Page 2 of Hunting Pretty

Fuck. I clutched at my heart through my thin t-shirt.

Just the old grandfather clock in the main foyer.

It sounded again, then was still.

Two a.m.

A perfect time for late-night prowlers.

I forced my hand to push aside the thick curtain, revealing my full-length glass balcony door and the spacious stone balcony outside covered in English ivy.

There was only a thin stream of light from the nearby exterior wall lamp that lit up the balcony.

I scanned it twice, left to right and then back, gaze lingering in the dark corners and the potential hiding places where the ivy had grown particularly thick.

There was no one out there.

I released the breath I’d been holding in a rush.

I almost laughed at myself.

Silly, Ava. You’re imagining things again.

Dr. Vale was going to have a field day when I told him about this.

Or maybe I should keep this paranoid hallucination to myself this time.

I was about to pull my curtains shut when a thin stream of cold air brushed the hairs on my forearm, causing a shiver to travel up my arm.

What the…? Where was that coming from?

I glanced down at my polished gold balcony door handle.

The thin gap in the door burned into my vision like a warning flash.

My balcony door wasn’t just unlocked…

It wasopen.

At the same time, the scent of amber and woodsmoke hit my nose and a dark presence seared into my back.

He wasn’t on my balcony.

He wasinsidemy room.

Right behind me.

Strong hands grabbed me like a vise.

I was helpless as my intruder yanked me aside, my breath lodging in my throat.

I windmilled my arms out of instinct, trying to grab something, trying to hit him, trying to break my fall.

My fingers brushed against something smooth, and a split second later a smash of glass shattered the silence and the strong smell of my Mojave Rose room fragrance filled the air.

My back slammed into the wall, knocking the air out of me. I tried to suck in a lungful of air to scream. But I was too late.

A gloved hand clamped down over my mouth as my intruder pinned me to the wall.

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