Page 3 of Marked for Obsession

Focused on the light-colored t-shirt he was wearing, her level of fear rose exponentially when she saw what appeared to be a dark stain covering a portion of the man’s chest.

A shocked gasp bubbled up from deep inside her lungs, but Poppy put a hand to her mouth to prevent its release. Men who’d willingly put a bleeding man into the trunk of a car werenotthe sort of friends she wanted to make.

“That’s what the plastic’s for, dumbass,” the irritated man bit back. “Now shut up and put him in the fucking car before I lose my grip.”

As instructed, the one guy stopped talking. Poppy watched with shock and disbelief as they unceremoniously dropped the body into the vehicle’s trunk. Reaching up, the man who seemed to be in charge slammed the lid shut and turned in her direction to round the back of the car.

Jerking back to avoid being seen, Poppy started to lose her balance. On reflex, she shot her left hand out to the side to keep from falling, her palm smacking loudly against the dumpster’s metal side in the process.

Every muscle in her body locked down, the air in her lungs freezing with utter fear.

“You hear that?” One of the men became alerted to her presence. “Who’s there?” he shouted.

Refusing to so much asbreathefor fear of being discovered, Poppy squeezed her eyes shut and prayed they’d blow it off and drive away.

“It’s nothing.” The man in charge answered her prayer. “Probably just a damn racoon looking for dinner.”

“Nah, that sounded louder than a racoon. I think someone’s there.”

“You see anyone? ’Cause I sure as hell don’t. Now come on. Longer we stay out here, the better chance we have that someone will see us. Here.” The sound of keys being tossed and caught reached Poppy’s ears. “I’ll even let you dri—”

Poppy’s phone began to ring again, cutting off the man’s words.

“See? Told you someone was there. It’s coming from over there, by the dumpster!”

Her eyes flew open as panic unlike any she’d ever known began to sit in. The sound of her own blood rushing past her ears mixed with the upbeat song, the combination nearly diminishing the booted footfalls coming her way.

Oh, god! No, no, no! Think, Poppy! Freaking think!

Knowing she was a sitting duck just waiting to be slaughtered, Poppy did the only thing she could think of…

She ran.

Shooting up from her crouched position, she took off in a dead sprint in the direction of the club. If she could get inside before they got a good look at her, then maybe—

“Hey! Stop!”

She didn’t stop. In fact, the sharp directive only encouraged her to move faster. To push her muscles to their limit and run as fast as her legs would travel.

With her heart feeling as though it were trying to claw its way out of her chest, Poppy didn’t dare turn back around. Like a beacon of hope and safety, she kept her eyes glued to the red neon sign with the word ‘Sin’ shining brightly up ahead.

Just a few more feet and…

Poppy grabbed the long metal handle and yanked the tinted door open. Rushing inside, she was stopped by a very large man in a suit jacket and gray button-up.

“Need to see some I.D.” The bouncer put his hand up between them.

Poppy blinked, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Swinging her head around, she half expected to see the men who’d been chasing her. The relief she felt that they weren’t there nearly sent her crumbling to the floor.

“Miss?” The bouncer’s expectant tone caught her attention.

“Sorry, what?” She spun back around.

The enormous bald man arched a high brow. “No I.D., no entry.”

“I.D. Right.” Poppy frantically unzipped her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Sorry. Here.”

Handing him her driver’s license, she shot a nervous look back over her shoulder.

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