Page 16 of Creep

She walked up to me and smiled, squeezing my hand a bit before helping me close up. We walked out of the coffee shop and to our cars. The world seemed awfully quiet then. Melody shifted from one foot to the other, trying to keep warm. “I’m going to head home. See you tomorrow, Lia.”

I waved at her, watching as she got in the car.

I knew I should get in my car and drive off, but there was a part of me that just wanted to stand there and have time stop for a moment.

I looked around the property, so unsure of what I was supposed to think now.

“It’s okay,” I whispered to the cold air. “Everything will be okay.”

And perhaps if I said that enough, it might actually be true.

Even I could hear my own naïveté in my thoughts. I licked my suddenly dry lips and looked around. My feet were already moving before I thought better of it, and I soon found myself standing by the edge of the woods. The trees were bare, and most of the dead leaves were on the ground. There was no way to be quiet while moving about. Right?

At least, it should be impossible for humans.

I stepped over to my left, the rustling of leaves following me. Then I moved to the right, careful not to make any noise.

It wasn’t possible.

The longer I stood out here, the more I was convinced there was no stalker.

I let out a small chuckle.

I was losing it.

There was no stalker.

Of course there wasn’t.

I turned, about to head back to my car, when everything in me froze. The feeling of eyes on me was like a white-hot sting slowly blossoming into a raging fire that would definitely burn me from the inside out.

And not just one set of eyes but thesameset of eyes.

“Not real,” I said to myself. I half expected there to be an answer. Disappointment and relief warred inside me when there was no response.

I walked away, headed to my car, not looking back, even when my back continued to burn, feeling like there was a target painted there for all to see.

Forhimto see.

6

MAEL

Her room wasdark and quiet when I entered late at night.

My entire body ached.

Fuck, that had been a close call.

Had I been even a little distracted, that fucker would have succeeded in jumping me. But now, I had a body currently rotting in the trunk of my car to deal with and a whole lot of questions with no answers.

Briggs’s security was tight.

Tighter than usual. And we didn’t have any contact unless it was through a burner phone no one could tap.

He didn’t just want me to kill Lia’s father.

He wanted me to retrieve something first.

---