Page 27 of Prey

From that point onward, I had a newborn respect for Gunner but feared him. He was his father’s son – perilously sinister and fiercely territorial, but unlike his father, Gunner had yet to learn the art of control.

Learning to control fury and cool rage came with age, life experience, and being powerful enough to hire someone else to do your dirty work. Gunner was nineteen now. The same age as me. He was a good-looking boy with pretty dark eyes, peering at me under a thick head of raven hair, and he’d make a handsome, impressive man. Jealousy stirred in my stomach as my imagination traveled to a place that I hated, the home of torture and despair, the worst place in the world - where he was holding hands with a beautiful girl - happy and free without me. Hell.

I focused on the scenery out the window, searching for my stalker freak. I had no idea what he looked like, nor was I sure I wanted to see what he looked like. Swallowing back my fear, I kept the macabre conversation going, partly to cure my curiositybut mostly because I hated the thought of him having power over me.

Me: Show yourself

The bus pulled up to a stop, and five or six students hopped off. Another three climbed on while I searched their body language and movements, every smile and hand movement, every swipe of their phones, and every flicker of an eye to see if anyone showed even a fleeting interest in me. I was disappointed to find no giveaway clues on their faces, but Stalker Freak could be a well-trained master in disguise.

He could be the nerdy boy sitting alone in front of me or one of the chatty girls sitting behind me. Or maybe he was the bus driver or the older man reading a book sitting directly behind the bus driver, or he could be all three of those guys sitting at the back of the bus. Which one drew the short straw to wear the Scream Mask and chase me across campus?

But the most important question that might never get answered was…why me? Why choose me?

The bus increased speed toward the next stop, where I got off. Then I’d have to walk another ten minutes to the steak restaurant called Nero’s. The phone was burning in my hand, apprehensive yet eager to see his reply. Was the game up? Was he prepared to move forward? And what would happen if he did?

Scream Mask Freak: I’m here. Watching u.

Part of me didn’t believe him, but instinctively, I swung around and glared at the boys at the back of the bus, who weren’t even looking in my direction. They were relaxed in their seats, staring at their phones, and I think they were playing games, but they had no interest in paying me any attention.

Me: Where? Show yourself. Or r u a coward?

The bus finally pulled up at my stop, and I allowed the four students who got up to leave first to watch the body language of those left on the bus to see if they’d go because I was. I thanked the bus driver, jumped off the bus, and hesitated to see if anyone would follow me. They’d be walking right into the hornet’s nest if my stalker was here because I was walking directly to Judith, an armed, plain-clothed police officer.

I started my walk to the end of the busy street, keeping one eye on the shop's glass windows as I passed to spot anyone looking in my direction without seeming obvious. When I arrived at the end of the block to turn left, I looked behind me to check if anyone was following but was greeted by a large empty space between me and an elderly couple walking along with a small dog on a lead. I seemed very much alone, but letting my guard down that easily is unwise.

I arrived ten minutes late because I got lost. I had walked past the restaurant three times before I realized it was above a hunting and fishing store, with access through a narrow doorway leading to narrow stairs. Judith likely chose an inconspicuous restaurant deliberately and a table in a private corner so no one could hear what we were saying.

Constantly glancing behind me, I ran up the stairs and opened the door into a warm rustic environment and a smiling reception that escorted me to the far end of the restaurant.

My stomach rumbled as the tantalizing scent of garlic bread and barbequed meats infiltrated my senses. I didn’t think I was that hungry until I arrived here. It was great to see Judith's smiling face as she’d become a friend and ally and someone I trusted wholeheartedly.

“I won’t get up,” Judith said, then patted her bulging stomach.

“Oh? Congratulations. I didn’t know…” I delighted in her situation, but, weirdly, I never imagined Judith to have an everyday life with a husband and children, probably because herrole in my life was purely from a protective and professional stance.

“You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you,” she said, dismissing my embarrassment for not knowing.

I leaned down to hug her, but she was so pregnant that she could barely move to hug me back. “When are you due?” I exclaimed, pleased to push the stalker freak to the back of my mind, especially when I spotted the gun holder in the seat beside her, loaded with a Glock. Stalker Freak would be dead meat if he came close to us now.

The waiter came over to take our orders, and after he left, I broke the bubble of apprehension by asking, “So, is this important news related to your pregnancy?”

“Yes,” she smiled, rubbing her stomach. “Let’s jump right into the crux of the matter. I’ll be on maternity leave for six months starting next week.”

Mixed feelings coiled through my body. On the one hand, she had a right to a happy life, but on the other hand, I relied so much on her support that I wasn’t sure how I would handle six months without it. The reason I was still alive was that she organized a family to home me in an undisclosed location and a new pseudonym.

She added to make me feel better, “I’ll still be there in the background if you need to contact me.”

“I guess the apron strings had to be cut some time,” I tried to lighten the situation, even though it terrified me. “And I got a job too to help with my finances.”

“That’s good, Annika,” placing her hand over mine. “But I won’t be leaving you in the lurch. Sergeant George Tindale will be stepping into my position until I return after maternity leave.”

“Tindale?” His name was vaguely familiar.

“Yes,” she explained as the waiter brought over our drinks. “He’s one of my colleagues and was part of the team that organized safeguarding when we evacuated you from the Kaiser household in Larsson.”

“I think I remember him. Is he nice…I mean…is he easy to confide in?” After three years of hearing Judith’s calm voice down the line, I’m unsure how I felt about a man I barely know being there instead. But…life did not revolve around me and my minor problems.

“Do you remember when we stowed you away in the black undercover police vehicle…the man in the back with you was Seargent Tindale,” she clarified in that calm voice.

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