Page 41 of Stalked

Steve wiggled them. “Nothing sharp. Just an allover ache.”

The medic probed gently around the bruise. “It doesn’t seem to be broken, but you should probably get it x-rayed to be sure. You’re fortunate. Whoever did this was trying to do you serious harm. It could’ve shattered your arm.”

Steve nodded. “It could’ve done much worse if he had gotten me on the skull like he was aiming for.”

The medic whistled through his teeth. “Yes, for sure. Do you have any other injuries?”

“He got me across the shoulders also, but not with nearly as much force.” Steve turned so the medic could see.

“You’ll want to get these photographed so it can be used against whoever did this when they catch him,” the medic said. “But beyond that, there’s no reason for you to come with me. You’ll probably be hurting pretty bad for a few days.”

“Thanks. I’ll take care of it.” Steve turned to her. “I’m going to talk to the officer. You stay right at the car, okay?”

Rosalyn nodded and walked over to lean against the trunk. Steve went to talk to the two officers who had shown up, turning so he was facing her. She saw him pull out some sort of badge or ID and show it to the officers.

Now that she was alone and not worried for Steve’s immediate well-being, the weight of what had just happened hit her.

The Watcher had found her again.

There was no way this incident could be a coincidence.

But how? They had left all the clothes, with the electronic transmitters, in that superstore dressing room. The only thing she’d kept had been her notebook.

And she’d searched every single sheet of paper in it during the car ride. There had been absolutely nothing unusual.

She didn’t know how he had found her, only that he had. And Steve had almost paid the price for it right before her eyes.

Maybe she should run. Right now. Maybe if she left and got away from Steve, the Watcher would leave him alone.

She turned and put her elbows against the passenger-side window, cradling her head in her hands. What was she going to do? She was going to have the baby soon. She couldn’t keep running forever.

Especially since running didn’t seem to matter. The Watcher found her no matter where she went. The only place he hadn’t found her was at the Ammonses’ house. Or if he had, he’d never made his presence known.

Rosalyn turned and glanced at Steve. He was still talking to the officers, but he was looking at her. One of the men nodded at whatever Steve was saying and looked at Rosalyn too. The other gave something to Steve that he put in his pocket. Steve shook hands with both men again and began walking toward the car.

“You seem pretty upset. Are you okay?” he asked her.

Rosalyn laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. Was she okay? No. She wasn’t certain she was ever going to be okay. “No, I’m definitely not okay.”

“Why? Because he didn’t succeed or because you changed your mind?”

She studied his face more carefully. His green eyes were cold. The angles of his jaw set in anger.

“What?”

“I saw you looking at the guy on the motorcycle. You were looking at both of us right before he hit me.”

She shook her head, trying to process exactly what Steve was implying. “Yeah, I noticed him, but I didn’t think anything of it.”

He took a step closer to her, his height intimidating rather than comforting. “Why were you studying me so intensely from inside the convenience store, then?”

“I was trying to figure out which candy bar to get you.” Her words were small. They sounded ridiculous even to her own ears.

“You called someone earlier, someone you didn’t want me to know about. Was that him? The Watcher? Are you working together?”

Rosalyn could feel the blood leaving her face. “Wh-what?”

He grabbed her arm with his good hand. “Did you decide you didn’t want me dead at the last minute? Did you change your mind? Is that why you made that horrified face in the store and tipped me off?”

---