Cynthia Eden - Fear For Me

“Forget it. I don’t need protection.” Her hands fisted. “I’m leaving town. I got me a new boyfriend, and we’re leaving after my shift tonight. There won’t be no more people staring down their noses at me. Whispering. I’m leaving .”

Lauren didn’t blame her. She was surprised Stacy had stayed around so long. “Why haven’t you left before?”

“My boyfriend didn’t want to leave. He had a job he was doin’, but it’s over, and we can go now.” Stacy pushed back her hair. “After my shift, I’m free .”

Stacy tried to slide around Lauren. Lauren moved a few inches to block her path. “He killed two people to escape, and he’s already killed a woman since getting out.”

Stacy blanched.

“He stabbed her, sliced her, and left her body broken.” I’m so sorry, Karen. Nausea rolled in Lauren’s stomach. “So think about this. Please think about this. Has he called you? Sent you any notes? Have you seen him—maybe even seen someone who looked like him?” He would have tried to disguise himself after he got out of prison.

“No.” Stacy straightened her thin shoulders. “Now I got to get back to work. I want you both to stay away from me.” She hurried away from them.

The door slammed behind her.

Lauren slowly turned to face Anthony. “Do you think she’s lying?”

“I think she’s scared out of her mind.”

So did Lauren. “She figured he’d never get out.” She pushed back her hair. “Now she’s running scared, and she’s about to run fast and hard.” I don’t blame you, Stacy. I’d want to run, too.

A very big part of her did want to run, but she couldn’t.

“I’ll do a sweep around the bar, talk to the bartenders, the waitresses,” Anthony said as his gaze left her. “If Walker comes within a hundred feet of this place, I want to know.”

Right. Sounded like a good plan.

She stepped forward and found that Anthony’s assessing green gaze had come back to her. “You’re good at your mask,” he said.

She was very much afraid her mask was about to break.

“Good at playing it cool so no one sees what you really feel.”

It had taken years to develop that mask, but when there was no choice, she’d learned to adapt. Clearing her throat, she managed, “I’ll have to tell the cops about the necklace.” Walker had always liked to take jewelry from his victims. Necklaces seemed to be his first choice, but if the vic wasn’t wearing a necklace, then he took earrings or rings. Something small. Easy to carry. “We’ll see if we can get a team to search for it—”

“Like right now,” he cut through her words, “you’re still wearing the mask. I can’t tell if you’re angry or scared or if you don’t fucking feel a thing.”

She didn’t so much as blink. “I guess you don’t know me well.” But then, hadn’t that always been their problem? He saw her surface, nothing more. The way most people did.

The music rose again, and they swept back into the club. Lauren searched the crowd, and saw no sign of Walker. No sign at all. When they questioned the patrons, no one in Easy Street remembered seeing him.

As she walked back out into the night, a small shiver slid over Lauren’s skin. Anthony was wrong. She felt—plenty. Right then, she was feeling very afraid. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the killer was close, too close, just playing with them as he waited for his vengeance, ready to strike at any moment.

The marshal and the DA left the club. They skulked around, did their talking and questioning bit, and then they finally left. He noted the vehicle they were using because he’d be seeing it again.

He had plans. So many plans.

While he’d sat in prison, he’d had nothing but time on his hands. Plenty of time to figure out just what he’d do when he got out.

He hung back, waiting in the shadows. And when midnight finally came, he rode his motorcycle closer to Easy Street. Not too close. He figured the marshal and his cop friends had probably ordered some undercover patrols in the place. He wasn’t stupid.

Stacy was.

She burst from the back of the club, rushing fast, nearly falling in her high heels. Then she was there with him, jumping on the motorcycle. His helmet hid his face from her, but Stacy—she’d always trusted him.

Stupid.

Her arms locked around him. “Let’s get out of here!”

He revved the bike. Didn’t take her toward the main road. He took her back along the twisting trails near the bayou. The trails that only a few knew.

The marshal didn’t know about them.

Neither did the DA.

“Where are we going?” Stacy’s voice shouted in his ear. He hated her voice. It grated every time she spoke. Had her drawl always been so thick? “I thought we were hittin’ the interstate.”

He kept driving. They weren’t far enough away, not yet.

Her hold tightened. “Ben? Ben, stop the bike!”

He didn’t stop.

Because he wasn’t fucking Ben.

Anthony took Lauren back to his hotel. Her brows climbed as she glanced at the tall, well-lit building, then she looked back at him. “You’re not staying with the cop,” he said. Just so they were clear. He wanted to be very clear on that point.

“I planned to get a room of my own after I get my clothes and everything else I need.” Her voice was so cool. How did she do it? How did she always stay in such perfect control?

He jumped from the vehicle. Hurried around to her side. The valet took the keys and Anthony took her arm. “Your bags are waiting upstairs.” He’d made sure everything would be ready for her.

And that her room would connect to his.

Surprisingly, she didn’t argue as he led her through the hotel and into the elevator. He did notice that her gaze cut to the stop button on the elevator’s control panel.

His lips curved. “Don’t worry,” he told her, “we’ll head straight up.”

Her gaze came back to him. The walls of the elevator were mirrored, reflecting her image at every turn. She should have looked exhausted.

She didn’t.

“From where I stand, you’re the priority,” he told her, and it was the truth. The killer had been in her house. He’d had a picture of Lauren in his cell.

She was the one he wanted—the one Anthony would make sure Walker didn’t get. He’d stay close to Lauren, and when Walker came, the killer would have to face him.

I will take you down.

“The judge has protection,” Anthony said as the elevator rose. “And so do you.”

The elevator dinged and its doors opened. He’d actually cleared this floor for his men, and for the rest of the task force that would be arriving soon. With word of Walker’s escape, the FBI had immediately jumped in the hunt, too. They were sending two agents to join the marshals, agents who’d probably enter a pissing match with the local cops—it was the usual way of things.

He pulled out a key card and opened Lauren’s room. “You’ll be safe here.” They were on the top floor, the best for security.

She glanced around the room. Her suitcase waited at the foot of the bed. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything.” Her head tilted. “Just when did you make these plans? I don’t remember you calling anyone from the courthouse.”

When the jerk cop had offered her a room at his place.

“I made the arrangements while you were talking to some of the waitresses at Easy Street.” Covering his bases was the only smart plan.

She gave a faint nod.

He locked the main door. Made sure to put the extra bolts in place.

“What are you doing?” Lauren demanded. Her voice wasn’t so calm right then. It had definitely edged up an octave or two.