The Agent
Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong!
I groaned as the sound of the doorbell jolted me out of yet another nightmare.
All night, I’ve been falling in and out of sleep.
Rather than experiencing sweet dreams whenever I fell deep enough into R.E.M.
sleep, clips of the other night played in my head.
I experienced my heart nearly beating out of my chest, my feet scraping against the twigs on the forest floor, and his taunting voice in my ear all over again.
Each time, I jolted awake, sitting up in a cold sweat.
Gabriel eased me back to sleep after each occurrence.
After we’d checked up on Justin who was thankfully alive and snuggled into a drug-induced sleep in his bed, he insisted on staying over to keep an eye on me.
He lay close to me in bed and let me clutch on to him like a child would their teddy bear.
With every nightmare, he pulled me back against his chest and rubbed my back.
“It’s alright,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re alright. ”
I appreciated the gesture, but I hated looking so weak. This wasn’t the first time I’ve been in a hostage situation, so I didn’t understand why my mind was having such an intense reaction. If I was going to face him again, I really needed to get it together.
“I’ve got it,” Gabriel murmured, drowsiness dripping from his voice.
Peeking at him through a half-lidded gaze, I noticed his eyes weren’t even open. He’d probably gotten even less sleep than I did, worrying over me. Frowning, I pushed myself up. “No,” I told him. “You rest. I was about to wake up again, anyway.”
Too tired to argue, Gabriel gave me a groggy nod.
I slipped out of bed and padded down the steps. I peeked through the peephole to see a delivery man standing on the front porch with a huge vase filled with flowers. My brows pinched together as I cracked the door open. “May I help you?” I asked.
“I have a floral delivery for Simone Nichols,” he explained, holding out the vase. “Instructions specifically said to hand-deliver at the door.”
“Who are they from?”
He shrugged. “I just handle the deliveries.”
Reluctantly, I opened the door wider and accepted the flowers. “Thank you.”
“Have a nice day,” he said, offering one last polite smile.
I raised a brow as I kicked the door shut and carried the flowers into the kitchen. Admittedly, the bouquet was beautiful. Large spots of fuchsia and burnt orange sat between tiny pops of soft purple and light red.
Curious, I plucked the note card peeking out from the side of the vase. It was typed, courtesy of the florist company.
Agent Nichols,
Thank you for a memorable evening.
I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Sincerely,
Your Secret Admirer
“This motherfucker,” I swore under my breath. I almost questioned how he knew where I lived, but remembered his words from last night.
He’d done his research. He had my schedule, my address…maybe even photos of my family, my friends - my life.
Half of me wanted to sink down to the floor in defeat. The other half dared him to show up on my doorstep. Give him a piece of what he’s really asking for.
I set the card back on the holder and retreated back to my room.
“Who was it?” Gabriel asked as I walked through the door.
“Delivery guy.” I grabbed my phone as I climbed back under the covers.
Gabriel watched me fidget with the screen, his brow raising. “What are you doing?”
“Ordering surveillance cameras,” I replied. “I’m going to need lots of them.”