Page 21 of Second Chance Serenity

“Pushed,” I tell her. “It was on the camera footage.”

Carter’s glare turns murderous.

“I guess it’s nice to know I’m not that clumsy.” She puts her hands in her lap and clenches them together. She’s nervous. Scared. And I want to chase all the monsters away. Except this time, I think I am what she’s afraid of. “Anyway, I was getting up when he grabbed me.” She reaches back and touches the back of her head. “It was all a blur.”

“Did he say anything to you during the attack?”

Her bottom lip quivers. “When he first grabbed me, he said, ‘I got you, Reyna Acker.’ Then when I fought back, he told me, ‘You’re coming with me and if you make it difficult, I’ll make it painful.’” She closes her gorgeous eyes and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m?—”

“Don’t apologize. Please, take your time,” Lance tells her. “What happened to you was traumatic, Reyna. It’s completely normal to feel spun out of control.”

She nods and attempts to regain her bearings. It’s all I can do to remain seated. To not reach out for her. “He told me that he was coming back for me,” she says. “After Michael arrived, right before he shoved me toward—” Now, her gaze finds mine and I hold it, wishing I could say more without actually speaking.

Does she know I still love her?

That I would do anything for her?

That I would sacrifice everything for her?

“Did he give you any idea as to why he was after you?” Jaxson jots some notes down on the notepad he almost always has.

She shakes her head. “He took my purse though. So I told Carter it could have just been a mugging. Maybe he was saying that to scare me.”

“That’s not a risk you can take,” I tell her. “He has your driver’s license. Which means he knows where you live. Given that he knew your name when he attacked, makes it highly unlikely it was a mugging. This was a targeted attack at your place of employment.”

“Targeted attack?” Carter questions. “You think this guy was after her specifically?”

“I do. Otherwise, how would he know her name?”

“It’s a small town.” Her voice is barely above a growl now. “It’s possible he was mugging me and knew me from around here.”

“Unlikely,” I reply. My cool tone is a direct contrast with her anger.

Ice to her fire.

“I still think a bodyguard might be overkill.”

“Has anything strange happened over the past few weeks? Anything that seemed unusual?” Elijah asks.

“I did get a weird phone call. But I brushed it off. It’s likely a prank.”

“When?” I demand.

“Um, I guess the morning before the attack? It was after I ran into you at the beach.” Her tone changes, turning annoyed.

“What did they say?”

“Nothing,” she replies. “They just breathed into the line.”

Stalker. It’s a common first step toward communicating with their target. They start with something small. A phone call. A note.

“Can you tell us what you did earlier in the evening?” Jaxson asks.

“I was out running errands between meetings at the school. Then, I worked for a few hours before having dinner with friends at the diner.”

“We’ll check with Alex and Lilly. See if anyone they didn’t recognize came into the diner today or if any of the regulars happened to follow you out.” Lance makes a note.

“Did Liam know you were going to be alone in the parking lot?” It’s a low blow, but I can’t keep the accusation from spilling out of my mouth.

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