Chapter 44
Watched
Kate fastened the last button on her top with a rare sense of calm—her heart lighter somehow. She smoothed her skirt, slipped on her sandals, and checked her phone for messages. Sunlight poured through the windows, casting warm patterns across the floor.
Her body thrummed with a restless energy she desperately needed to burn off. To be extra careful, she drove one of the golf carts from the garage, safe from tampering, and left it parked under Mario’s watchful eye in the lobby driveway.
Breakfast at the Pavilion was as delicious as always. The rich aroma of fresh coffee and buttery pastries filled the air as the easy hum of conversation settled her nerves. She’d savored every bite, letting the meal ground her in the promise of a normal day.
With her stomach full and her spirits higher than they’d been in weeks, Kate decided to walk one of the scenic trails winding through the property.
The resort was famous for its lush beauty, and she wanted to lose herself in it for a while.
In broad daylight, with a security guard trailing her, she’d be perfectly safe.
She gathered her things and headed for the lobby entrance only to switch direction when she spotted Lena at the front desk.
“Good morning, Lena! How are you today?” Kate trilled.
Lena sat back and smiled back. “Good morning, Kate. Aren’t you chipper today? What are you on, and where can I get some?”
Kate laughed, the joyful sound echoing off the marble floors, as she flopped into the chair in front of Lena.
“It’s a secret! But don’t worry, I think you’ll find out yourself soon.” Kate smirked—David had fallen head over heels for Lena, but didn't think she realized it yet. “It’s so beautiful out I thought I’d go for a walk before heading back to write.”
“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Lena hesitated before saying carefully, “I’m glad to see that you are continuing work. You were so depressed the other day; I was afraid you might quit.”
Kate’s heart swelled at the genuine concern in Lena’s voice. “Honestly, I thought about it, but I’m not letting someone scare me away from what I love. I’m going to beat them.”
Kate smirked. “We dissected my contract yesterday and found a loophole. By canceling sales of all my books, and not just the ones under investigation, my publisher breached the terms. That means I get all my rights back.”
Her grin widened, fierce and a little wild. “I’m going to self-publish from here on out. I don’t need those idiots anymore.”
Lena’s eyes shot up. “You can do that? That’s amazing! I’m so thrilled for you!” A sly look crossed her face. “And is a certain resort owner helping with this, by any chance?”
“Maybe.” Kate giggled, addicted to this new effervescent feeling.
“Nick asked one of their attorneys to read my contract to verify our take on it, and she drafted a response for me. My agent sent me copies of the publisher’s official notifications for her to work with.
We met on Zoom for hours yesterday over this! ”
She stretched out her legs before crossing them. “I can’t tell you how free I feel right now. From here on out, the only deadlines and restrictions I’ll have are those I put on myself. I’m not sure why I didn’t do this sooner.”
Lena’s phone rang, so Kate hopped up to go. “I’ll let you get back to work. See you later!”
“Bye, Kate!”
With a quick wave to Lena, she headed outside to find a walking trail, the sun warm on her skin, tropical flowers perfuming the air. Her guard trailed far enough behind her to be easily ignored.
The trail wound through lush greenery and vibrant blooms. Kate wandered at a relaxed pace, drinking in the sight of hibiscus petals unfurling in shades of coral and crimson, their centers dusted with pollen that caught the light like gold dust. The rustling of palm fronds overhead created a gentle susurration, punctuated by the cheerful chirping of invisible birds and the distant, rhythmic susurration of waves against rock.
She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air perfumed by plumeria and something else—something green and alive that made her chest expand with possibility. The knot between her shoulder blades loosened. The constant hum of anxiety that had been her unwelcome companion faded to a whisper.
A smile tugged at her lips. I’m going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out. Nick and I. Together.
The thought of him sent warmth cascading through her veins, different from the sun’s heat on her shoulders but just as real. She could still feel the ghost of his arms around her, the steady thrum of his heartbeat against her cheek as she fell asleep in his embrace.
As she rounded a bend, the trail opened to reveal a breathtaking panorama of the coastline.
The Atlantic stretched out before her in impossible shades of turquoise and sapphire, each ripple catching sunlight and scattering it like scattered diamonds.
The rocky edge of the shore provided a dramatic contrast—ancient stone worn smooth by centuries of patient water, dark and solid against the liquid brilliance beyond.
Kate paused, one hand rising to her chest as if to physically hold the moment inside her heart.
The beauty of it stole her breath, made her eyes prick with sudden, inexplicable tears.
How had she become so numb to wonder? How many years had she spent hunched over her laptop, missing mornings like this one?
Never again. Whatever happens with the books, with the investigation, with everything—she wouldn't forget this wondrous feeling.
But as she stood there, fingers pressed against her sternum, something shifted.
The air changed.
Subtly at first—just a whisper of wrongness that raised the fine hairs on her forearms. The birdsong seemed too distant, as if the creatures had retreated. The breeze that had been tugging at her hair died, leaving the air thick and still against her skin.
A prickling sensation crept up her spine, cold fingers of unease trailing from her tailbone to the base of her skull. The primitive part of her brain—the part that remembered when humans were prey—screamed a single word: watched.
Kate’s breath caught. She knew this feeling. Every woman who’d ever walked a city street at night knew this sizzle of awareness—that electric certainty of hostile eyes tracking your every movement, of being sized up, evaluated as a target.
She turned slowly, trying to appear casual even as her pulse kicked into a faster rhythm. Her eyes swept the trail behind her, cataloging every shadow, every rustling leaf. The security guard stood near the trailhead, perhaps fifty yards back, his attention on his phone rather than on her.
Nothing looked out of place. The hibiscus blooms nodded in their renewed breeze. A lizard skittered across sun-warmed stone. Everything appeared normal, peaceful, safe.
But her body disagreed. Every nerve ending sparked with warning signals. Her palms grew damp. The earlier weightlessness evaporated, replaced by a leaden sensation in her gut that made breathing difficult.
You’re being paranoid. After everything that had happened, it wasn’t surprising she was jumpy. It’s just anxiety. There’s a guard right there. You’re in broad daylight on a resort trail. Nothing's wrong.
But her racing heart didn’t believe the rational words.
Kate attempted to shake off the unease, rolling her shoulders and deliberately turning back toward the view.
She focused on the details—the way the light danced on the water, the salt-sweet taste of the breeze, the distant cry of a seabird.
Grounding techniques. Things her therapist taught her years ago for managing panic attacks.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Note five things you can see. Four things you can touch.
But the sensation only intensified, becoming a heavy weight that pressed against her chest, making each breath a conscious effort.
Her skin stretched too tight. The beautiful morning transformed into something menacing, the shadows beneath the palms suddenly sinister, the rustling leaves now sounding like whispered threats.
The rational part of her brain warred with instinct. She was being ridiculous. Letting fear win. Allowing paranoia to steal this beautiful moment, this hard-won peace.
But her feet were already moving, turning her back toward the resort, back toward safety.
Just as she took the first step, she heard it.
A soft rustle. Too deliberate. Too close.
Behind her.
Every muscle in Kate’s body locked. Time slowed, each heartbeat thundering in her ears like a drum. With excruciating slowness, she turned her head, her breath frozen in her lungs.
A figure emerged from the dense foliage beside the trail, moving with the fluid silence of a predator. Dark clothing. Tall. Male. His face was obscured by shadows and the peak of a dark cap pulled low.
For one crystalline moment, their eyes met.
And Kate knew.
This wasn’t paranoia. This was real.
Terror detonated in her chest, white-hot and absolute. Her brain screamed commands—run, scream, fight—but her body remained frozen, trapped in that terrible moment of recognition.
Then the spell broke.
Kate spun and ran.
Her sandals slapped against the paved trail, the sound loud in her ears. The beach bag slipped from her shoulder, but she didn’t stop. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her lungs burning as adrenaline flooded her system with chemicals meant to save her life.
The guard. Get to the guard. Scream. Run. Run. RUN.
But she’d barely taken three steps when powerful arms seized her.
The impact drove the air from her lungs in a whoosh.
She registered hard muscle, the scratch of fabric against her bare skin, and the overwhelming strength of her attacker as he towed her backward.
Her feet left the ground, sandals flying off as she kicked wildly, her heels connecting with shin, knee, anything she could reach.
A scream built in her throat, clawing its way up from her diaphragm with desperate force.
A gloved hand clamped over her lips, stifling the sound.
Smooth leather covered her mouth, smelling of something chemical and wrong.
Kate twisted her head frantically, trying to dislodge it, her jaw working to open enough to bite down.
Her hands flew up, nails scrabbling at the hand cutting off her scream, finding purchase in the leather and digging deep furrows even though she couldn’t reach skin.
No. No no no no no.
She thrashed with every ounce of strength, her body bucking and writhing in his grip. Her elbow connected with something solid—ribs, maybe—and a grunt of pain sent savage satisfaction through her even as terror continued its icy spread through her veins.
But he was too strong, his movements calculated, controlled, as if he’d done this before. As if she weren’t the first woman he’d dragged from a sunlit path into darkness.
The thought sent fresh horror rushing through her.
He hauled her backward, her heels scraping twin furrows in the dirt as he dragged her off the trail. Branches caught at her clothes, scratched at her exposed skin. A sharp twig knifed across her calf, and pain flared as blood welled hotly.
Where was the guard? Why wasn’t anyone helping her? Could no one hear the struggle, the muffled sounds of her terror?
Kate’s eyes darted wildly, searching desperately for help, for witnesses, for anything. Her vision remained empty. The beautiful morning had betrayed her, its peace a lie. The brilliant blue sky peeked through the canopy, bright and cheerful and utterly indifferent to her suffering.
Please. Please, someone. Anyone.
She tried again to scream against the hand; the sound emerging as nothing more than a desperate, muted whimper that made her eyes burn with frustrated tears.
Her lungs ached for air, but she only managed shallow sniffs through her nose, the scent of leather and chemicals and her own fear-sweat overwhelming.
Then—a sharp pinch on her upper arm, like a wasp sting.
No.
Kate’s eyes flew wide. She looked down and caught a glimpse of a syringe being withdrawn, the metal glinting in a shaft of sunlight before disappearing from view.
No. Please, no.
The fight drained from her body almost immediately, her limbs growing heavy and distant, as if they belonged to someone else. She tried to keep struggling, tried to command her arms to claw, her legs to kick, but the signals wouldn’t translate into movement.
She sank into warm water, wrapped in heavy blankets, drowning in slow motion.
No, I have to fight. Have to stay conscious. Have to—
Her thoughts fragmented, sliding away like silk scarves pulled from her grasp. The world around her softened and blurred, the sharp edges of panic becoming fuzzy and indistinct. The vibrant greens of the foliage bled together. The blue of the sky dimmed.
The hand over her mouth vanished, and she gasped for breath, but her lungs wouldn’t cooperate. Each inhale was shallow, insufficient. Her heart hammered, as if trying to fight off the chemical invasion, but even that desperate rhythm slowed.
Nick!
His presence blazed through her fading consciousness like a flare. His face materialized in her mind’s eye—those intense eyes, the curve of his smile, the way he’d looked at her that morning with such tenderness her chest ached.
She tried to scream his name, to reach for him through the darkness creeping in. Tried to hold on to the memory of his arms around her, the sound of his laugh, the warmth of his lips against her forehead.
Kate?
For one impossible moment, she swore she heard his voice, distant and concerned, echoing as if through water. She tried to answer, to tell him where she was, what was happening, to beg him to find her.
But her mouth wouldn’t work. Her tongue lay thick and useless.
The world tilted and swayed. She was being moved, carried, but she couldn’t tell in which direction. The dappled sunlight through the leaves became a strobe of light and shadow that made her dizzy and nauseous.
Please. Nick. I love you. Please find me. Please.
But it was too late.
The darkness that had been creeping at the corners of her vision rushed in like a wave, overwhelming and absolute. She tried to fight it, tried to cling to consciousness with the same desperation she’d used to claw at her attacker, but it was useless.
The last thing she registered was the sound of water—waves against stone, eternal and indifferent—a sound that had been beautiful moments ago and now sung a haunting melody that followed her down into the void.
Then there was nothing.