Page 27 of The Ripper

would have seen you?

Me:

Some creep did see me.

G:

Touchée, little angel.

I’ll see you soon.

My heart leapt in my chest, skipping a beat as I bit my nails, then I jumped from the couch and locked the door, closed all the windows, and drew the blinds. If he wanted in, something told me the locks wouldn’t keep him out, but I liked to lie to myself about being safe.

I spent the rest of the day researching statistics and reading through every article I could find about stalkers. I even called the police to inquire about procedures and safety measures, but that didn’t calm my nerves or my excitement.

Late that evening, I was craving burgers from my favorite burger place across town, and since I hadn’t really moved all day, having been curled up on the couch like a lazy duck, I decided the walk would do me good.

As I put on a white dress and a pair of comfortable sneakers, his texts came to mind, but I quickly dismissed the thought, took my purse off the hanger, and left the house.

If he was out there, he wouldn’t hurt me, not after all the trouble he went through to keep me away from other men, or maybe… keep those other men away from me?

As I walked, I could almost feel him walking behind me, but I never turned around to see if he was really there or if the knowledge of his existence made me feel things that weren’t real.

Maybe I didn’t want to know.

Maybe I wanted him to be obsessed with me.

I made a show of moving my hips just enough to make them sway seductively, definitely playing with fire.

Since he was playing with me, I could play with him right back. I wanted to drive him crazy until he could do nothing but make himself known or make himself scarce.

Either was fine with me.

I smiled to myself when I heard a throat clearing behind me.

“Finally making yourself kno…” I choked on my words when I turned around and found a man with a black ski mask on, pointing a gun at me.

You have got to be shitting me.

Was this some sort of weird kink I didn’t know about? Was this how G wanted our first encounter to go?

“Give me your bag,” he said quickly, obviously in a hurry.

I was now more than positive that this wasn’t G, and a hint of fear erupted inside me. I looked around for help, but I was on a secluded path of the park, typically a route for runners in the morning, surrounded by trees, at 11pm.

Why am I so stupid sometimes?

“Now! Give it to me,” he yelled, but I was too shocked to move, “Are you deaf, bitch?”

Something was seriously messed up with me, because every fiber of my being yelled at me to do something, to just give him the bag and hope he wouldn’t shoot me. I wasn’t typically the person who froze in the face of danger, but now, my body refused to move.

An unknown arm crept around my waist, and everything in me seemed to come back to life.

“You have until I count to ten to leave,” a thick, raspy voice spoke right next to my ear.

CHAPTER 6

STITCHES

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