Page 60 of Secret Crush

Chapter Twenty Three

Alice parked her car and got out into morning sunshine. Palm trees lined the fashionable street where Alice intended to go a few hundred feet to meet her friend.

She dropped her phone to the bottom of her bag and stopped to find it and hold it in her palms. Her neck grew cold, like someone watched her. She turned around but didn't see anything. She took her phone and walked forward.

Then footsteps echoed in the alleyway behind her. Alice's limbs shook as the image of a laser pointed to her head emerged in her mind. She ran fast down the street.

The shuffle of footsteps followed her. Her stomach was rock-hard as she went as fast as she could. She turned onto the busy street with children eating ice cream, but her insides quaked.

The heavy steps behind her became louder, and Alice blinked as she ran to blend into the people on the Miracle Mile.

A large hand brushed against her back. A scream got stuck in her throat.

Then Vicki grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bookstore. She pushed Alice toward the carpet, between aisles of books, like she might protect them both.

Books wouldn't stop a bullet, Alice thought. She stood up and dusted off her jeans, but said nothing as her voice wasn't able to function at the moment. Perhaps John was right that someone wanted her dead.

A pair of designer heels and a black pencil skirt joined them. Alice rocked on her feet and then gazed toward Jennifer. Her hands trembled as she waited for the insult.

Vicki, pale, asked, "Are you okay?"

"Now. I'm here with you both." Alice walked to the window and looked out. So many people were outside and she had no idea who had frightened her. She'd have to call John.

Without another word, Vicki dragged her farther into the bookstore and away from the glass. "Who was that?"

Alice wiped her hands on her pants. In a minute her heart would stop the frantic pace now that she was safe. "I don't know. Some guy was following me."

"I have it on video from my phone. I'll text it to John and Peter. The guy chasing you had a cap on."

"You saw him?"

"I couldn't make anything out, but perhaps the police can. I hate stalkers." Jennifer stood with her arms crossed, but then she sniffed the air. "You smell like sex."

Alice's entire body heated. Leave it to Jennifer to change the subject.

Vicki turned her small frame from where she'd been staring out of the window and looked at both her friends. She sniffed the air. "You mean she smells like my brother's cologne."

Alice stepped away from the pair of them. This was not a good conversation at all. Her face warmed. "Stop."

"You slept with John and then left him in bed." Jennifer tapped her foot, and Alice realized they stood in the romance section. "I thought good girls like you never did anything like that."

There was no way a normal person would ever assume such a thing. Alice lifted her head and dared Jennifer. "Like what?"

Jennifer laughed as if they shared a secret and didn't really hate each other. "Like sleep with a man before marriage. Isn't that what you hated about me in high school?"

No, it was all in the superior attitude. Alice kept her hands crossed. "You slept with every guy in our high school."

Jennifer lifted her eyebrow. "Not every guy."

Alice's feet grew apart. "Like who did you miss?"

Jennifer traced the neckline of her dress. "Not your John or Colt."

Alice opened her mouth but Vicki cut her off. "My brother had said someone was after you from the funeral. I didn't think about that when I invited you this morning, and I don't like you here without protection."

"Let it go." Alice shrugged. The further her mind went from those few moments, the better her sanity, though she quickly texted John. With only one bar of service, she could only hope it went through.

Her mind flashed to the gun shot through the glass doors of the funeral. She sighed. "Creeps don't get more than a second of our thoughts. I'll be more careful from now on."

---