Psychological Romantic/Suspense
Date Published: June 2016
Alisha Woods knew she was in trouble. The
situation was progressing. The harmless flirtation had long past intriguing and
now bordered on terrifying. She had to take action, go on the offensive against
her stalker. As she opened the door of Young Guns, she promised herself that
she’d be ready when he came for her. She would survive.
Mike Lewis lived each day knowing that life
could evaporate in a moment. Ghosts followed him, haunting his soul. He craved
redemption, a chance to right the wrongs of his past. And when Alisha walked
in, he recognized his chance at redemption. He would save her.
After everything Mike had done to prepare
her, she thought she was ready. But as the blood spilled from her lips,
Alisha’s mind raced for what she could have done differently…
She should have listened to Mike.
EXCERPT
Mike waited for her to say more. He was a
patient man. He knew enough about human nature to know that if he didn’t say
anything she’d eventually fill in the silence. He tried to look relaxed by
resting his arms on the table and interlocking his fingers, but inside a storm
was brewing.
“He knows where I live,” she said soberly.
She looked into Mike’s eyes for strength. Even though he was intimidating, she
saw goodness in him. She hoped that he could be more than a shooting
instructor.
Mike didn’t like the man knowing where she
lived, but this information didn’t surprise him. If the guy had been stalking
her for a while, he knew all sorts of things about her that would make her skin
crawl. He probably even tracked her monthly cycle.
She sucked in a deep breath and began, “I was
going out with some friends, but I needed to stop by my house to drop something
off. I didn’t bother parking in the garage,” she said with a shrug of her
shoulder. “I just pulled into the driveway and ran into the house. I didn’t even
lock the car.” She tilted her head and rubbed her fingers over her forehead, as
if massaging herself would delete the memory of that night. “I was just going
to be inside for a minute.” She sat straighter and looked Mike in the eyes. She
found strength in him even though he sat silently. “But a friend called. The
plans had changed, and she wanted to update me,” Alisha added casually. She
scoffed and gave him a sad smile. “When I went back out to the car, a stuffed
animal lay on my seat.”
Mike read the tension in her face as her
muscles tightened around her eyes and mouth. She swallowed more frequently and
her breathing had increased as she relayed the information. He smiled, trying
to silently encourage her, but what she told him made his heart pound. “He was
watching you,” Mike said calmly. He didn’t want to scare her any more than she
already was.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “He must have seen me get
out of my car and run inside.” She shook her head slowly in disbelief. “He was
there. He was probably looking at me at that very moment.” She shivered and
looked through the window into the darkness of night. “I didn’t see him. I
didn’t see anyone that I could even question. None of my neighbors were
outside.” She paused for a moment and then began again, “I don’t think he
followed me. I think he was waiting for me.”
Mike nodded slowly. “He was there.” Mike knew
how to hide. He could disappear in a jungle, desert, or city. Disappearing was
one of his strengths, but he didn’t like hearing that the stalker could hide too.
Most people would do something stupid and give themselves away: the shaking of
leaves or the snapping of branches, wearing the wrong clothes for camouflage.
There were so many things to consider when trying to disappear. “What did you
do?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Tjebben lives in central North Carolina
with her wonderful husband, twin daughters, and two hamsters. When her girls
left for kindergarten, Karen discovered that she needed to fill her days with
something, and that was the beginning of her new career in writing. She loves
to create worlds filled with unique creatures that she hopes will delight and
raise goose bumps on her readers. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with
her husband and seeing the world through her daughters' eyes.
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