Page 3 of Echo
Why should I be surprised her sister did the same thing? If it went around the entire property, that was a lot of salt for an elderly lady to cart around each day.
A sudden sensation gripped all the hair on my body and yanked it to attention. I shivered as the knowledge that eyes were on me hit with full force. A feeling I was too familiar with.
The eyes that studied every move I made, waiting for me to make a fatal mistake. It was cold and hateful. My boyfriend.
Ex-boyfriend.I left him in the city,I reminded myself.
The warm sun hovering over me didn’t stop the ice filling my veins. A cool breeze brought with it a scent of wood and flowers, not sandalwood cologne.
I slowly scanned the area. There was no way he intercepted me.Unless he tapped my phone, heard where I was going, and got a plane ride here.I’d tossed the phone back in Florida, but if he’d been monitoring my calls that wouldn’t matter
Fuck. It’s an ambush.
Where is he?
Ranger barked from the car. I stood up slowly, despite my racing heart demanding I run. Dad always said, running told every predator that you were food. Considering my dad ate his share of prey, I believed him.
I put my hands in my pockets, checking for anything I could use to defend myself and came back with a receipt from a gas station and some pennies.
Damn.
My eyes scanned the area, searching for him. Could I make it to my car?
Sweat gathered uncomfortably on my body. I forced my breathing to stay even and clenched my fists to hide the shaking.
My stomach clenched as I came up empty.He’s in the treeline behind me.
I whirled on my heels and found a large shadow ducking behind a tree. I knew it. “If you kill me, you don’t know what my dad will do to you. I’ve kept him out of this to spare your life. Don’t squander your second chance by being stupid.” I couldn’t quite keep the quiver out of my voice.
I hadn’t told him what kind of man my dad was. Would he heed my warning? Maybe I should’ve sucked up my pride and gone home. He wouldn’t have been able to fart in that town without my dad knowing.
No. I fled home for a reason, that would be a stop gap at best.
The shadows moved again, and I could only hope that he was rethinking his choices. No. He wasn’t the kind of man that reconsidered anything. That was what initially drew me to him. He reminded me of home and safety.
I’d spent my life around murderers. I never thought twice about him being questionable. People like that always protected and loved me. Until they didn’t.
I made it so far, and it wouldn’t matter.
I narrowed my eyes on the treeline. If I died here, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he won. Even if that gratification would be short lived.
The shadow shot out of the treeline so fast, I barely had time to blink.I’m sorry, Daddy. I should have told you I’d gotten in over my head. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me for falling for a man like you. Again.
The blur of brown ran past me, and it took me a moment too long to realize it was a doe vanishing on the other side of the road. I let out the breath I was holding and closed my eyes to recenter myself, with a laugh of disbelief.
Being on the run was fucking with my mind and making me paranoid. I shook my head and whispered to myself, “Get your shit together, Madison.”
I returned to the driver seat of my vehicle, fighting Ranger tooth and nail as he tried to bolt out of the car.
“Calm,” I commanded him, snapping my fingers and pointing to the passenger seat. He kept barking and growling where the deer came from. I was sure some large predator had chased the deer out for it to run so close to me. “I’m going.”
The hair on his shoulders stood on end, and a mental image of him busting through the window, to get to whatever mountain lion or bear was out there, filled my mind. I hit the gas, puttingdistance between us and that patch of trees. He went to the back seat to bark at the rear window.
“Wait,” I commanded to make sure he didn’t try to break out.
He went silent and still, waiting for my command to attack. He crouched, moving his body out of my line of sight.
A giant blur flew across the mirror faster than I could get a good look at whatever it was, but there was only one thing it could feasibly be; a huge bear. It looked skinny for a bear, it must have been starving. Which explained why it would chase its hunt so close to a human.
