Page 38 of Done Waiting

God, I’m going to puke.

Clamping my hand over my mouth, I take deep, shuddering breaths, trying to keep the bile that’s rising in my throat from spilling out. Hot tears prick the back of my eyelids as I squeeze them shut.

My body shakes beneath the blankets and I shake my head, opening my eyes. “Who… Sent those to you?”

Ben’s brows are knitted together as he stares at me. “I have no idea, Maddie. Considering what has been happening in this town, and the fact that you fit his profile—”

“No.” Slapping my hands over my ears, I squeeze my eyes shut.

Ben’s hand grips my wrist, pulling it away from my left ear. “Maddie, I think we need to face facts. Denial won’t—”

“No.” Pushing away from him, I crawl across the other side of my bed and get up, pacing the floor. “Why… Why would he be after me?”

His brows lower as he sighs. “You fit the profile. I just said—”

“I know,” I scream at him, my thoughts whirling inside my head. “But I’m not a student. I haven’t set foot on the campus in months.”

Ben’s voice is quiet as he says, “Maybe those are just easy hunting grounds for him. Maybe he’s working his way up to a larger area? Or a bigger trophy, so to speak?”

My chin quivers. The tears I’ve been trying so hard to hold inside come flowing out like a mudslide. “I-I c-can’t.” Wrapping my arms around myself, my body tremors, my teeth chattering together.

Then I bolt to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Falling to the floor, I begin sobbing in earnest.

What the hell? Why would a serial killer be targeting me?

My thoughts go to the night before and that guy who grabbed me. Once Jagger came out of nowhere and pummeled him, he was pretty quick to run off. That doesn’t seem like a serial killer—

Then my brows knit together.

Oh God. Could it be Jagger?

He’s been stalking me, showing up unexpectedly in places. The words he said to me last night float through my head.“I knowa lotabout you, baby girl. More than you realize.”Ipicture him across from me in the coffee shop, his dark eyes on me as he said, “I never said I wasn’t a criminal.”

Oh, fuck.No, it can’t be him.

And yet, the feeling of a spider drawing me into his web hits me again.

Maybe that’s exactly what he’s been doing.

He even knew Ben’s whereabouts.

I flashback to his words in the coffee shop. “Because your boyfriend is currently at the Falls Creek campus library.”

And now he’s taunting Ben.

That entire conversation rolls through my head. “I’d giveanythingto kiss you. Touch you.Taste you.

I’d turn you into a whimpering, quivering mess. You’d beg me to fuck you. And make no mistake, baby girl. I’d fuck you like you’ve never been fucked in your life. I’d make you come so hard you see stars. But I still wouldn’t be finished with you. I’d keep going until you are so wrapped up in pleasure and lust that you think you’ll die if you come one more time. And then…Then I’d come deep inside you, filling you so full, it would run out of you for hours.”Then he stepped away from me, a dark look on his face. “But I can’t do any of those things. You have a boyfriend.”

Then his parting words, “Lose the boyfriend, and I will give you everything I just said to you tonight.”

My chest heaves, sobs coming out so fast I can barely breathe.

God, was that a way to easily lure me into his trap? To convince me to dump Ben so he could have me right where he wants me?

After taking a hot shower, I return to my bedroom to find Ben sitting on my bed, waiting for me. He looks up from his phone before standing and shoving it into his pocket.

Crossing my arms over my chest, guilt wracks my body. It feels like an ocean is between us.

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