Page 126 of Rags's Awakening
Casey slumped against the counter, dragging in shaky breaths before dashing upstairs for her phone. She tapped Rags’s number and waited.
Outside, past theglow of the streetlight, the brown-haired man stood half-hidden among the pines, cursing the damned dog. He dug into his jacket, pulled out a lozenge, and unwrapped it—the faint crackle swallowed by the wind. He popped the cherry cough drop into his mouth, the sharp sweetness cutting through the cold. His eyes stayed fixed on her upstairs window, unblinking. When the light finally went dark, he exhaled, a thinplume of vapor slipping through his lips. He slid his hands into his coat pockets, weighing whether to try getting inside, or call it a night. He didn’t like giving up. Quitting meant failure. As he mulled his next move, a snowplow screeched to a halt in front of her house.
The door flew open, and a man jumped out. The strangler’s breath hitched.The biker.Adrenaline surged through his veins when the biker, rather than rushing up to the front door, turned and sprinted straight toward him. Fear sizzled up his spine. He took off running and sliding.
“I know you’re out here, you fucker!”
The biker’s voice cut through the wind.
The predator kept running, tears streaming down his face from the cold, lungs burning, chest pounding. Then he saw his car. “I’m almost there,” he muttered, stepping over a speed bump. He opened the door manually, careful not to draw attention, and a sliver of satisfaction coursed through him when he heard the biker curse after tripping.
He slammed the car door, fired up the engine, and fishtailed into the street, just as the biker’s fist smashed against the trunk. Sweat trickled down the strangler’s back as the car righted itself, his eyes glued to the rearview mirror. When he finally cleared the neighborhood, relief washed over him, followed by bile rising in his throat. The realization hit him hard and fast: the biker was an unexpected obstacle.He’ll try to keep my princess from me.It was a snag in his otherwise meticulous plan, but one that made the hunt more exciting. He would prevail. Failure was never an option.
When he reached Main Street, he flicked on the headlights and headed home, already planning his next move.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rage tore throughRags like a tornado as the car disappeared into the storm. The bastard had been right there. Ten more seconds and Rags would’ve dragged his cowardly ass out of the car and broken his neck.
“Fuck!”
Blowing snow erased the tire tracks in seconds, leaving nothing but darkness and the wind screaming through the trees. Rags stood there for a long moment, fists clenched, his pulse still hammering from the chase. The piece of shit thought he’d outsmarted him, but he hadn’t. Rags recognized the bastard’s car—a Ford Focus—and even though the license plate was half buried under ice and slush, one letter stood out through the blowing snow.
“P,” he muttered. “Hawk’ll find him, then the bastard’s a dead man.” He turned away from the empty street and hurried back to Casey’s townhome.
When Casey opened the door, Rags stepped inside, his eyes sweeping the living room, the hallway, then the kitchen behind her.
“Rags? What happened? I heard you pull up, but when I looked out the window all I saw was the snow plow. I was scared to death something happened to you!”
“I’m good,” he said, moving past her and checking the back door and window locks.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Just making sure your place is secure.” Rags crossed the room to the window. “Is this where you first saw the sonofabitch?” He raised the blinds and stared at the swaying tree branches across the road.
“Do you see someone?”
“Not now. But I did.” He lowered the blinds.
The color drained from Casey’s cheeks. “Who?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.” Anger sizzled inside him. “I almost had the bastard, but he got away.”
“You chased him?”
Rags ran a hand through his wet hair and nodded. “That fucker was watching you.”
“You don’t know that,” she muttered.
He held her gaze. “Yeah. I do.” He saw the fear in her eyes, the way her sweet lips lost their color. He stepped toward her and pulled her into him, his arms locking around her as he held her tight.
She shivered against him. “It’s okay, Case. I’m here. I’ve got your back,” he murmured.
For the space of a long breath, they held each other, the only sound the wind rattling the windows.
“You scared the hell out of me tonight,” he said against her hair.
“I’m okay now that you’re here.”
