“It’s him,” he breathed, grabbing his phone. “It’s fucking him! What’s the bastard’s last name?”
***
Katherine forced herself to open her eyes, even though her head was pounding viciously. She unconsciously reached up and touched her jaw, wincing in pain as she did; knowing that there was most likely one hell of a bruise there. Dear God, he had knocked her senseless.
“I didn’t want to have to do that, Katie,” Jeff’s voice drifted across the room as Katherine looked around frantically. She was lying on a bed, surrounded by vases full of white lilies, their overpowering scent filling the air and making her head spin as her stomach lurched. She could hear the faint sound of that song as it played softly from somewhere off in the distance, and her body turned to ice.
“Jeff, please…” she sobbed, her voice trembling frantically.
“It’s not Jeff!’ he suddenly screamed, making his way over to the bed and sitting down beside her. She instantly stiffened, not wanting him anywhere near her. The man was a maniac! “You don’t even know me, do you?” he spit out, his eyes narrowing with fury. “But then again–why would you? You always felt that you were too good for anyone! The perfect little Ice Queen,” he snarled.
“Jeff…” she croaked, terror seizing her insides. What was he talking about?
“I told you, it’s not Jeff!” His fingers wrapped around her arm painfully as he jerked her up closer to his face. “Alex,” he hissed. “I’m fucking Alex!”
Katherine felt the blood drain from her face as her body began to vibrate. Oh, dear God! It couldn’t be! No! No! No!
“You never would even give me the time of day, Katie,” he rasped, his eyes boring into hers. “I knew I loved you from the first moment that I saw you walking down those halls at school. I knew you were different. I knew you were mine! But, no…not you! You were too good to even see me–always rushing away from me whenever I tried to talk to you. Then finally…finally, you agreed to go out with me, and I thought this is it! You’ll finally realize that we were meant to be together. You would finally know that you belonged to me. But no! You wouldn’t even kiss me good night that night! The damned Ice Queen strikes again!” His words came out guttural, laced with fury. “You just kept freezing me out!”
“Oh, my God,” Katherine whispered, her throat constricting painfully. “But…but he ran you off of the road,” she choked out, unable to believe that this was actually happening. This just couldn’t be! This had to be a nightmare!
Alex laughed, his eyes gleaming. “Jesus, Katie! Are you that dense? I ran myself off of that road! There was no crazed maniac! I needed you to worry about me–to be afraid of losing me. I needed you to realize how much I meant to you!” He stood and stalked across the room, turning back a moment later to glare at her. “But you…you didn’t even come to the hospital to see me! You wrote me off like I was worthless…like I was nothing!” he bellowed, his body shaking with his anger.
“You killed my mother,” she rasped.
“Yeah, well. That was unfortunate,” he replied evenly. “I wasn’t really expecting that bitch to come nosing around downstairs before I had the chance to get to you.” He shrugged slightly.
“The other girls,” she breathed, feeling as if the oxygen was being sucked from the room. “Why?”
Alex walked back over to her and leaned down, his eyes locking with hers, and recognition finally hit Katherine hard. Yes, it was Alex. He had matured, bulked up…changed his hair style, the color, and now sported a neatly trimmed beard and glasses…but it was him. Oh, dear God. It was him.
“They were just practice,” he murmured, his lips twisting up in a grin. “Although, I do have to admit that I really did enjoy what I did with them. But they were just a way to pass the time until I finally had you. Christ, Katie. I’ve followed you around forever! Just waiting for my chance,” he sighed, shaking his head slowly. “I was hoping that you would come to care for Jeff in time, but no. You were still that cold bitch that you always were; distancing yourself from me…always keeping everyone around you at arm’s length. Then, you had to go and fall into bed with that piece of shit Detective!” He spat out in disgust.
Katherine’s heart ached so painfully at the mention of Cole that she found it hard to breathe. She would never see him again. Never feel his arms around her…and her sob finally broke free with a vengeance, knocking what little air she had left in her lungs out with a whoosh.
“Don’t you cry for him!” he screamed, his face turning red. “He doesn’t deserve you! You belong to me! All these years of you disappearing–of having to find you time and time again…no! He doesn’t get you! You’re mine!”
***
Cole’s phone vibrated as he and Ben made their way back to the station at breakneck speed. He had their best IT guy working on getting him an address for that piece of shit, and was hoping this was what he was waiting for.
“Ken?” he answered, his hand gripping the wheel to the point that his knuckles were turning white. Not long now you son of a bitch. I freaking got you! I’ve got you!
“Cole,” his Captain’s harried voice on the other end of the line caused an instant wrenching to hit him directly in the gut.
“Captain,” he ground out, not sure that he wanted to know why Mike would be calling him now.
“Cole, we…we can’t get a hold of Samuels,” Mike replied miserably, and Cole felt every nerve ending in his body snap. “I have guys on the way over to your house, but…I wanted you to know.”
“Fuck!” Cole roared as he slammed on the brakes and spun the car around, heading towards home–where he silently prayed over and over again Katherine was, and that she was safe and sound. But when her cell phone went unanswered, he felt as if his heart was being ripped right out through his chest. He had never before experienced such complete, gut wrenching fear.
***
Katherine’s eyes frantically darted around the room as she tried desperately to find anything that she could possibly use as a weapon. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get away from this madness once and for all. This was it. This was the end of it all. No more running…no more jumping at shadows. She knew who her nightmare was and she was going to fight him with everything that she had to get her life back–and to be able to spend the rest of it with the man that she loved. No more being afraid. No more running. It ended now. After almost ten years…it ends.
“Thinking about trying something stupid, Katie?” Alex asked, his mouth lifting up at the corners in a smug grin. “Don’t bother. I’m always a step ahead of you. Jesus, no one even suspected me that night in the shop. What a bunch of ignorant bastards. You were so concerned about me afterwards. I do have to admit, slamming my head into the wall did hurt…but damn if it wasn’t worth it. You are worth it.”
“You know that you’re insane, don’t you?” she asked softly, meeting his eyes with a look of defiance. “I don’t know what happened to you to make you like this,” she went on, refusing to back down from him. She was so done. So damn done with being a coward. “But I’m sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry that whatever happened to you twisted you like this.”
“You happened to me!” he screamed, grabbing her arm and pulling her from the bed. “You just wouldn’t love me!”
Katherine took a deep breath and held his gaze. “No, Alex. What you’ve done was your own doing. It isn’t my fault. You’re right. I don’t love you…and I never will.”
She watched as a muscle in his face twitched and he glowered at her. Finally, after what seemed an eternity to her, he spoke, his voice low and determined.
“We’ll see,” he whispered. “Come on, Katie, it’s time to move on.” With that he pulled her towards the closet and grabbed a suitcase from it. “We’ll have to get you some new clothes once we get settled,” he informed her softly, and Katherine felt her stomach drop to her feet.
***
Cole flew into the driveway and slammed his car into park, rushing to the house. Th
e front door stood open as officers searched and Cole felt his entire body tremble when there was no sign of Katherine at all, just a deathly silence that shook him to his core.
Ben came up behind him, his mouth set in a tight, worried line. The man looked positively green. Cole turned as his partner rested his hand on his shoulder. “Samuel’s dead,” he whispered to him, and Cole felt full-fledged panic hit him straight to the chest, knocking the damn air from his lungs.
One of the officers walked over to them, his expression grim. “Everything’s clear. No one’s in the house,” he informed them quietly. “I’m sorry, Detective.”
Cole’s cell vibrated and he quickly answered, a small part of him praying that it was Katherine. That she had gotten out before…he stopped the thought cold. He would find her! And she would be alive!
“Mac, I got the slippery son of a bitch,” Ken rushed out proudly. “This motherfucker is a tricky little bastard…I’ll give him that, but not fricking tricky enough.”
“Send the address to my phone,” Cole barked, turning back toward the door. He stopped and turned back towards Ben. “We’ve fucking got him,” he growled and took off back to his car. He heard Ben shout his name, but ignored it. He needed to get to Katherine before it was too late.
***
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Alex,” Katherine informed him stubbornly, trying so hard to keep the tremor from her voice. No more!
He turned his face towards her very slowly…his eyes glassy with his madness, and Katherine had that instant moment of clarity when she realized that she was going to die like the other girls. He was not going to keep her alive. This man may have believed in his sick, twisted mind that he loved her…that he wanted her with him…but he enjoyed killing much too much to let her live. In the years since this entire nightmare had begun, he had developed an appetite for the death that he caused. That’s what now gave him pleasure–watching the life drain out of these women who looked so much like her. So, it was only a matter of time before he would realize that taking the life of the one who he had chased for all these years would be the ultimate thrill of pleasure for him. And she shuddered at the thought of what he would do to her in the time that it took for that realization to sink in. There was just no going back for him. He enjoyed the kill. He got off on the power he held over life and death. He got off on the power that he thought he held over her.
Katherine’s jaw tightened as they made their way down the stairs, her lips set in a tight line of determination. She quickly glanced around his neat and tidy living room. Everything looked so normal. No one would ever expect that there was a true monster living here.
When they reached the bottom Katherine stopped, refusing to move. It ended now. She was done with being afraid. She was done with running away and hiding. She would not let this monster break her! For the first time in her life she had something worth fighting for, and damned if she wasn’t going to fight with all she was worth.
Alex yanked on her arm, his eyes narrowing as his fingers squeezed. “Come on,” he ground out, but Katherine held fast, shaking her head firmly. She knew that this ended here, and her heart clenched when she thought of Cole. She loved him so much, and it killed her to think that they might never have a chance.
“I’m done, Alex,” she whispered, her chin lifting in defiance, her spine rigid as she stared him down. No more being afraid.
Before Katherine could even think to react, his hand shot out and made contact with her cheek, sending an explosion of white, blinding pain slamming through her where his hand landed on her already bruised and battered jaw. She fell to the floor with a resounding thud, her eyes blurring as she fought to stave off the wave of nausea overtaking her. She would not break!
“When, Katie,” he hissed, his eyes blazing. “When will you understand that we belong together? That no matter how hard you try to fight it, we belong to one another!”
Katherine pulled herself up, her gaze not wavering from his for a single moment. “We don’t,” she replied softly, trying desperately to keep her head from spinning. “You and I are nothing,” she whispered, her voice getting stronger as her fury at this man rushed forward. He had ruled and controlled her entire life for the past ten years and she wasn’t going to allow him to do that anymore.
If Cole had shown her anything in these past few weeks, it was that she was stronger than she had ever thought she could be. His love had given her the confidence to finally face her nightmare head on.
Alex growled at her, his lips turning up in a vicious snarl as he pulled her against his body. “We are destined, Katie,” he whispered against her ear, the heat from his body radiating off of him, and she felt her stomach tighten. “We are everything. Where I end–you begin. Don’t you see that?”
“No, Alex. I don’t see that at all. All I see is a pitiful, delusional man who fixated on someone who never had any feelings for him–a man who hides in the shadows like a coward and kills innocent women. I see a monster. Someone who makes my stomach turn and my skin crawl…someone who I am no longer afraid of. You hold no power over me anymore, Alex. I was lucky enough to find real love for the first time in my life.”
Alex roared, throwing her across the room. “No!” he screamed, rushing over and glaring down at her. “You belong to me!”
His head whipped around as the sound of screeching tires filled the air and Katherine felt her body seize up on her. Oh, God…no! It couldn’t be…
Alex stormed over to the window, glancing out only a moment before rushing back to her and pulling her to her feet. He reached behind him and pulled a large hunting knife from the waistband of his jeans, pressing it firmly against her neck.
“It seems that your Knight has arrived,” he murmured, his voice deadly low and even, and Katherine felt a shiver run across her. “We could have been out of here, Katie,” he taunted as she heard a car door slam. “But you had to fight me, didn’t you? And now, because of your stubbornness…he’s going to die.”
***
Cole pulled his weapon as he ran blindly up to the house, kicking the door in without any preamble whatsoever. He burst into the room like a tornado, only to find Katherine, bruised and bleeding, being held in that maniacs arms; a knife to her throat and a wicked smile on the fuckers face. He felt his rage consume him. He wanted this bastard dead! He needed it.
“Ah, Detective,” Alex laughed softly, his hold on Katherine tightening. “I was hoping that we could have avoided all of this, but I’m afraid that Katie was being a bit…difficult. I guess I’ll just have to work a little harder to break her of this stubborn streak.”
Cole’s eyes met Katherine’s and his jaw clenched. “Let her go,” he ground out, much more calmly than he thought he would. He wanted to kill this son of a bitch. It was deep, raw…powerful. He had never wanted anything more. It was so blinding that a small part of him worried that he would act rashly and make a mistake. He ground his teeth together as he tried to keep his head clear. He wouldn’t mess this up!
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Alex tittered. “I do need you to drop your weapon though.”
Katherine ever so slightly shook her head at Cole, her eyes locking with his in desperation. “Don’t,” she croaked, her voice nothing more than a low, pitiful whisper. She knew that if he did, Alex would kill him in an instant, without even thinking about it. “End this now, Cole.”
Cole’s blood turned to ice as realization dawned on him. She wasn’t planning on walking away from this! Fuck! She was going to sacrifice herself to end this once and for all.
“Katherine…don’t” Cole breathed, silently begging her–pleading with her not to do this.
“Drop the gun, Detective,” Alex once again commanded.
“Take the shot,” Katherine said softly, her tone stronger now…resigned, and she gave him a sad smile, her eyes conveying the love that she felt. “Cole, you need to stop him once and for all. Take the shot.” There would be no more blood on her hands.
“Katherine, please,” Cole whispered as he lifted his hands in the air and carefully set his gun down on the floor.
“That wasn’t so hard, now was it, Detective?” Alex asked softly, his eyes locking with Cole’s in silent challenge. “Now, if you would be so kind as to kick that over here, please.”
“Cole, please…don’t do it,” Katherine begged.
Cole did as he asked, glaring at him in murderous fury. “You know there are going to be cops swarming all over this fucking place in a matter of minutes don’t you, asshole,” he stated calmly, his eyes going back and clashing with Katherine’s. He saw her pain and knew that it mirrored his own.
“I have no doubt,” Alex laughed. “That’s why we really must be getting a move on.”
He bent down, keeping Katherine close to his body, in order to pick up the gun, and it was in that moment that Katherine’s hands came up and grabbed the arm that held the knife to her throat as she stomped down on his foot with her heel with all her might, causing a startled grunt to pass Alex’s lips. She knew that if he picked up that gun, Cole would be dead.
Everything seemed to happen all at once after that. She heard Cole scream her name, she felt a searing pain travel down her throat to her chest as Alex’s knife slid across her…and she felt that warm rush of blood. She pushed with all her might away from his body and threw herself to the floor with a sound smack.
Cole roared as he lunged forward, knocking Alex to the floor with a heavy thud. They rolled and grappled as Cole tried to wrench the knife from his hand, his fury overtaking him. Alex twisted, knocking over a table in the process and kicked out, trying to get the furious man off of him, but Cole was not letting go. The knife went skittering across the room as Cole reined blow after blow down on him, his rage taking over.
Katherine slid across the floor, the blood flowing from her making the floor slick, and she willed herself to reach out and grab the gun lying there. She could see it…just within her reach. If only she could grab it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to her, she felt the cool steel beneath her fingers and lifted the revolver.
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