Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
He’d watched Clara and that Hazel woman’s house last night but the timing wasn’t right to take Clara. So he’d driven away, deciding to wait until she gave birth.
Tension knotted his neck. Dana Jo Glasser was more of a threat.
He wanted to snatch the kid and Dana Jo now. His hands itched to grab her. His skin tingled. Need hammered in his body.
He’d watched her for months. Stood outside her window at night and seen her toss and turn and cry as he stared through her window.
Last night she’d buried herself under the bed covers, sobbing like an insane person. Because of him.
He’d been overcome with laughter and had to hide his face in his coat, so she didn’t hear him through the window. Of course, the heavy wind had helped drown out the noise. It would also help camouflage her screams if he snatched her.
Had she remembered what happened? Would she recognize him if she saw him face-to-face?
He paced behind a row of pines. Dammit, there were too many people here though to make a move. And with the posters of Iris Benton’s picture on every light post and tree and even the fence, it was too dangerous. Moms and dads and grandparents were stuck to their kids like glue.
Dana Jo was scanning the crowd though. She didn’t get out much. She had memory issues. Lived in constant fear.
She was his one and only mistake. He’d never expected her to survive.
But she had.
And now she could be the death of him. Unless he killed her first.
He was going to make that happen. Nothing was going to interrupt his mission.
Especially her.
The little girl was running toward the woods chasing a butterfly. He stood in the shadows, anxious to get his hands on her. She’d be better off without her mother.
Dana Jo screamed the child’s name, turning in a wide circle to survey her surroundings, panic in her eyes and voice.
The moment she spotted Lou Lou, Dana Jo sprinted after her. Once, Dana Jo had been an athlete. A soccer champ.
Before her accident. That’s when the pain pills had hooked her on opioids.
He slipped deeper into the woods behind a massive oak tree and watched the sweat begin to trickle down the sides of her face.
Saw the pain and terror in her eyes. She’d lost her speed and agility.
One hand rubbed at her back. She hesitated a second, then inhaled and began to limp, refusing to slow down.
“Lou Lou, stop!” Dana Jo shouted.
The little girl tripped and fell in the grass. The butterfly flew on.
Dana Jo caught up with Lou Lou, scooped the crying child into her arms and hugged her fiercely. He gritted his teeth, wishing like hell the park would suddenly empty and he could take her and the kid now.
Then Dana Jo seemed to look straight at him.
His spine tingled as he remembered how soft and tempting her skin felt to his touch.
How her eyes had blurred with tears and the side effects of the drugs when he’d thrown her to the ground.
How her scream had boomeranged off the mountain, music to his ears.
He hadn’t forgotten her for a second. And soon she’d be his again.
His head throbbed with the incessant sound of the voices. He wanted to save them. He wanted to punish them. His mission would never end…