t know what compelled her to choose this town, and it puzzled me.

This town wasn’t lavish. It certainly didn’t fit her past lifestyle. Carrie Hale was the daughter of a wealthy asshole and, given her simple profile and her mental break, I had her figured out.

Her perfect little life had been turned upside down, and now, she was running away.

After I finished reviewing her file once more, I pulled up the floor plans to her home and drove over in the afternoon to do some re-con. I didn’t bother going inside just yet only surveying the outside of the home for now. Sitting in the Tahoe, I received a call from Jake, who told me the house Hale had purchased was once owned by Michael and Sarah Humbly.

That was why he didn’t want me to know where she was—he was fucking helping her.

Back at the police station, he’d told me that unless there was a warrant out for her arrest or she was danger to society, he couldn’t tell me where she was. Of course, him saying that just confirmed she was still in town, and the charges had finally hit her bank account, making things easier for me.

He also didn’t appreciate that I’d pulled my gun out to have that conversation.

Was it pointed at him? No.

Should it have been? I was beginning to think so.

Now, here I was, standing in the night after seeing her for the first time, and I was hesitant, not to mention the feeling I felt when I saw the man she was talking to before she’d gotten into her car. She’d only been in this town for a week and was already dating.

That bothered me.

It shouldn’t have but it did. A lot.

I didn’t like the way the fisherman was looking at her. I didn’t like how he sat across from her at dinner, smiling at her, looking at her chest whenever she wasn’t looking.

---