Stalkers: A Dark Romance Anthology

by Ally Vance

  Not when my Isabella couldn’t do any of those things anymore.

  But I was going to make him pay.

  Jack would soon know the pain of having your heart ripped out of your chest. By the time I was done with him, he was going to beg to die.

  And she was going to be my weapon of choice.

  Like I’d done for the past eight weeks, I watched her cross the street. And just like all those other times, her pink strands blew in every which direction, denim covered her long legs, and a plain white t-shirt completed her look.

  She was beautiful.

  She was innocent.

  She was Becca Martin.

  And she meant something to that asshole.

  Which made her the cornerstone of my plan.

  I lifted my phone, pressing the button to capture the precise moment Jack stood to pull her into his embrace. Giving him a smile he definitely didn’t deserve, she hugged him back.

  Pinché puto.

  My fingers tightened to a white-knuckled grip around the phone still clutched in my hand. Becca tucked her hair behind her ear and aimed her smile at the server who’d appeared at the table.

  Her lips moved and even though there was no possible way for me to hear what she was saying, I knew she was ordering a sparkling water with a slice of lemon and lots of ice, a cheeseburger with extra pickles, and no fries.

  She’d ordered the exact same thing for the past eight weeks and she would order it again next week.

  I knew everything about her… Except what she tasted like or what sounds she made when her body shuddered with pleasure.

  But I didn’t need to know those particular things. Not that I didn’t want to. If the circumstances were different, I would have loved to chain her to my bed and brand my tongue with every inch of her skin. Claim all her moans. Ruin her for any man after me.

  It would’ve been glorious.

  But not nearly as glorious as it will be when I finally get to give her asshole brother what’s coming to him.

  After the waiter scribbled down her order and headed to the next table, one of Jack’s idiot buddies said something that had Becca scowling at him. She looked ready to give him a piece of her mind when Jack placed a hand on her arm. Leaning forward, he said something into her ear.

  Her mouth opened, but she immediately clamped it shut and looked up. Straight in my direction. Did she know? Could she feel my eyes on her? Through the dark tint of my window, my gaze stayed locked onto hers.

  Was she feeling the same zip of excitement?

  Next to her, her brother’s mouth moved a mile a minute, but she didn’t even blink. Of course this had the pendejo following her line of sight. There was no way he knew who I was, what car I drove, or that the woman he killed was my sister.

  Still, I opened the glove compartment, curled my fingers around grip of my 9mm, and pulled it into my lap.

  I wasn’t ready for him to die a quick death, but if he came at me today, he’d have a bullet between the eyes before he could blink.

  Luckily for him—and me—his attention shifted back to Becca. He couldn’t hide his annoyance when he snapped his fingers in front of her face. I wanted to break his nose for doing that. For not respecting his sister—or any other woman—for not being a man.

  Becca blinked and then blinked again; her frown aimed at the jerkoff next to her. His mouth was moving again, and he must’ve asked her something because she shook her head and shifted in her seat.

  Her gaze flicked my way in a quick glance. With another shake of her head—this one a lot more subtle—she tucked a few pink strands behind her ear and turned her attention to Jack.

  Deciding I’d seen enough for the day, I tugged on my safety belt and stabbed the button and the engine purred to life. I shifted the car into gear and slowly eased away from the curb.

  Ten minutes later, I walked through the doors of Absinthe and headed straight to my office. My ass had barely touched the leather when the side door opened to reveal one of the downstairs servers.

  Lips painted sinfully red, thick golden hair styled in a way that had you thinking she’d rolled out of bed after a sex marathon, and shiny black leather barely covering her ridiculously in-shape and surgically enhanced body.

  Yeah, Connie was the type of girl that had your dick stirring within seconds of laying eyes on her.

  Smiling salaciously, she sauntered into my office and closed the door behind her. She dangled a glass with a finger’s worth of amber liquid in front of her. “Thought you might need a drink,” she purred.

  I cocked a brow because we both knew she didn’t come up here to bring me a drink. Swiveling my chair to face her, I leaned back. “Maybe.”

  Her face lit up like she’d won the lottery.

  When she reached me, she set the glass on my desk and dropped to her knees, bracing her hands on my thighs; blood-red nails bit through the material of my slacks into my skin, urging my legs further apart.

  Her eager fingers trailed up until she could work my pants like a pro. Her mouth was on me not even a second later. Pushing my head back into the leather, I screwed my eyes shut and drew in a shaky breath through my nose.

  But something felt off.

  My hands found her hair, winding the silky tresses tightly around my fist. Connie worked me like it was her job. Still, something wasn’t right. My body was reacting the way it should when a gorgeous woman had you in her mouth. But my mind… refused to be here. To be present in the moment. Opening my eyes, I looked down. My blood turned to ice when all I saw was a mass of pink in my lap.

  “¡Chingada madre!” I pushed my chair back so fast, Connie landed on her ass.

  Eyes big, she wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb. “Santiago?”

  Getting to my feet, I zipped my pants and planted my hands on my hips. “You need to go.”

  “But I didn’t—”

  “Go!”

  Smacking my palms on the surface of my desk, I bent my head and waited for the door to click shut. Blowing out a slow breath through my nose, I pulled my phone from my pocket and unlocked the screen.

  Within two seconds, I was staring at the photo I’d snapped this afternoon. Zooming in, I traced a finger over Becca’s smiling face. For a second, a fleeting moment in time, I wondered if this was the right course of action. Then I saw Isabella’s face—skin pale, eyes lifeless—and determination burned hot in my veins.

  Swiping the image away, I dialed Jorge’s number and pressed the device against my ear. “It’s time,” I said once the lines connected. “Make sure she shows up tomorrow night.”

  Chapter Two

  Becca

  My breaths came fast and hard as I jerked into a seated position. Frantically, I scanned the dark room only to find nothing but shadows mocking me. With shaky hands, I gathered the sheets and held them close to my chest.

  My gaze flicked to my arm; goosebumps still peppered my skin. Behind my ribcage, my heart found a new gear. Claws of panic circled my throat. I couldn’t breathe. I squeezed my eyes shut; thick, hot tears immediately trailed down my cheeks.

  I hadn’t dreamt it or imagined it. Someone was here… inside my apartment. Inside my safe haven. They’d watched me, touched me.

  I shuddered.

  Swallowing the lump of fear stuck in my throat, I opened my eyes and reached for my phone on the nightstand. I swiped it to life and froze with my thumb still hovering a few inches above the screen.

  Dialing 911 would not help me. The last time I’d done that, I’d felt like a fool when the police arrived and found no lurkers inside or outside my apartment. I could still see the irritated look on the officer’s face. I’d bet every penny I had if it hadn’t been for the camera attached to him, he would’ve scolded me for wasting their time at 3 o’clock in the morning.

  Pulling in a deep drag of air through my nose, I scrolled down to Jack’s name and poked the green button. It didn’t take long for my brother to answer the phone.

  “You okay, Becs?” H
e sounded concerned… and breathless.

  Oh, great.

  “Uh… is this a bad time?” In answer to my question, a very feminine giggle filtered through the line. “I’ll just talk to you in the morning.”

  The phone was already halfway away from my ear when I heard Jack’s, “Wait!”

  “Really, it’s—”

  “Just give me a sec, okay?” I could hear the glass door slide open, and it wasn’t all that hard to imagine my brother standing on his balcony with his arms resting on the railing. “Talk to me,” he urged. “Why are you calling at 3 am?”

  Gaze flicking to the ceiling, I chewed on my lip. It all seemed rather silly now. I took a deep breath and spoke, “I thought there was someone in my apartment but now that I had some time to process, I realize it might’ve been a dream.”

  “Do you want me to come over?”

  “No, no.” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m certain it was one of those dreams that feel very real, you know?”

  “I can still come over,” Jack insisted.

  Our parents had died when we were both pretty young, and even though our mom’s brother and his wife had taken us in, Jack had always taken it upon himself to be my protector.

  “I’m fine, really,” I lied. “I just woke up spooked.”

  He sighed. “All right. But call me if something spooks you again.”

  “Promise.”

  After we said goodbye, I slipped out of bed. Clutching my phone to my chest, I walked over to my window and made sure it was closed. I then checked every other window in my apartment as well as the front door and back door, hoping like hell this eerie feeling crawling over my skin would go away.

  It didn’t.

  In fact, when I climbed back into bed almost thirty minutes later, that feeling had gotten worse. So much worse. I fought off another batch of tears as I pulled the covers over my head and curled into a ball. Something was happening; I just wasn’t sure whether it was real or inside my head.

  “Well, don’t you look like shit,” Kasia said as I rounded the counter to tuck my purse beneath the cash register. Without missing a beat, she shoved the steaming mug she was holding into my hand and immediately set about preparing a new one.

  Just one of the many perks of owning a café together.

  Both my hands wrapped around the warm biodegradable cup as I brought it to my lips. I almost groaned when that first hit of green tea hit my tongue. It was so good. So good that I had to take one more big swallow before I opened my mouth to speak.

  “I didn’t sleep so good last night.” Because someone was in my apartment, but I have no way to prove it, so instead of sounding like a crazy lady, I’m just going to keep my mouth shut.

  When her own cup of tea was ready, Kasia turned to face me. Leaning back against the counter behind her, she pinned me with an assessing stare. “Did you do your yoga?”

  No. “Yes.”

  Her amber eyes narrowed. “Liar.” Still staring daggers at me, she took a sip of her tea before slowly lowering the cup again. “I might have a remedy for your insomnia.”

  “More yoga?” I asked dryly.

  Kasia shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You know that new club that opened about a month ago? Absinthe?”

  I nodded, “The one where no one can get in?” It was crazy. If you wanted to dance the night away at Absinthe, you needed an invitation.

  Kasia set the mug on the counter and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her fingers furiously flying over her screen before she whipped it around and all but shoved it in my face. “Good thing we aren’t no one,” she said cheerily.

  Squinting, I gripped her wrist and pushed the phone back until the blurry black lines came into focus. I frowned. “Are these numbers supposed to mean something to me?”

  Like the drama queen she was, she signed heavily. “It’s a code.”

  “Mmm hmm.” I nodded. “Code to what?”

  “Oh my goodness, Becca! Are you for real right now?” When I just blinked at her, she huffed out, “This code will get us into Absinthe. But it’s only for tonight, and we have to be there at nine because the codes change every hour.”

  “That’s a bit excessive,” I deadpanned, earning me a death glare from my friend. “What?”

  “Seriously? That’s a bit excessive, is all you have to say?” Doing her best imitation of my voice, she threw my words back at me. I bit the inside of my cheek hard to keep the laughter from bubbling over my lips. “We got into Absinthe, bitch. Absinthe. Do you know how many people would give their titties to get in there?”

  “No.” I rolled my lip over my teeth. “But I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  She glared some more. “A lot.”

  I stared at her for a beat before throwing my arms in the air and squealing in an obnoxiously high tone, “Ohmigosh, yay! We got into Absinthe.”

  “Are you done?” My friend did not look amused. Not even a little bit.

  Schooling my features, I draped my arm over her shoulder. “I’m sorry I’m not as excited as you. The club scene has always been more your thing than mine.” I tugged her closer. “But you know I’ll go with you.”

  She side-eyed me, a small smile playing on her lips. “Good!”

  Removing my arm, I started shuffling around papers on the counter. We had about ten minutes before we opened. Giving her a quick glance over my shoulder, I asked, “How did you get an invitation, anyway?”

  Kasia beamed. “You know that guy I told you about?”

  Facing her, I waggled my brows. “The one you met at the bar last week? The one with the amazing tongue?”

  “Mmm.” She sighed dreamily. “Yeah, that one. Well, he’s one of the owners and he hooked me—us—up.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Guess we’re going clubbing tonight then.”

  Chapter Three

  Becca

  Music bounced off the walls, each pulsating beat making my heart pound to the rhythm. Flashes of blue and warm white glided over the floor matching the thump-thump of the song.

  I sucked in a quick breath.

  From the outside, Absinthe didn’t look like much. In fact, I’d wanted to turn around and go back home when Kasia and I had walked up to the nondescript brick building. Even more so when we had to descend two flights of wrought iron stairs; plunging us further into the darkness of the night.

  Panic had spiked hot in my veins when a burly looking man with arms the size of both my thighs had stepped in front of us and growled, “Code.” When Kasia had shown him her phone, he’d snatched the device out of her hand and shone a small UV light at the screen.

  After studying it for a few moments, he’d nodded his sweaty bald head, handed the phone back, and motioned for us to go inside.

  Walking through the big factory doors, I’d felt a lot like a lamb being led to the slaughter. My heart rate had kicked into high gear, my senses on full alert. Meanwhile, my friend had looked like a kid who’d just discovered Charlie’s chocolate factory.

  Still, I stayed close as we walked to the far end of the open space, through a door in the far-left corner, and finally down another flight of stairs. The beat currently vibrating through my veins had grown louder and louder as we took step after step.

  When we reached the bottom, two doors that looked like a wall whooshed apart to reveal a sea of darkness illuminated by blue and white. The floor beneath our feet looked like a stone path with bright neon light shining between the crevices. Above our heads, where a roof was supposed to be, was something that looked like a mass of water with large balls of lights hanging from it in various lengths and sizes.

  Kasia curled her hand around my arm and leaned in close. “This place is… wow!”

  “Yeah,” I breathed out. “It’s something else all right.”

  With her still holding onto me, we ventured further into Absinthe. Intimate booths lined the walls on both sides with illuminated podiums between each. In front of
us a sea of people were slaves to the music; arms in the air, hips swaying.

  They looked… euphoric. Like they’d lost all their inhibitions and didn’t care. Men were kissing men. Women were kissing women. Then they’d switch partners and just continue the dance.

  I was completely transfixed on the spectacle playing out before me until Kasia yanked on my arm. “Come on, I think the bar is back there.” She pulled me behind her toward the walls so we wouldn’t collide with any bumping and grinding bodies.

  We’d made it about four steps when a sharp sense of awareness sliced through my veins like a fiery blade, stopping me dead in my tracks. “I think someone is watching me.” My gaze frantically flicked over the dancing patrons; the ones I could see all lost in their own world. I knew I wasn’t imagining it. Someone’s eyes were on me.

  “Of course they are!” Kasia exclaimed. She took a step back and made a sweeping motion down the length of my body. “You look like sex on legs. I’d be surprised if someone wasn’t watching you.”

  She wasn’t completely wrong. The short, strapless dress might’ve looked simple on the rack, but it did amazing things to my body. The black silk hugged my boobs like a second skin and yet somehow managed to turn my B-cups into Cs. The hem of the flowy skirt hit me mid-thigh, making my legs seem longer.

  I’d paired it with my favorite pair of Louis Vuitton’s and a velvet choker around my neck. My pink strands were straight and pulled into a tight ponytail and my make-up dark and smoky. So, yeah, I wasn’t conceited, but even I could admit I looked good.

  But this feeling wasn’t interest. It was different. I couldn’t explain it, just knew it made me feel like a gazelle with a lion watching my every move. Patiently waiting for the opportunity to strike.

  I swallowed hard, willing my nightmares to go back to the dark hole they’d crawled out of. Forcing my lips to curve upward, I nodded with determination. “You’re right. Let’s get that drink.”

  “Now you’re talking. Drinks and then we dance.” Kasia crossed her arms above her head and rocked her hips in a slow circle.