Page 152 of Read Me (Forget the Past 2)

“Y-you leave me the notes?” I choke on a question that sounds innocent, but reveals a vile truth.

His thumb brushes back and forth across my sleeve as if he’s comforting me. Every inch of my flesh tightens, trying to distance myself from this man.

“I wanted you to feel safe. To know I was watching over you. Not just at work, but in your home. Even if you moved. That’s how much I care about you.”

Care about me?

“I never wanted any of that.” My voice is barely a whisper.

Daniel frowns, then his face breaks out into a smile. “You didn’t need to ask for it. I did it anyway. And you feel safe around me now. That’s why you wanted me to stand with you tonight.”

Just as I’m wading through the toxic mess of this discovery, a heavy pressure rests against my lower back.

His arm.

Daniel wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into him. Against him, in a sick imitation of a comforting embrace.

“I’ve been patient. Waiting so long for you to trust me. Seeing those other men that don’t deserve you. Not like I do. I love you, Summer.”

Acid rises in my throat. Those words aren’t his to say.

“Let me go.” As panic rushes through me, it forces my command out in a harsh whisper.

“It’s okay.” Daniel smiles down at me, his eyes on my lips. “We’re off the clock, and it’s just you and me here.”

Just him and me. Where the hell is Cole?

But I don’t have time to wait for him when my tormenter bends his neck, angling his head as if he plans to kiss me. There’s no as if about it. Daniel’s end goal is his mouth on mine.

Finally, my muscles regain strength. Palms flat on his chest, I shove the security guard as hard as I can. My main bit of luck comes from the fact that Daniel obviously didn’t expect the move.

He stumbles back a step, then his face transforms into a scowl. Dark and scary.

I try to run, but he grabs the back of my dress. The neckline tightens around my throat as he jerks me back into his arms.

“Don’t run away from me,” he hisses into my ear.

“Let me go!” I try to scream the words, but it’s as if I’m in one of those horrible nightmares where I’m aching to call for help but my voice doesn’t work.

As I feel his hand low on my stomach, something of Luna’s training flickers to life in my mind. I throw an elbow, then wing my head back. The soft give tells me I got his stomach, and the sharp pain on the back of my skull paired with a satisfying crunch has me praying his nose is broken.

Briefly, Daniel’s grip slackens, and I stumble forward. In my haste, my legs tangle and I pitch to the ground, knees and palms scraping on the concrete. As I ignore the pounding pain radiating from my head, my eyes catch on something rolling across the ground.

One perfectly sharpened pencil. The one I stuck behind my ear and forgot about.

As I move to stand, my fingers wrap around the pointy number two.

But I don’t make it to my feet. With a tight grip on my hair, Daniel wrenches me backwards. I land hard, pain shooting up my tailbone.

“Listen to me damn it!” He shakes me with the words, all of them garbled as blood from his nose drips over his lips. “I waited for you! You’re mine!”

As if to lay claim, he uses his free hand to collar my throat, squeezing.

There’s no thought to my next move, only animal instinct.

Swinging my arm up, I aim for the part of him not covered in clothing.

The pencil sticks in the pale fleshy column of his neck.

---