Page 49 of Dark Obsession

“Are you sure you don’twant to come home with me?You could get a good night’s rest, some decent food, and then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Keira turned the key in the lock and made sure the pepper spray was held in her grip.“Thank you for the offer.I’m just going to run home, get some clothes, and then check into a hotel.I have to get myself together, make some calls, and hopefully, with all the locks and security at the hotel, I can get some peaceful sleep.Plus, I don’t want to bring you into this and have his anger directed at you or your husband.”

Vicki hadn’t thought of that, but still wanted to help.“If you change your mind, call me,” Vicki said.She helped Keira carry the things she’d bought from the shop.

Keira waved as she drove off.She slammed the trunk door and stifled a scream.“God, Scott.You scared me.”

Scott stood on the passenger side up by the hood of the car.“I’m sorry.”

A vast arrow of fear slithered down her spine.“What are you doing here?”

“Do you still have your boyfriend?”

Keira took slow steps to the driver’s side door, her grip on the pepper spray in her hand tightened until her fingers started to cramp.She talked as calmly as she could.“Scott, you’ve got to stop doing this.It’s not your place to ask.”

Scott shrugged and stuffed his hands deep into his front jean pockets.“I was just wondering.”

The whiny tone of his voice and the fear from his nearness made her stomach cramp.Her gut was telling her he was not the stalker, that he was just a mentally challenged young man, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

She didn’t have the option of making the wrong choice right now.“S-S-Scott, I-I have to go.”She opened the door and got in as casually as she could, trying hard not to show how outrageously terrified she was.Her car was started before her door was closed and locked.She ignored his attempt to keep talking to her and drove off.

If there was the slightest chance Scott was her stalker, she’d have to consider what to do.She made it home quickly, trying the whole time to get her nerves under control and keep herself from crying.

Keira moved through the house, listening for any whisper of movement.She just needed to grab a bag from the closet and several outfits, and then head out.She hadn’t heard from Daniel that day and wondered if she would see him again.She knew it was for the best, but it was going to hurt seeing him with other women, and it was inevitable.They lived in the same small town and interacted with the same people.

A scream tore out of her as a hand wrapped around her mouth and an arm around her waist before she made it to her room.At first, she was paralyzed with debilitating fear, and didn’t struggle, and then she went wild.She reached back for his face, and her hand came into contact with fabric.He started pulling her toward her bedroom.

“Sorry, I had to do this, Keira.You got in the middle of something, and I couldn’t let this opportunity go.”

Keira listened to his voice.He sounded vaguely familiar, but with her heartbeat pounding frantically in her ears, it was hard to concentrate on anything else.She knew it didn’t sound anything like Scott.

She clawed at the hand around her waist before pushing her hand into her purse.She gasped as the knife sliced her finger open, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge it.She brought it out of her purse and stuck it in his thigh.

He screamed, but otherwise didn’t let go.“You fucking bitch.”

Keira bit the hand over her mouth.

“Dammit.”

He slammed his fist into the side of her head, stunning her for a moment.She reached back and closed her hand around the knife again, pulling it out of his thigh before lifting it and cutting at his arm, and she tried for his head.

“I was just going to scare you, but now you’re dead.”He tried to hold onto her around her waist and at the same time tried to grab for the knife.He hadn’t anticipated how strong she was and how much fight she had in her.He slammed his fist into her head a few times, stunning her enough to make a grab for the knife.A scream tore from him when her hand came up again at a different angle, and she stuck it in the curve of his shoulder, making him release her.

Keira screamed as she fell and scrambled away from him, kicking at his hands that tried to grab hold of her as he was trying to pull the knife from his neck.

She crawled on her hands and knees until she was a few feet away and then rose and sprinted for the front door.The door flew open, and her momentum was so great she couldn’t stop herself from running into a massive wall of muscle.A scream tore out of her as she started to struggle again.

Conner held onto her upper arm to hold her in place as his eyes roamed the house in front of him.“Keira, it’s the police.Tell me where he is.”

Keira glanced over her shoulder and pointed behind her.“In the hallway.”Her thoughts were so chaotic the only thing she wanted to do was hide.

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