Page 74 of Save Her from Me

One of the very best things about her home was the perfect calm of the surroundings. There was no people noise, only birdsong and nature sounds. Different from my tower at Castle McRae with a general sense of being near others.

It made the creak downstairs all the louder.

Daisy sent a second message and held up the screen to show me what she’d written to Ben.

Daisy: We’re hiding upstairs. There’s someone in the house.

The one above it, asking if he was able to take a break and stop by, hadn’t been read.

I checked my messages. Jackson hadn’t replied either.

I wrote in my phone’s notepad for Daisy to read.

If they’re in a meeting, they might not see for ages.

She took my phone and wrote back.

What do we do? Someone’s downstairs, right? Do we rush him and try to get outside?

I couldn’t deny I was spooked. We’d both heard the sound, and it had been purposeful. A knock for attention. A lure, as Daisy had called it.

Horror movies weren’t my thing, but I got a flash of the kind of mind who’d want to terrorise someone else. Larson had been beneath my notice as a teenager, or I’d pretended so. Now, I couldn’t make the same choice. If the man had been so obsessed with me to not only track me down but to do so in a manner designed to scare me, that was something else.

As I read it, a message pinged up on my The Girls chat group. Casey, not working my shifts today, had shared pictures of her and Cait plus a couple other moms with their kids, hanging out at her house.

She lived in the glen, too.

An idea came to mind. I wrote it out for Daisy.

What if we get the moms to come here? Make a lot of fuss and noise outside. It’ll scare him off.

She nodded quickly, and I jumped to the chat, tapping out my request.

Instantly, Casey was writing back.

Casey: OMG! On our way. Don’t move.

We didn’t plan on it.

Huddled together in the wardrobe, both of us listened for any sound from outside.

The minutes stretched on. In the strappy top I’d stripped down to paint in, I shivered, the cold day and the unheated house only half of what gave me the chills.

I hated this. It wasn’t my personality to hide away. I wanted to fight, but equally, I didn’t want to come face to face with Larson.

Admitting it wasn’t easy, but I was scared of him.

Seeing his photograph this morning had made him all the more real. Coupled with what else I knew—the tattoo, the trackers, the crashing into my car—it pointed to a dangerous man.

If he found me here, what would stop him from grabbing me and taking me with him? Not Daisy. She was no match for him, same as I wasn’t. Maybe together we’d be able to keep him at bay.

A creak sounded nearby.

My heart raced, panic overspilling.

That had been in the hallway outside the bedroom. He was here. Inside the house and up the stairs.

It was too late for anyone to get here to help.

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