Page 60 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
I’d watched him get shot in the head. No one could survive that.
But he was a hellhound. They lived a long time. They were strong. They were “practically invincible,” they’d said, when I’d been asking questions.
I wished I’d asked what the “practically” part meant.
I wanted to check on him, but I knew there was nothing I could do, and I knew if he wasn’t dead, the guy would probably finish him off if given the opportunity. I did the only thing I could think of to get him away from Dex; I did exactly what Dex told me to do.
I ran.
I didn’t bother shutting the door—I wanted him to follow me and not stop at Dex. I ran through the house and out the back door, flinging it open and careening down the back steps. I could hear footsteps behind me, and I headed straight out into the forest. Maybe I could lose him. Maybe I could distract him enough for Jude and Corbin to get here, and they could do something, and Dex would be ok.
Dexhadto be ok.
There was no point if he wasn’t. If he was dead… But he couldn’t be. I felt like he was still with me, like he was still a piece of me. I pressed my hand to the mark on my neck where he had bitten me, and I… I could do this. Iwoulddo this. Dex would want me to stay safe, and I would do what Dex wanted.
His brothers would come, and they would fix him. That was all there was to it, and I refused to let myself think anything else.
I ran, dodging trees and stumbling over branches. I knew I was being too loud and my breath was coming in great gasps. Convincing myself that Dex was ok pushed some of the panic back, and I slowed down, trying to quiet myself.
Someone was following behind, crashing through the underbrush just as loudly as I had been, but I could hear them slowing down now that I wasn’t blundering through the woods.
I put my hand over my own mouth, trying to calm my breath, and started quietly darting from tree to tree. It was dark as hell out, and I knew if I couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see me, either. I just needed to stay away from him. Maybe I could backtrack to the house without him knowing? I would try. I knew these woods better than him. I’d walked through them plenty of times while thinking and plotting.
I almost laughed at that. I was in my own fucking suspense novel.
“Toby?” a voice called out. “Toby? Where are you? We’re here to help. Toby!” the voice yelled out.
Bullshit. I wasn’t stupid.
“We got a call from your neighbor about a gunshot, and we found someone dead on your porch,” the voice said.
Lies. Lies. Lies.
“Toby, the neighbor said they saw someone else. We know it wasn’t you who shot the guy. We’re looking for the perpetrator now. We need to get you to safety, though,” the voice called.
I kept creeping along. I wasn’t a fucking idiot. If it were the police or first responders or whoever, they would have identified themselves first, and there would have been more than one voice.
I quietly continued to creep along. I needed to double back to check on Dex, but I didn’t want to run into the stalker. I sort of knew where he was based on his voice, but it was hard to pinpoint sound in the woods. I just knew it was behind me. Still, I couldn’t let him push me further and further away from civilization.
I started heading sideways, towards Dex’s and Patricia’s houses. I didn’t want to involve Patricia, but if I could get into Dex’s house, I could call the cops. I knew Dex had said no human police, but I think we were a little past that.
“Toooo-beeeeey,” a voice called out, and it sent shivers down my spine.
The man laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t fall for that. You’re too smart for that. I know that. It was why I was so attracted to you to begin with.”
Yes, just keep talking. I quietly crept along, going sideways instead of further back into the woods, trying to avoid the voice in the darkness.
“You don’t know me, I know that, but I have only your best interests in mind. I know exactly what you need, Toby. I’ve read all your work, more than once. I know what you cry out for. Theprotection and the undying love—I can give that to you, Toby,” he said.
I stumbled on a branch, a cracking noise interrupting the silence. Shit! I quietly moved as fast as I could to get away from where I had made the noise, but when his voice started again, it was closer.
“I’ll give you everything you ever desired. I know your deepest fantasies, and I can make them all come true, Toby. You just have to trust me,” he called out.
Fuck. He’d figured out which way I was headed. I crept quickly and quietly, trying to backtrack now. Fuck it. I would hopefully get back to one of the houses first. I wasn’t even sure if I was behind mine or Dex’s, but it didn’t matter.
“I know it wasn’t you who blocked me. I know it was that bitch of a PA. Don’t worry, Toby, she’s been taken care of,” he called out.
He had to be lying. I’d talked to Amy this morning, and she was a plane ride away from here. There was no way he had gotten to her. He was just trying to draw me out.
