Not in the lot.On top of the building.Something dark, bounding along the rooftop. Zach only glimpsed it for a second, and then it was gone.
What he’d seen was impossible. No way that Mr. Snarly could’ve jumped up on the roof. But if there was more than just him involved in this... did they have a lookout on top of Penner’s? It was near the entrance to the access road, although a distance away.
The form he’d glimpsed hadn’t moved like a man. More like an animal.
Must have been his imagination. But theintentvanished, leaving him with the pulsingterrorthat had led him here to begin with.
Heart pounding like he’d just run a race, Zach pulled out of the lot. Once he’d gotten back to Inkster Boulevard, he took a right onto Brookside, and drove, fast, to the first gas station he found.
From the parking lot, he called the police.
He only hoped he wasn’t too late.
* * *
Jessie pushed herself hard through a workout. Pushed, because she ached and shivered.
The fever had returned.
When the lock turned, she froze. It wasn’t Troy’s usual time to visit.
It wasn’t Troy. She’d forgotten how big Braden was. He ducked to get through the door. Her heart threatened to bolt for cover, and if there’d been any, her body would have followed.
Or so she’d like to think. Because as he sauntered in, she instead moved toward him. One step. Then two. Almost as though she wanted to be close to him. Like he was a movie star heartthrob, and not the bastard that had held her here for three bloody weeks.
What the effing hell?She planted her feet and summoned a glare. But her legs shook. Fear. What else could it be?
Her gaze rose to his face. His ravaged Adonis face with the terrible scar. Most of the twisted flesh looked old, long healed, but below was another, more recent wound.
He should have repulsed her. Yet the nearer he came, the stronger the pull. Time seemed to slow even as her heart accelerated. His eyes riveted her. Such a pure shade of gold. She was aware of his scent, a warm, male aroma. She breathed him in, and she took another step toward him. Her hand lifted, fingers straining.
To touch?
No.She snatched it back to her side. What the hell was going on?
Braden’s lips peeled back from very large, very white teeth. Only the intact side smiled. The scarred side twisted the expression into a demented smirk.
Only the scarred side spoke the truth.
The scar—it was just like the werewolf in her dreams. Ithadbeen Braden she’d dreamed about. Her eyes fell to the fresh mark on his face, right where her teeth had scored him.
Her heart slammed to a halt. No. It couldn’t be. It had only been a dream.
Braden stopped, towering over her from a few feet away. His scent enveloped her like a snare. Musky, almost like an animal. Very male. Her heart leaped like a panicked deer. His muscles bulged beneath the thin tee shirt he wore. Every defined contour lured her eyes. Her fingers itched to trace them.
Effing hell.What was up with her? Had three weeks in a metal box turned her into a nympho?
“So, my pretty.” Braden’s voice was a rumble that throbbed through her. “I apologize for not getting here sooner. I was speaking with one of your fellow captives. She was most alluring.” He licked his lips, slowly, dragging the tongue across their surface. “Troy said you wanted me?”
The leer, and the arrogant lift of the brow that accompanied it sparked the anger she needed to blast through her confusion.
“I am not your pretty, and I most certainly don’t want you. You sank your filthy teeth into me.”
He snorted. “Would you rather have something else sunk into you?” He tilted his head like a curious dog, but his eyes glimmered gold at her. “Because that can most definitely be arranged.”
Her double-crossing heart quivered at the words. “You effing pervert,” she spat. Her knees weakened. With fear? Suddenly she wasn’t so sure.
He took another step, daring her to protest. Or retreat. At this range, she had to crane her neck to meet his eerie, pale-gold eyes. Goosebumps pimpled her skin and a thrill ran through her, urging her to step into him. To explore. His scent grew stronger, wrapped itself around her, and lured her in.
