CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kolan
Things have been quiet.
Too quiet.
It’s like the motherfucker just vanished into thin air and it has me even more on edge. It’s been days since finding out the old lady is dead. A statewide APB is out on this bastard and yet no one can find him.
It makes me fucking nervous. I haven’t let Sophie out of my sight, and I won’t until he’s caught. But then what? What happens next?
That question has been plaguing me and it’s something I don’t like to think about. Will she go back to her old life? Go back to school and dance? She should, she deserves to reclaim everything she’s lost but then…I lose. The thought has a sharp pain piercing my chest.
I push the thought aside and continue sorting through the moving boxes in my garage when I hear Sophie scream, terror thick in her voice. “Kolan!”
Dropping what’s in my hand, I charge through the door and run into the living room to find her on her ass, frantically scooting back from the window.
I kneel behind her, grabbing her waist. “Soph! Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Someone’s out there.”
“What?”
“Someone was looking at me through the window.”
Standing, I go look through the glass but can’t see a goddamn thing with it being so dark out.
“He’s out there. I know it,” she says, voice trembling.
I quickly head into the kitchen and open my laptop, pulling up the surveillance cameras. Sure enough, there on camera four, I catch a flash of movement, headed down the beach.
Son of a bitch.
“Call Cooper now,” I order before rushing out the back door.
“Kolan, wait!”
Her voice is faint, barely penetrating the humid air as my bare feet leave the patio and hit sand. I refuse to turn back. It could be our only chance at catching him, and I’m done waiting. He came onto my fucking property so that makes him mine.
I head in the direction of where I saw him, fury fueling my speed. A solid minute passes before I have him in my sights. He’s a good distance away but lacks agility. With my heart pounding and blood roaring, I push myself harder but don’t catch up to him until the public beach.
There’s a party going on, groups of people sporadically spread out that are either sitting by fires or dancing. He tries to weave into the crowd but doesn’t make it far. Reaching out, my fingers catch his hood. A few girls jump out of the way with a scream as I tackle him, dropping him to his back with a sharp yank. I straddle him, ready to deliver the beating of a lifetime but my fist stops midair when I realize it’s a kid.
“Don’t hit me. Don’t hit me,” he pleads, his hands out protectively in front of his face.
“Who the fuck are you and why were you looking in my window?” He remains silent, trying to catch his breath. Gripping the front of his sweatshirt, I yank him up to my face. “Start talking or I’ll knock your fucking teeth into the back of your head.”
His eyes bulge out in fear. “No, please. I wasn’t going to do anything to her. I swear,” he says through labored breaths. “Some dude paid me a hundred bucks to look in your window at her. That’s it.”
Every muscle in my body freezes, ice forming in my veins.
“Who?” I shove out, despite the fear lodged in my throat.
“I don’t know. I only met him tonight.”
“Fuck!” Dropping him from my grasp, I start back to the house, my feet pounding the packed wet sand, running faster than I thought myself possible.
*
Sohpie
“Kolan, wait!” I call out to him, my heart pounding in fear. Running to the open back door with my cell phone in hand, I watch as he jumps from the patio and hits the beach, his determined feet moving swiftly across the soft sand.
“Oh god.”
Lifting my trembling hand, I swipe the screen to call Cooper when the wind is suddenly knocked out of me. I hit the kitchen floor and land on my back, the hard impact pushing the air from my lungs. The phone skitters across the room as I try to take in a breath, but I’m not able to with the crushing weight on top of me.
“We meet again, my love.”
Terror settles over me with heavy force as I come face-to-face with my worst nightmare. Daniel’s hand covers my mouth, the pressure of his clammy palm muffling my scream as I thrash beneath him.
“Oh, Sophie, I’ve missed you so much,” he says softly, his pale blue eyes hooded and vacant as he assesses my face.
Desperation latches onto me and my instincts kick in, penetrating the terror this man instills in me. My mind scrambles as I try to think of all the things I’ve learned from Kolan these past few weeks. He’s bigger. Stronger. There’s no way I can maneuver from beneath him at this angle. His body is cradled between my open legs, his erection pressing into me. Saliva pools in my mouth as bile inches up my throat. I buck my hips, giving myself enough room to wrap both legs tightly around his waist. I squeeze, using every ounce of strength I possess.
Daniel shoots up on a horrid gasp, the air in his lungs restricted by my tight hold. His hands move to my knees in an effort to pry them loose and that’s when I thrust my palm up, connecting with the base of his nose. Blood sprays, the tiny bones shattering. When he howls in pain, I release my legs and flip to my stomach.
“Kolan!” I scream, praying he can hear me before he’s too far away. I kick myself out from beneath Daniel, my foot connecting with his face, adding to the injury I’ve already inflicted.
Just as I make it to my feet, my ankle is snagged. “You fucking bitch!” With a swift pull I’m jerked back down, landing on my belly with a painful thud.
“Kolan!” His name breaches my lips once more as I feel Daniel crawl up my back.
There’s a sharp sting to my scalp as he grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks my head back, bringing his mouth to my ear. “He cannot save you. No one can. By the time anyone finds us, we’ll be at the bottom of the ocean, fulfilling our destiny.”
Oh god.
“It’s time, Sophie. Time for us to be together forever. Just like we were always meant to be.”
“Never,” I grind out. “I will never be yours.”
Pain explodes through my head when my face collides with the ceramic tile. Warm blood trickles down my forehead as black spots dance in my vision. A moan of agony escapes me as I’m flipped to my back, his sinister face blurring before my eyes.
“You’ve always been mine.”
I’m completely helpless when he gathers me in his arms, my body as limp as a rag doll. Darkness hovers, threatening to pull me down into its black abyss as he carries me out of the house.