When she slept, he worked out. He tried to tire himself out by doing every muscle exercise he had been taught, any that could be done while standing watching her apartment. He found out he could be a shadow. It came as a shock as he was pushing his muscles. He was watching her when suddenly she burst out of her door. She was in running clothes as she rushed across the street, running straight at him. He was in the dark at the corner, but if she came within just a few more feet she would see him
—and
he shadowed.
He was so shocked that he lost her for minutes before he realized she was running in the night streets alone. He was not following to protect her. He grasped what he’d been carrying and floated forward until he finally saw her. He formed and followed, treading lightly so she wouldn’t hear his footsteps.
But the run was short. She returned without an incident, except she stopped at her doorway, stood for a breath, then turned to look around. She just stood looking slowly. He knew she was looking for him
—
she was looking for a watcher. She had good instincts. He needed to report this also.
During the next day, while she was working, his phone vibrated.
“Yes, Lord?”
“Deck, what if I say I am going to fire you if you don’t start calling me Alex unless we are in formal conditions.”
He held his breath. He would do anything for this beautiful Lord. He had put his life on the line already and expected to have died. It was this Lord who had kept him alive, when any other would have let him go to the light as his body turned to dust. It was against all the warrior training that had been beat into him.
“I will call you Alex, sire.”
“Thank you, now do you have anything unusual to report?”
“Yes, uh, Alex, this female has some instincts that are close to those of a warrior. She knows she is being watched, even though I know I have been careful so that she has not seen me.” He waited to see what his Lord would make of this.
“Deck, this only confirms that the female is probably important. I want you to start pushing her. Let her see you, let her know you are watching. If she confronts you, admit you are there to protect her. Also, we are going to need a blood sample. Hell, we don’t care how you get it. Knock her out, accidentally cut her, sneak into her apartment while she sleeps. The blood is important. Just use your muscles, pick her up, slit her wrist and get us a sample.”
“Sire
—
Alex
—
will this not frighten the female? She might do something unexpected.”
Alex did not respond.
Alex smiled as he, he could hear a different tone in the Vamps voice instead of the usual monotone. Maybe Deck was coming alive at last. The Gods play their games.
Chapter Five
She was working in the office this week. Sally was on vacation, so they needed a volunteer to fill in. She knew the ins and outs of the inventory system better than anyone else.
She talked to Tony, who was complaining. He had two guys with him. He told her that together they couldn’t keep up with her. She laughed. She told him she would get his items together. She would have them ready when he came by to do a pick up.
She finished in the office early and walked over the two blocks to the garages that held their supplies. She used the keypad to punch in the code to get into the electronic gate. She went to the second garage, punched in the code and waited for the door to open. Now she could go to work. She pulled out one of the plastic grab boxes and walked between the metal shelves, pulling out the items Tony needed. She got the grab box full and took it back to the battered desk at the front to leave it for Tony. She set it down, looked up
—and
froze, not even breathing.
The big guy was across the cement driveway between the garage sections, leaning up against a closed door. He had his arms over his big chest, his shiny black boots crossed, one over the other, just standing looking at her. No expression, dark eyes with no reflection, no muscles in his jaw moving.
She gripped the box as she looked at him, uncertain what to do. She was trapped in the storage unit. The open garage door was the only way out. These units were twenty-foot side-by-side storage bins the size of a normal garage, with a single large overhead door on each. An identical unit was across the driveway. If you drove down along the end there were a number of the long storage rows. It was a typical self-storage rental development.
She hadn’t heard anyone else and she hadn’t heard him come in. If he drove, she hadn’t heard the vehicle. She tried to decide what would be the best option. She thought first it might help to start breathing again. She hesitated, waited to see what he was going to do.
What he did totally surprised her. He dipped his head to her, stood up, and walked away. She stood on weak legs, feeling as if she had just been missed by a tractor trailer rig, then lived through a life threatening auto accident. She shook her head, stepped around the desk and went out to look in the direction he had gone. Nothing.
Sure, he just shows up, but he can just disappear.
Okay, now what should she do?
She closed up the unit, then on shaky legs slowly walked out front to the bus stop. She looked around, but saw no tall dark curly head. She took her usual bus ride, got off, and went through the QuickMart. At the checkout, she was careful to make sure no guy who was a walking advertisement for Gold’s Gym was lurking, but there was no one out of the ordinary. There were only the regular people. A skinny guy was grinning his face off at her. Still, when she reached her front door, she could swear someone was watching her every move.
So she spent an uncomfortable evening thinking about what was happening to her. She had a very dangerous guy stalking her. Should she go to the police? Why not? So the next day, after making a call in the afternoon and setting up an appointment for five pm, she headed over to a local precinct.
The female detective made her feel comfortable and called in her partner, an older man who probably was near retirement. “So let’s ask the basic questions first. Please answer truthfully, as it will help us. Do you know the man?”
“No.”
“So he is not someone you have ever dated or some relative to you or a friend from your past.?”
“No.” She stayed calm.
“Has he spoken to you or made any direct threat?”
“No.”
“Have you received any unusual mail or cards, anything like that, at home or at work?”
“No.”
“Has he approached you?”
She thought about this. “Well. only once that we actually got close.”
“And what happened? Did he touch you, did he say anything, was there a threat or a profession of love?”
Okay, she could see that this wasn’t going to be very good. “No. he helped me pick up an apple. Another couple of times he just watched me and went away.”
“Can you give us a description?”
“Well, he is about six foot four or five, very muscular, like those guys on the wrestling shows. Like maybe he works out at a gym or something. Probably weighs two-twenty or more. He has dark, almost black curly hair that he wears a little long, dark eyes, a strong jaw and a scar through one eyebrow, the right one.”
The woman detective looked at her for a moment. “Would you say he was attractive?”
She had been looking down at her hands, but she now looked up, surprised. “Well, yes, I guess he is handsome, but not in a cute way, more in a scary way.” She looked at them. “What happens next?”
“Well, we talk to your neighbors, people on the street, to see if we can get a lead on him. If we can chase him down, we will have a talk with him, warn him off. Right now he has not done enough to let us arrest him, but we could bring him in for questioning. The guy you described would stand out. So let us see what we find out. We will get back with you in a day or two.”
She signed the proper papers, then left the station, not feeling reassured. They gave her all the standard warnings
—
don’t go out alone, keep the doors locked, etc. But what other choice did she have?
She went to work, cleaned her apartment on the weekend and waited. She still had the feeling she was still being watched. She didn’t see him, but she knew he was out there.
It was the following Monday, as she was coming up to her door with her case hung over her shoulder. She had one plastic bag from QuickMart, when she heard her name called from the curb. In a car were the two detectives. She smiled, inviting them in, but they refused.
This time the man spoke for the pair. “We have talked to your neighbors. We spoke to everyone we could find, up and down the street. We talked to the workers at the QuickMart. They all remember you, the pretty blond lady. But no one remembers seeing the big guy you described. It is strange, because someone with his build and looks would stand out. Seems someone would have seen him.”
She stood on the steps looking down on them. “What does this mean?”
“Well, we can’t do much until we can find some trace of the man. Maybe you could make sure the next time you see him, that one of your neighbors sees him, or get a photo of him on your cell, or something. Anyways, we will follow up if we hear anything. We left our cards with a lot of people. Maybe someone will call.” They slowly turned away. She was left watching their car pull away.
Okay, that was a dead end. Now she had a giant stalking her that only she could see. Nice. Maybe it was just in her mind. Maybe he was new to the neighborhood and she was over reacting to someone who was harmless but just a little strange. So why did she feel threatened?
Tony looked at her at the end of the next work day. “You know, you look like hell. Was working in the office last week too much for you, or are you just not sleeping?”
“You know, Tony, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a month. I need the exercise, but I only ran one time and the streets are so bad now.”
“Hey, a bunch of us are headed out to the wild outdoors, actually a state park, set aside for camping, walking. You know, just doing the outdoors. Come along.”
“Gee Tony, sounds great, but I don’t have any gear.”
“Look, no problem. I can bring along one of the kids pup tents, since this is adults only. Just fill your backpack with non-spoilable food. Chip in money for the water and drinks. Dig out your walking shoes and sleep in your sweats. We all stink when we come back, really looking forward to our first shower, as if we thought we were real pioneers.”
“Well, if you’re sure I’m not going to be intruding, I think I would love to come.”
Chapter Six
The van pulled up early Saturday. She came out, dressed in jeans and laced up walking shoes, carrying a backpack and a case. The five in the van got out. There were greetings, then introductions. Her items were put inside as everyone loaded up so the vehicle could get moving. There was already a feeling of fun and relaxation.
This was not her normal routine. He was not going to let her out of his sight. Deck decided he would need his vehicle, so he quickly found his black SUV with the dark tinted windows. With it he could follow them, keeping cars between them.
For Mis and her group, the afternoon was spent on setting up their camp site, building the fire, eating dinner, and getting to know each other. Mis sat listening to the talk of the old friends. The other extra woman was evidently a part of their group as she joined them in friendly kidding. So there were two couples and two women, and she was fine with this.
The next morning they split up, some walking but some going canoeing. The canoes had been advertised farther back on the entry road. Mis went walking because she just needed to relax by using her muscles. They all agreed to meet back around one. They would have lunch, then they could settle down for a nap or sunshine. The morning went as planned. After lunch Mis was too restless. The fresh air was too enticing, so she didn’t join the ones who settled down on the folding camp chairs.
She took off in a different direction, upward onto the cliff side. She had walked for about an hour. She was deep in the woods, finding herself leaning forward as she was pushing up a steep incline over a ridge that was covered with brush. She got to the top and stood upright to find that there was a break in the trees. She got a view of the valley below. It was quiet, serene, and left her totally swept away by the scene.
She stopped, looked around, then found a seat on an outcropping of rocks. She actually scooted out to where she could hang her feet over the drop off. She just watched a large bird ride the air off to one side. She leaned sideways against an outcropping. She actually closed her eyes, feeling the sun along with the warm breeze that was cooler than in the city.
“Not a safe place to fall asleep.”
The deep voice was right behind her. She knew better than to jerk around or move too fast. She knew where she was, on the edge of a precipice. The only way to go was back, yet he was behind her. She sat up slowly, taking a deep breath. She looked over her shoulder. He was very near her, down on his heels, one foot slightly in front of the other.
He was as she remembered him. He was dressed a little different. He had on shitkickers and black cargo pants with a black tee shirt. He had one arm over his higher knee. He was just waiting there, looking at her with those amazing dark eyes. Those eyes, this close, were too much to stare back at
—
they had seen too much, done too much, and that was why the face didn’t smile.