Page 66 of Run For Me
My worries are squashed when a twig snaps behind me. I pause, whirling around to shine my light that way, but it doesn’t go far enough for me to see anything. My hand trembles, and I focus on what I hear, but my heart is pounding so hard in my ears that I can’t hear a damn thing over it.
“H-hello?” I call out.
Nothing.
So, I turn and keep going.
It’s not for another five minutes that I’m sure someone is following me. More twigs snap, footsteps get heavier, and the best thing I’ve heard yet—little dove whispered into the dark.
It was said at just the perfect volume that I heard it but had to really focus to make sure that I did. My heart pounds harder, my feet moving faster. He’s here. I know that, yet it’s the adrenaline that has me moving further away.
The feeling of someone behind me is there now, that instinct to run overwhelming. My chest flutters, hands shaking as I pick up the pace until I’m jogging. I swear I hear heavy footsteps right behind me, which has me moving even faster, but they’re gaining on me.
My light hardly does me any good as I start to run, the light flicking from side to side and just enough that I keep on the trail and don’t run into a tree. When I reach a fork, I stay to the right, moving even faster. I look over my shoulder, but there’s nothing there but darkness… and the heavy footsteps that are getting closer.
I push harder, wishing I’d done track or even just exercised more.
“Run for me, little dove!” comes from a few feet behind me. “Keep running, but know that I will get you.”
His words have my stomach twisting in the best sort of way and because I’m not ready for this game to end yet, I force my legs to move faster and smile into the dark.
Chapter Forty-One
Sailor
I’m hardly able to run for another few minutes, my lungs burning like crazy. My legs are tired, and my hands are numb. I switch my phone into my other hand, so I can shove the one that was holding it into my pocket to warm it up a little. When I go to raise it up to show the way, it falls from my hand, and it takes a second for me to stop.
I see it on the ground; the light face down but shining an orange glow against the dirt so I know where it is. I hurry to it, dropping to my knees to snatch it up, but before I can do that, there’s a boot on top of it.
I scream, falling onto my ass and looking up into the darkness, but I see nothing.
“You don’t need this anymore,” he says, his voice so familiar. It’s dark, slightly raspy, and he’s panting too. We’ve both been running for at least ten minutes and have been out in the cold for even longer.
He’s right there, so close, yet I still don’t know what he looks like. He’s nothing but a ghost in the night.
I scramble back, getting to my feet, but I take two steps before his arm is wrapped around my stomach, and he pulls me against him. A scream tears from my throat, burning and dry.
He’s tall, strong, firm. My sweatshirt rides up in the back, his clothes causing a bite of cold to seep into my skin.
I lean forward, digging my feet into the ground and trying to get out of his grip, but there’s no way that’ll ever happen. Fear lodges in my throat again, and I wonder if I’ve made a mistake. If I use the safe word, will he stop? And if so, how the hell am I going to get out of here? It’s not like he’s going to hold my hand and lead me back. Does he even know how to get back?
“I’ve been waiting for this,” he says, running his nose along my cheek. I feel the soft fabric of a mask, his chilled skin beneath it. He shifts his arm, loosening it around me, and I take the opportunity to shove off him, this time getting away.
He laughs, the sound echoing after me.
“You won’t get far without light, little dove!” he calls after me. “Don’t hurt yourself!”
If only I’d listened and known how right he would be.
I don’t run for long. The fear of not knowing what’s in front of me has me stopping completely. I hold my hands out in front of me, feeling around for trees or bushes or anything to let me know where I am and what’s next to me. I take small steps, tears burning in my eyes over the rush of it all. Leaves graze my fingertips, and I yank them away, fear swimming through my veins. There’s panic in my chest, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever felt.
Footsteps sound again, this time from my left. I whip around that way, holding my arms out and waiting for him to reach me. His footsteps are slow but sure. He’s taking his time. My heart is pounding so hard I think I’m going to throw up. My stomach is sick; there’s a cramp in it from running. Before I know he’s in front of me, he grips both my arms and tugs me toward him.
“You ran away from me,” he growls.
“You-you wanted me to.”
“Well, now I’ve caught you, and you know what that means.”
