Page 120 of Implode

Maybe it’s the baby causing me this level of tiredness or perhaps it is the stress of the unknown surrounding nearly every aspect of my life. Someone is threatening me. While I haven’t received any more texts, I know there’s a monster lurking in the corner, waiting to pounce. I feel it…

It’s in the way Nic has been holding me tighter.

It’s in the way my dreams are drifting into nightmares.

There’s an eerie quiet in the office space, and when I glance around it appears everyone has left for their lunch break. My stomach growls with anticipation of my next meal. This baby needs to eat.

Standing up, I meander into the break room and pull a yogurt and a can of ginger ale from the fridge. I busy myself with peeling back the label and licking off the excess that settles on it. Food tastes so good to me right now—even things I wouldn’t normally eat.

Then I hear it…

The sound of the door opening and the calm footsteps of someone behind me. I slowly turn around and lock eyes with the man who seems to have a little crush on me.

Do grown-ass men even have crushes? Or is that something that is only meant for teenage boys? Who knows. Regardless, now that I am fully committed to Nic, I bet he’ll back off and probably feel silly for even trying with me.

That’s what this is about, right? He probably heard that Nic and I are together and this is his last-ditch effort to make his case.

Dan is not sporting his normally impeccable attire. Instead, he has on a maintenance worker’s jumpsuit and a matching ball cap with a company’s logo across the front.

“I missed you.”

I let out a laugh that I try not to make awkward. The feeling’s definitely not mutual. “Oh, I’m sure it was extra quiet while I was gone.”

Taking a step closer, Dan’s eyes trail down my body. I feel a shiver run down my spine, and it isn’t the good kind. Something is wrong. He looks crazed…on edge.

I just need to get out of this room and get to Tyler. He’ll know what to do.

Act normal, Claire.

I try my best to steady my breathing and to not sway on my feet.

“The wedding go okay?” he inquires. It’s small talk, yet nothing about it actually feels small.

“Yeah, it was absolutely beautiful.”

“That’s great.”

“Yup.”

“And Graham is gone…”

Fuck.

“Nic has his hands full…”

Double fuck.

“And the overbearing asshole guarding you outside the office is bleeding from his head…”

My heart skips, and I feel the energy wash right out of me. I’m going to faint. Gripping the counter behind me, I try to reach for a knife. But Dan is too—

“Ahhh…” I wail, as my hair gets yanked toward him.

He spins me around, locking his forearm into my throat and pulling my back to his front.

I try to scream, but the words get stuck in the pressure he keeps applying to my windpipe. Dammit.

Leaning down into my ear, he whispers, “I never expected to like you. But finding you attractive is going to make my entire plot at revenge even sweeter.”

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