Page 29 of Fallen Princess: Shadow Stalker

Suddenly, a hand reaches out before me and snaps the book closed. I look up to find Catalina’s vicious face staring at me like she might murder all of us.

“Respect her privacy and join the others by the couch,” she mutters, gathering all the journals and taking them away. I watch her stumpy body carry them down the hallway and into another room.

“There are security sensors in every corner of this room. Did you see the cameras around the property?” Jagger comments quietly as I join the group in the main sitting area of the room.

“Why does Eden need so much security?” I ask.

“Maybe because it’s two women in the middle of the desert, miles from the next civilization,” Asher suggests.

“This place isn’t something one would stumble on. It’s far off from any main road. Eden chose the place so the public would never find her. I can understand the cameras outside, but the sensors inside here are a bit much.”

“Other than the guitar and the music sheets, there isn’t anything that one would associate Eden with this place. Not one personal photo is on display. None of her music awards. Nothing.”

“The design is hers,” I say, but I don’t know why this fact is so important to me.

“Sure, there’s something about it that’s very Eden, but there are no mementos of her life,” Callum looks at Jagger. “Is that normal?”

“There’s a used dog bed by the fireplace,” Asher wouldn’t miss that even if he tried. “And judging by the size of it, it’s a big dog.”

“Another source of security. It’s like the place is to serve no reminder that this is hers to an outsider.”

I shrug my shoulder, not really caring one way or another. Eden’s always been a private person. This is nothing but an extension of who she is.

It’s not long before we hear a motor in the distance, and my head turns towards the large windows. The vast, open, rugged terrain stretches for miles, and the intense sunlight casts a golden hue over the landscape. The air shimmers with the heat, giving the desert an almost ethereal quality.

A vehicle emerges in the distant horizon, kicking up a plume of dust in its wake. It moves steadily towards this solitary property, the tires crunching on the gritty surface as it navigates the terrain.

As it approaches,, I realize it’s a large black truck. The low hum gradually grows louder as it nears. Turning to see the other three, the anticipation in all of us is intense.

This is it. Fuck. Am I even emotionally ready for this?

Chapter 8

It’s been ten bloodyyears, and we’re about to see the girl who destroyed our band, our music, and almost ourselves.

And, for some reason, my heart can’t stop beating like crazy, almost as if it wants to break free from my chest and run off before she comes inside and marks herself on it.

I stand up and pace the room. I feel someone else doing the same.

We hear the footsteps approaching the door. A mixture of human and pattering of what I assume is a dog. There's a sudden bark and growl.

“Down boy,” she says firmly. It’s my first time hearing her voice in person after a decade. It’s become deeper, more velvety smooth. Or was it always like this?

Catalina appears from nowhere and approaches the door as it opens, her stumpy frame blocking the view.

First, a dog enters, a German shepherd and Catalina takes the leash and leads the animal inside.

And then….

Dammit.

Here she is, standing at the door frame, bathed in the warm glow of the sunlight filtering in behind her.

Different but almost the same.

Fuck, I’m standing here like a right git, in silence, captivated by the sight of a stunning woman.

She was a teenager the last time I saw her, but now she’s all a woman. As she enters, she kicks the door closed behind her and throws her handbag on a leather bench next to the door.

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