Page 11 of Second Chance Serenity

“But that’s not enough,” Margot says.

I look up at her. “Sweet can go a long way.” Annoyance laces my tone, and I almost feel bad about it. Margot has always been at my side. Even when her brother left me, she’d let me vent. Was even angry for me. “But, no. There isn’t a connection past that.”

“Does he know that?” Eliza asks. “Because he was awfully drooly over you today.”

“Over me? He was thrilled to meet you. How did the rest of the signing go, by the way?” I change the subject with absolutely no grace, but thankfully no one calls me on it.

They all turn their attention to Eliza and her signing today, how successful it was, and how her agent has been looking at shopping television rights for her bestseller. As they talk, I let my mind wander back to Michael.

To the past.

To moments where I didn’t feel so alone.

And as I do, I seriously wish I could convince myself that Liam is who I want to spend my life with. He’d be honest. Dependable.

Honestly, his only flaw is that he’s not the six-foot-six former Army Ranger who will always hold a piece of my still-broken heart.

As I make my way down Main Street toward my car, I regret every moment of my decision to leave my car at the school and make the fifteen-minute walk after eating my weight in apple pie. It’s late. Dark. And I’m still reeling over my interactions with Michael.

Lightning splits the sky overhead and I groan. Of course it would storm tonight. Truthfully, it’s fitting, given the one brewing in me. I’ve managed to avoid facing off with Michael for the last five years, but I have a feeling the final showdown is coming. One final conversation to make him see that he needs to let me go.

That I can move past what he did, but that doesn’t mean I will forget the way it made me feel.

I turn the corner and see my car parked clear across the lot, near the front of the school. And then the downpour starts. “Oh, come on!” Rain soaks me nearly instantly as I pick up the pace and sprint across the lot to my car. Water pools on the pavement, and I splash through it as I make my frantic dash toward dry ground.

Of course it would be raining.

Why wouldn’t it be raining?

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Stop, Reyna. You are grateful for the day. And you are grateful for the rain. I re-center myself mentally. Truth is, it could be a whole lot worse.

Thunder booms overhead and the rain really starts pouring. It soaks through my jacket easily and mats my hair to the sides of my face. I sprint toward my car now, running as fast as I can on my heels.

And then I fall.

The pavement comes up fast and hard, and pain radiates up through my chin. “Come on,” I groan and start to push myself up. Before I can get completely off the ground, someone rips me to my feet, nearly yanking the hair from my head as they do.

I hit a hard body, and an arm bands around my waist. “Got you, Reyna Acker,” a man growls in my ear.

I scream and slam my heel down onto my attacker’s foot.

He yells and releases me, shoving me to the ground. I hit it with a hard thud, the pavement biting into my hands and knees. I try to push myself up but fall again, thanks to my slick heels. Kicking them off, I roll over onto my back.

Lightning splits the sky and I get a look at a masked man wearing all black. He stands completely still, a living nightmare. I scream again and scramble to my feet. I try to run. To sprint toward the school where the security cameras will see…but he hits me with such force that I slam back into the wet pavement, and more pain shoots through my body.

Fight, Reyna.

Fight.

I try to steady my nerves, to call upon the self-defense classes I’ve taken.

He reaches for me again, so I swing. My fist makes contact with his face, and he mutters something I can’t hear over the storm. Gripping the front of my dress, he tugs me forward, then slaps me.

“You’re coming with me,” he growls. “And if you make it difficult, I’ll make it painful.”

I try to get my bearings, but he hits me again, and my vision wavers. A coppery tang fills my tongue. Is this how it ends? In the parking lot of the school I grew up in?

---