Page 132 of Freshmeet
“Sarah, I—” He inched closer, his hands up in surrender.
“I need to go. I’ll call you when I’ve thought this through.” I jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.
Slamming the front door, I rushed down the stairs and out the front door, running smack into Duncan’s broad back.
“Shit. You okay, Sarah?” he asked, steadying me.
I glanced over my shoulder, worried Connor would follow. “No. I need to get home.”
And probably call the police, but I’m not ready to admit that.
Duncan frowned. “Did Connor hurt you?”
I shook my head and said again, “I need to get home.”
His thick fingers tightened on my biceps, and he nodded. “Let Carter take you. I’ll stay here in case Connor tries to follow.”
“That’s really not?—”
“Come on, Sarah,” Carter said, gently taking my elbow. “Let’s get moving before it starts raining.” The sky was a dark shade of green, promising a wicked storm.
Impatient, I nodded and took off. If Carter wanted to follow, that was his business.
“You okay?” Carter asked when he caught up.
“No,” I said, very uninterested in rehashing the last ten minutes with him. It was bad enough I’d finally told a guy I lovedhim, finally felt that special connection people talk about, only to find out he was an unhinged stalker. There was no need to let the rest of the world know.
But what if he’s dangerous? The Kirksville Killer is still out there, what if he is . . .
I quickly rejected the thought, and that worried me. While there was no way he could have killed Hailey, it didn’t mean he couldn’t have commited some of the other murders. What if there was more than one killer?
Was I too close to the situation to make the right call?
Raindrops hit my face as I climbed the stairs to Frattic. Carter followed a couple of steps behind, making me uneasy. At the top, I turned to him and said, “I think I want to be alone right now. Thanks for walking me home.”
He stepped up one more stair, bringing us eye to eye. “You sure?”
Nodding, I moved under the door’s awning. “Yeah.” With a small smile, I gestured at the sky. “You’d better head back before it pours.”
Carter tilted his head and smiled. “Okay. You call me if Connor shows up.”
I’ll be calling the cops, but sure, buddy.
“Will do.” I rushed into the apartment and locked the door behind me.
Not waiting a second, I dug through my purse and pulled out the card of the detective who had questioned us just hours before.
“You’ve reached?—”
“Ah!” I screamed, looking out of the blinds at the parking lot. The rain had picked up, filling the potholes and washing away the bird shit on my car. The beep came, and I hung up, unsure of how to explain the situation.
Was Connor a stalker? Was he a threat?
Rain and wind rattled the windows, and the nearby tornado sirens sounded. For the first time since stepping into the apartment, I noticed just how dark it was, so I flipped on a light, thankful the power was still on.
Notifications flooded my lock screen as the girls asked where I was. They were all downstairs in the frat’s basement. Looking out the window, I weighed my options.
Is it safe? Will Connor show up?
