his voicemail.
Where the hell was he?
It was the not knowing that killed her. When she’d been with Thomas, everything was so stable. So predictable.
Life with Koenraad was the opposite of that, and whileit had been kinda fun at the beginning, she wasn’t sure she liked it.
She scrolled through her messages and wasn’t surprised to see that Koenraad hadn’t texted.
Dating Thomas had made her feel a lot of things, but pitiful wasn’t one of them. Not until the end, at least. Koenraad had managed to make her feel pathetic in just a handful of days.
She perched on the bike seat and was about topush off when she heard a car approaching. Even though she was already at the extreme side of the road, with nothing but boulders and spiky bushes to her right, she squeezed over a bit more and waited for the car to pass.
But the car was slowing.
Turning, she saw a white luxury sedan with darkly tinted windows. It wasn’t the one Koenraad had been driving the last few days, and she didn’t recognizeit from his garage, but who else would be about to turn into his driveway?
So she waited, but the car didn’t turn. Not Koenraad, then. Could the driver even see her? And if he couldn’t, why was he stopped like that, diagonally across the road?
Goose bumps rose on her arms as the car started rolling again—toward her.
It wasn’t moving fast. Smiling uncertainly, she rolled the bike forward a fewmore feet until the front tire smacked the edge of a jutting boulder.
The car kept coming.
“Watch it!” she screamed. Fear made her voice shrill. She couldn’t believe the driver didn’t see her, but she also couldn’t believe someone would try to deliberately run over a stranger.
She jerked the bike over and pushed off hard just as the car’s engine revved loudly. It lurched forward, missed hernarrowly, and a gust of hot air swarmed over her.
There was nowhere to run, so she pushed off and pedaled as hard as she could. All those hours in spinning class in the gym plus the adrenaline sent her sailing down the road.
She swerved left and heard the car screech after her. It was the most chilling sound she’d ever heard.
She yanked the handlebars to the right.
If she’d been on a betterbike, she might have been able to dodge the car, might have had a chance at eventually reaching the dunes Koenraad had told her about. But she wasn’t nimble enough. She and the bike separated with a violent jolt, and she was flying through the air.
The bushes broke her fall, giving her scratches and gouges instead of broken bones, but she was stunned, and she lay there for a precious few moments,trying to collect herself. Maybe, she thought, if she stayed still, her tormenter would drive away.
But then the car door opened.
Monroe rolled over, heaved herself to her feet. She only caught a glimpse of a slight man—she probably outweighed him—but he was obviously a psycho. The dangerous look on his face said as much.
She ran for her life.
Chapter 6
It was well past sunset by the time Koenraad pulled himself out of the water. He’d been so focused on trying to find even the slightest trace of Brady that he’d skipped eating. He felt it now, the lack of nutrients in his blood, and it was making him sluggish.
Probably had been for hours.
He considered going back into the ocean to feed but decided against it. It had been difficultenough to force himself to abandon his search for the time being.
While he’d been searching, all his attention had been on that task as well as avoiding the sick in the ocean. Now, though, other things were creeping into his awareness. Things far more important than food.
Like Monroe.
He’d lost his phone along with his clothes when he’d jumped off the boat. There wasn’t a land line installedin his house, so he had no way of getting in contact with her. He doubted an extra few minutes would make much of a difference.
Selfishly, he hoped Monroe was more pissed than worried. He could
Where the hell was he?
It was the not knowing that killed her. When she’d been with Thomas, everything was so stable. So predictable.
Life with Koenraad was the opposite of that, and whileit had been kinda fun at the beginning, she wasn’t sure she liked it.
She scrolled through her messages and wasn’t surprised to see that Koenraad hadn’t texted.
Dating Thomas had made her feel a lot of things, but pitiful wasn’t one of them. Not until the end, at least. Koenraad had managed to make her feel pathetic in just a handful of days.
She perched on the bike seat and was about topush off when she heard a car approaching. Even though she was already at the extreme side of the road, with nothing but boulders and spiky bushes to her right, she squeezed over a bit more and waited for the car to pass.
But the car was slowing.
Turning, she saw a white luxury sedan with darkly tinted windows. It wasn’t the one Koenraad had been driving the last few days, and she didn’t recognizeit from his garage, but who else would be about to turn into his driveway?
So she waited, but the car didn’t turn. Not Koenraad, then. Could the driver even see her? And if he couldn’t, why was he stopped like that, diagonally across the road?
Goose bumps rose on her arms as the car started rolling again—toward her.
It wasn’t moving fast. Smiling uncertainly, she rolled the bike forward a fewmore feet until the front tire smacked the edge of a jutting boulder.
The car kept coming.
“Watch it!” she screamed. Fear made her voice shrill. She couldn’t believe the driver didn’t see her, but she also couldn’t believe someone would try to deliberately run over a stranger.
She jerked the bike over and pushed off hard just as the car’s engine revved loudly. It lurched forward, missed hernarrowly, and a gust of hot air swarmed over her.
There was nowhere to run, so she pushed off and pedaled as hard as she could. All those hours in spinning class in the gym plus the adrenaline sent her sailing down the road.
She swerved left and heard the car screech after her. It was the most chilling sound she’d ever heard.
She yanked the handlebars to the right.
If she’d been on a betterbike, she might have been able to dodge the car, might have had a chance at eventually reaching the dunes Koenraad had told her about. But she wasn’t nimble enough. She and the bike separated with a violent jolt, and she was flying through the air.
The bushes broke her fall, giving her scratches and gouges instead of broken bones, but she was stunned, and she lay there for a precious few moments,trying to collect herself. Maybe, she thought, if she stayed still, her tormenter would drive away.
But then the car door opened.
Monroe rolled over, heaved herself to her feet. She only caught a glimpse of a slight man—she probably outweighed him—but he was obviously a psycho. The dangerous look on his face said as much.
She ran for her life.
Chapter 6
It was well past sunset by the time Koenraad pulled himself out of the water. He’d been so focused on trying to find even the slightest trace of Brady that he’d skipped eating. He felt it now, the lack of nutrients in his blood, and it was making him sluggish.
Probably had been for hours.
He considered going back into the ocean to feed but decided against it. It had been difficultenough to force himself to abandon his search for the time being.
While he’d been searching, all his attention had been on that task as well as avoiding the sick in the ocean. Now, though, other things were creeping into his awareness. Things far more important than food.
Like Monroe.
He’d lost his phone along with his clothes when he’d jumped off the boat. There wasn’t a land line installedin his house, so he had no way of getting in contact with her. He doubted an extra few minutes would make much of a difference.
Selfishly, he hoped Monroe was more pissed than worried. He could
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