Page 5 of In Her Shadow

“I should leave. Drink plenty of water; if your headache gets worse, call a doctor, andpleasestay away from dark alleys, you never know who’s lurking.” He continues backing away toward the door, and something desperate inside me has me calling out.

“Wait…don’t go.”

He stops immediately, looking just as shocked by my outburst as I am.

“What's your name?” I slowly get out of bed, ignoring the spinning in my head as I make my way toward him.

“That doesn't matter.” His head shakes, and when I stand toe to toe with him, he swallows as if he’s become the nervous one.

“It matters to me,” I whisper, looking up at his dark blue eyes and feeling something awaken inside me.

He seems to find his confidence again when he smiles and lowers his head to whisper in my ear.

“I’m your worst fucking nightmare.” He promises, making my skin tingle, and a shiver creep up my spine. He slowly steps back, stroking his index finger across his bottom lip and lingering those dark, dangerous eyes on me. Then, just before I find the courage to ask what he means by that, he turns to open the door and leaves.

I wait for it to slam before I start searching around for my phone. I see my purse on the bedside table, and sigh in relief when I open it and see that my phone is still inside it. It’s already nine am. I only have a few hours before I’m due to meet Katelyn, and I can’t wait to tell her about the encounter I just had with the handsome, but deadly-looking stranger who was right here inside my apartment.

“So let me get this straight.” Katelyn stares across the table at me as if I need to be sectioned. “You got yourself drunk, and you were heading to a club byyourself?”

“And that's not even the crazy part of the story.” I hold up my hands guiltily and rest back in my chair. I’m high on adrenaline and feeling pretty proud of myself. This is exactly the kind of breakthrough I've been waiting for. I may not have invited Lance up after our date, but Ididhave a guy in my apartment last night.

“The crazy part of the story is the fact that you were so careless. Eloise, you are the most cautious person I’ve ever met.”

“For good reason.” I point my finger at her. I may be in good spirits, but I won’t have her make out that my anxieties aren’t justified.

“Granted,” she agrees, taking a sip of her cocktail. I’ve decided to stick with iced water, my head's still a little fuzzy from last night.

“The key part of all this, Katelyn, is that I wasn’t scared. I was intrigued, maybe even a little excited.”

“You date a cop five times, he takes you to the best restaurants in town, and you get excited by the half-naked creep who pulled you out of an alley.”

“What can I say, I’m complicated.” I shrug my shoulders, still feeling that rush of thrill when I think about his solitary face and the way he stared at me. I’ve spent years trying to avoid male attention, yet having all of his made me feel kind of special. “I just hope that I get to see the guy again. I have no way of contacting him, but he knows where I live. I guess the ball’s in his court.” I shrug

“You’re actually being fucking serious, aren’t you?” My best friend looks concerned.

“Katelyn, you weren’t there; you didn’t see him. He was… beautiful, and the feeling I had in my stomach wasn't nerves, it was something else, kinda like what I felt for Lucas befor—” I cut myself off because I refuse to go there on a day like today. Today is all about moving forward.

“So did he actually answer any of your questions? Did he tell you how he found out where you lived?” she asks, moving us on from the Lucas subject before I have time to dwell on it.

“No.” I shake my head in frustration. I wish I’d been more forceful in getting answers, I was just too mesmerised by him to think straight.

“But this is good, right? This is a huge step.” I start to feel that fizzing in my stomach again.

“It’s pretty huge.” Katelyn agrees. “I can’t believe I’m saying this to you, but be careful. Stay vigilant, and for heaven's sake, next time you wanna go to the club, you call me.” She loosens up and laughs before taking another sip of her cocktail.

REN

ONE WEEK LATER

Ifollow her from her work toward the coffee house, where she stops by every lunchtime. It's nothing irregular from what I usually do, but since last week,everythingseems different. Eloise has seen my face now, and she even claims to have recognized it. I need to be so much more careful, I need to keep a better distance, but that's so hard to do when I know how soft her skin feels.

I felt her breath on my own skin while she slept and now it’s all I fucking crave. Every night since, I’ve considered letting myself into her apartment so I can lie next to her and feel it again.

I’ve noticed how she’s been acting more cautious since that night; she spends more time looking over her shoulder, and I can’t help wondering if she can sense me. Maybe she wants to turn around and see me. The girl was nowhere near as scared of me as I thought she would be, and she was in no hurry for me to leave. It was me who got spooked and ended up choking.

I continue to follow as she gets closer to the coffee shop, and I manage to stay back, despite the adrenaline pumping throughmy veins and the urge to reach out and touch her again. She stops abruptly before she steps through the door, and when she spins on her heels and starts marching straight back toward me, I feel my feet become rooted to the ground.

Her eyes are fixed on mine as she passes through the crowded street, getting closer and looking more determined with each step.

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