Page 65 of Some Saviors Can Break You

Back as a scared and lonely little girl, she had promised herself that once she got away from River’s End, she would have the perfect life, she was going to have the family and home she had always longed for. She’d done okay with the job part of the plan, but not so great with the family part.

That was all about to change though.

Okay, so she wasn't quite ready to move in with Eli, but she was ready to date exclusively with the understanding that things would be getting serious pretty quickly.

The whole idea was beginning to excite her more and scare her less. It helped that Eli was so easygoing, nothing seemed to ruffle him, and he was being very patient with her and her insecurities, which was probably what had allowed her to open up to him.

With a sigh, she pushed away from the wall, she had to go up, take a quick shower, and get changed because she wanted to get to the gym before she went to work. She’d skipped too many workouts and after all that ice cream for dinner last night, she really needed to hit the weights and the treadmill.

Rubbing her arms to brush away the chill and warm up, she waited for the lift and wondered what Eli had planned for them tonight. He’d wanted to drive her back to her apartment so she could get ready for work, but she’d needed a little time to herself and told him the walk would do her good. Reluctantly, he had agreed, but told her to expect him to be picking her up again tonight to take her out for dinner. Since it was Eli they were talking about, she had no idea what to expect but knew that dinner wouldn’t be just dinner.

The lift doors opened, and by the time it reached her floor, she’d warmed up again. Checking her watch, Florence saw she was going to have to hurry if she wanted to get in a full workout before work. Well minus a weights session, with her arm stuck in this cast weights were out until it came off, and even then it would probably take her a while to get full strength back in that arm. Treadmill, exercise bike, and stair machine were probably it for her today.

She picked up the pace as she walked down the hall but froze at her door.

Something felt wrong.

Remembering her discussion with her partner the day before, she pulled out her gun before unlocking the door. If someone—no doubt the Coffin Killer—was in there, she wasn't walking in unprepared. She wasn't ever going to be a victim again, if that man was in there then the only way he was walking out was in handcuffs.

As quietly as she could, she slid the key into the lock and eased open the door.

The second she stepped through the door she knew she was right.

Someone was in here.

The apartment was quiet, half hidden in shadows as only the early morning light filtered in through the window. Florence wasn't sure where he was hiding, but she knew he was somewhere, watching her.

“I know you’re in here,” she announced, gun held out in front of her, ready to swing in the direction of the intruder as soon as he gave himself away.

“Where have you been all night?” asked a voice laden with barely controlled anger.

“Out,” she said briefly. She wasn't going into details with this man, all she had to do was keep him talking until she got a fix on where he was, and then she’d get him in handcuffs and call Jake.

“You were withhimweren't you? The rich man.” The way he said it made it sound like he was jealous.

“What if I was?”

“You shouldn’t be with him,” he spat.

“Who should I be with?” She took a couple of steps toward the pantry, he was hiding in there, she could see the door was slightly open and since his voice was coming from the kitchen that was the only place he could be.

“You know the answer to that question. You’ve always known, it’s why you’ve never brought a man to your place before.”

How did he know that?

It was true, whenever she was with a man it was always at their place. This was the first real home she’d had, and she wanted to keep it her safe place. Bringing a man here when she’d known there was no future with them gave them the opportunity to invade her safe place, and she’d worked too hard to finally be comfortable somewhere, there was no way she was ruining that.

Eli was the first man who had ever spent the night here, it was like her subconscious had known what her conscious mind was trying to ignore.

The only way that the Coffin Killer could know so much about her and her life was if he was watching her constantly. He had to have an apartment here in the building, on her floor, probably either next to or across from her apartment. He was more obsessed with her than she had realized.

“You should be with me. You’ve been mine since you were eight years old, we have a connection that can never be erased.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Toby Lane.” He stepped out of the pantry, a gun in his hand aimed right at her.

It seemed they were in a stalemate.

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