Page 82 of Alluring

She heard Jack's ringtone and smiled. Soon after she started getting calls from her stalker, she'd changed everyone's ringtone, so she would know who was calling. Jack was a revving motorcycle because it was such a manly sound, and Jack was all man. Her sister was a barking dog because she loved animals, and Steph was sci-fi music because she wasout of this world.

Alexis carefully laid her dress on the bed and picked up her phone from the end table. "Hey."

"Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm good. I'm cleaning the mess we made with our clothes."

She heard Jack chuckle. "You were sleeping so peacefully when I left, I didn't have the heart to wake you. What do you have planned for the day?"

"Not much. I need to go to the market. We're out of coffee and I wanted to pick out something special to make for dinner."

"What's the occasion?"

"Just to say I love you."

"How about, I bring home dessert."

"Chocolate cake from Temptations?"

She heard Jack chuckle again. She loved that she brightened his day. "Would I come home with anything else?"

"Not if you wanted to live to see the morning."

"I'll be in meetings most of the day but don't hesitate to call my cell if you need anything."

"Okay. I love you, Jack."

"Love you, too, sweetheart."

Alexis set down her phone and picked up her dress with the intention of hanging it in the closet, but her phone rang again. It was Steph's Sci-fi ringtone. She laid her dress down again, sat on the side of the bed, and picked up her phone.

"I'm a popular girl this morning," she said, by way of greeting.

"You're about to get more popular."

Alexis stilled. She knew that voice. It had left many messages on her voice mail. It was the voice of her stalker. "Wh ... Who is this?"

"Oh, come now Alexis, you're a smart girl. You know who this is."

"What do you want? Why do you have Steph phone?" Alexis's heart sped up and her hands started shaking. She was scared what the answers would be.

"SILENCE. I do the talking. You just listen."

Oh my God, this lady was crazy. She could hear it in her voice.

"If you want to keep your friend alive, come to her apartment.Alone. And that includes your little bodyguard. Ditch him however you need to. If you're not alone, your friend will die. You have twenty minutes. Do not be late."

"WAIT!" Alexis shouted into the phone before her stalker could hang up. "How do I know she's still alive." After a moment of silence, she heard screaming in the background indicating she must have done something painful to Steph.

Her stalker came back on the line. "You now have nineteen minutes. You'd better hurry."

Alexis threw her phone down on the bed and raced to the closet. She was in such a panic, she didn't think about what she did. She slipped on the first pair of flip flops she saw and raced down the stairs.

The car fob was in a green, glass bowl that sat on a side table in the foyer. She reached in and snatched the remote then dashed into the elevator. She had to evade her bodyguard. She hit the button that went to the second level where the shops were located. She would get off and take the main guest elevator to the lobby, bypassing her bodyguard.

She had a moment to calm down while in the elevator. This was like every kidnap-action movie she had ever seen. Only it was much scarier in real life.

She bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to dash out once the doors opened when she realized she'd left her phone upstairs. She didn't have time to go back up and get it.

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