“Eagle being gone has made you paranoid,” Taylor said out loud as she drove a little too fast back to her apartment. “You’re fine. The man was just being friendly.”
As usual, when she tried to bring up the man’s features, she couldn’t pull them all into focus at the same time to see a cohesive face.
When she was a little girl and in therapy, one of her therapists had told her to draw what she saw when she looked at other people. So she’d done as requested, had drawn a picture of her latest foster mother. She’d made her very tall, and put a bright-pink dress on the stick figure, since the woman liked to wear very bright clothes. She’d drawn long black hair on her picture and put long red fingernails on each hand. But inside the circle that she’d made to represent the woman’s head, it was blank. No eyes. No nose. No mouth. It was easier that way, because putting together all the features she saw individually was too hard.
And that was what she saw in her head at that moment, trying to recall the man. A large menacing figure with no face. It had been scary when she was five, and it was equally terrifying now.
After she’d parked in a spot at her apartment complex, Taylor closed her eyes and brought Eagle to the forefront of her mind. His face was also a blank, but she concentrated on other features. His fresh clean smell. The way his arm muscles bulged when he played pinball. How he always ran a hand through his hair when he was frustrated or thinking intensely. The sound of his laughter when he was teasing her. How he made that sexy little noise in the back of his throat when he ate something he enjoyed.
She might not be able to pick him out of a picture lineup, but Taylor had no doubt that if she spent five minutes with men who were the same height and size as Eagle, she’d know who he was by his mannerisms and scent.
But five minutes was too long. She hated not being able to immediately know who he was. How could she not know someone who meant so much to her?
Realizing her thoughts were turning morose, she took a deep breath and got out of her car. She was halfway to her building when she stopped suddenly in her tracks, something occurring to her.
Jim had called her Taylor.
She’d purposely not introduced herself when she’d shaken his hand. Eagle’s outburst had made her realize that it wasn’t smart to give out so much information about herself when meeting someone, so she’d not given her name to the man.
So how had he known it?
The visitor’s pass was generic, didn’t have a name on it.
He might’ve heard one of the employees saying it when she’d been inside, but she hadn’t really talked to any of the nursing staff that day.
A shiver ran through her, and Taylor looked around nervously. She didn’t see anyone lurking in the parking lot, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She had no idea what kind of car Jim was driving. He could be anyone at this point. Watching her. Stalking her.
Shaking her head, Taylor realized she was stupidly standing in the middle of the parking lot, making herself an easy target for anyone who might want to hurt her. Hating how paranoid she felt, she made herself walk calmly toward the door.
She was done for the day. She was going to spend the rest of it locked inside her apartment, safe from anyone who might do her harm. Even though she couldn’t think of a single reason why someone might want to hurt her. She was a nobody.
It wasn’t until she was locked behind her apartment door that Taylor was able to take a deep breath. She felt safe in her home. And normally she loved living alone, always had. But for the first time, she didn’t like it. She wanted to be able to pick up the phone and call Eagle. Just hearing his voice would reassure her that she was being paranoid.
But deep down, she had a feeling Eagle wouldn’t dismiss her fears. He’d take them seriously. She hated that he was gone and prayed that whatever mission he and his friends were on would be over soon.
Brett watched as Taylor stopped in the middle of her parking lot and looked around, as if she could spot whatever it was that had obviously made her nervous.
He’d pulled in behind her and had parked several rows away. His talk with her had gone exactly as he’d wanted it to. He’d even gotten to touch her.
Her skin was extremely soft, and Brett couldn’t wait to mark it up. Run his knife over her palms and watch the blood well up there. He’d loved feeling the heat of her leg against his as well, though he had no desire to touch her sexually. He just enjoyed the feeling when his plaything’s skin went from warm to cold.
He wanted her under him, his hands around her throat, choking the life from her, then bringing her back to him. Again and again and again.
His record was eight. Eight times he’d killed the same woman, choking the life out of her, then bringing her back.
He was going to break that record with Taylor. He grew hard just thinking about it.
He was going to keep her for as long as possible. He couldn’t wait to see the life drain from her eyes, then resuscitate her and see the fear and panic return when she remembered where she was and what was happening. And he was looking forward to pretending to be a bunch of different men. One would be sadistic, using his knife to mark her pretty skin. Another would be the man who strangled her. Still another would be the nice guy.
Brett wanted to hear her beg for mercy, to swear to the “nice guy” that she wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened if he helped her escape the “other men.”
She’d literally have no idea he was her one and only captor.
The possibilities for torturing her were endless, and he was more grateful than he could say that he’d found her. Brett knew Taylor wouldn’t be enough. He’d need to find others like her.
He’d finally found the perfect victim . . . and his playtime was coming.
Chapter Ten
Taylor’s phone vibrated with a text, and hoping it might be Eagle telling her he was back, she quickly reached for it. She was having a hard time concentrating on the manuscript she was trying to proofread and welcomed any distraction.
Skylar: Hi, Taylor, this is Skylar. I was wondering if you wanted to go get some lunch with me?
Taylor was surprised to hear from her. One, because it wasn’t the weekend, and Skylar should be at work. And second, because even though she really liked the woman and they’d exchanged cell phone numbers, they hadn’t really hung out anywhere but at Silverstone Towing.
As nervous as she was about trying to get closer to Skylar, anything was better than what she was doing now . . . sitting in her apartment worrying about Eagle.
Taylor: Sure!
Skylar: Awesome. What about Rosie’s Diner? It’s close to Silverstone.
Taylor: I’ve driven by it, that sounds great. What time?
Skylar: Now? :) I’m starving. But if you’re busy, we can go later.
Taylor: Now is fine. It’ll take me fifteen minutes or so to get there.
Skylar: No problem. I’ll grab us a seat.
Taylor hated to bring this up, but knew she had to.
Taylor: Sounds good, but remember that I won’t recognize you waiting for me.
Skylar: I was planning on coming to get you when you entered the diner.
Taylor sighed in relief.
Taylor: Thank you.
Skylar: Of course. I’ll see you soon!
Taylor punched in a thumbs-up emoji and pushed back from her dining room table, then hurried into her room to change into a pair of jeans and a nicer shirt. When she worked, she tended to wear stretchy pants and T-shirts. She pulled her unruly curls back into a messy bun at the nape of her neck and grabbed her purse before heading out.