Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

N oel

I wasn't really a PJs kind of girl. No one could ever accuse me of preferring to lounge around in big, baggy clothes. Well, at least that never would have been said before I started my illustrious career as a thriller novelist. Up until then, I'd lived in conservative suits and low heels, acting very much the part of a nondescript federal employee.

Now I found significant comfort and joy in being able to wear them, especially when I edited a book. It was my reward for finishing one. I'd been at my desk for hours like a good girl, working diligently on the edits, which weren't the usual brutal red-lining I was used to.

I would easily make my deadline.

As far as heading to New York? The jury was out. I hated big cities and huge crowds, more so over the last few years. I found them to be hunting grounds where anyone could adopt whatever identity they wanted. I'd certainly used the fertile grounds as juicy backgrounds for my books, which is likely what made them seem so realistic.

I'd even been accused more than once of plagiarizing crime events.

No. It had been in reverse.

I took a sip of wine, another reward for a long day. The words were starting to become blurry, all of them running together. It was definitely time to take a break.

I peered down at Max, the furry boy right by my side as he always was. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without Max being inches away. He was as good a guard dog as he was a support mechanism. And I had to admit, the nightmares were slacking off. Was it because of the pup, the knowledge the psycho freak was behind bars, or the delicious interactions with Kage?

I wasn't entirely certain.

What I did know was how much I adored having a little companion. It helped in not feeling so alone. Sure, Kathy checked on me at least once a day, but other than our once-every-two-weeks meetings, she accomplished her work in her home office. I'd designed the position that way and not entirely for selfless reasons.

Being alone allowed me to suffer in silence.

This was the first time in so very long I didn't feel like hiding away in dark shadows. What I did feel like was stretching my boundaries even more by randomly calling Kage. If the girl from only a month before still existed, I would have already contacted Zoe to have the man checked from head to toe.

But what was the fun in losing all the mystery about the man? Besides, he'd had every opportunity to maim or steal, not that I had much worth a lot of money. I wasn't programmed that way. I'd been taught to save and scrimp no matter how much money I made. At least I was following some of my old convictions.

I also believed I had pretty good instincts, especially as of late. I could smell bad people a mile away. Okay, so that was actually Max who could. As soon as I laughed, Max lifted his head.

"What, sweet boy? Did I disturb your beauty sleep?"

He thumped his tail before rising to his paws and stretching. He turned out to be an amazing baby, so handsome, scars and all. Maybe he'd realized I understood that while some scars were easy to see, others were hidden beneath layers of protection.

"Come here, baby."

With his tail swinging like a helicopter, he slowly made his way toward me, resting his head in my lap. There was something so peaceful and comforting about doing nothing more than rubbing the fur baby behind his ears. For crazy reasons, I still got hyped up over seeing the various changes to my work. I'd heard an author thinks of every book written as his or her baby, but I hadn't fully understood until the first book had left my hot fingertips heading to my publisher.

"Would you like a treat, baby?" Before he had a chance to respond, my ears perked up from the rumble of thunder. The weather had been wacky for days. A nice, few sunny days in the high fifties followed by an ice storm followed by near record high temperatures with thunderstorms. Mother Nature was on crack. There was no doubt in my mind.

I tried not to allow the approaching storm to bother me, but raging thunderstorms were one of two triggers, the one thing that dragged me back to my horrific experience kicking and screaming.

Max had already learned my triggers, the other one being the stench of blood. I'd been forced to carry the stench in my nostrils every minute I'd been his prisoner. Only later I'd realized why, the Claw's torture methods still unfathomable to me today.

Sadly, I'd cut my finger on a knife the day before and had almost passed out. At least I hadn't regurgitated as usual. Max had been right there, helping me cope, nuzzling me until I'd drifted back from the dense fog.

"Okay, baby. You deserve one incredible snack for being so good. I'll meet you right there. I just need to hit save."

He almost never bounded off leaving me alone except when I mentioned the word ‘treats.' The pup could easily make me laugh. I swiveled in my chair, hitting save just as I noticed a bolt of lightning outside the window. I'd left the blinds open because I'd started to feel cooped up both by the weather and by my psychosis. I was doing everything I could to get better because I had a world to conquer.

Right now, not closing them felt far too ominous. I stood, hating the fact I was shivering and moved to the blinds, twisting the rod and shutting them. I felt better almost instantly. When my phone rang, I prickled a little bit inside, but I gave myself another push.

Seeing a New York number that I didn't recognize meant nothing since I'd learned from Vicky's assistant that the powerful, ruthless woman had more than one phone, which she used to check up on people. Authors included.

I wouldn't put it past her for a second to offer a passive aggressive reminder that my deadline was only twenty hours away. I answered the call without hesitation.

"Stop worrying, Vicky. I only have forty pages left to edit. I will make the deadline."

The sharp sound coming from the other end of the line forced me to pull the phone away from my head. I'd never heard interference that bad, even from a landline phone. However, this was a town nestled close to the mountains and a storm was brewing.

"Vicky? Can you hear me?"

The sound occurred again, only much quieter. It was at that moment I realized exactly what I was hearing. I'd been driven into a horrible black abyss more than a dozen times since escaping, but the black boxes of protection I'd placed around myself during my captivity had been suffocating.

Just like this moment, both triggered by a sound that would forever remain in the back of my mind.

The bastard's makeshift claws scratching down a chalkboard-like surface, only whatever it was allowed the sound to reverberate.

I was instantly sick inside, frozen to the spot, although I was able somehow to keep listening, trying to figure out if a tiny part of my mind had just shattered.

Hearing nothing else, I realized the line had gone dead. Everything in slow motion, I pulled the phone away from my head, staring at the screen for a full fifteen seconds before something happened I hadn't experienced before.

Rage.

I wasn't going to allow anyone to derail me. It was possible I'd heard nothing but static. I redialed the number, hoping I'd reach Vicky and all would be right with the world.

"We're sorry but the number you've reached is no longer in service."

The words hung in the forefront of my mind. By that point, Max had returned, whining as he did when he was worried about me. I did what I could to try to remain calm yet I fell onto the seat of my desk chair, shaking so badly I was certain I'd fall off.

Woof. Woof.

"It's okay, baby. Mommy just needs to check on something." I tried to hold my shit together as I searched for the detective's phone number. Of course there were a bunch of crazies in this world who liked to torment people. Some were even psycho lovers, almost like groupies. I'd been forced to change phones, including my number three times already. I guessed this would be the fourth.

Since I was hiding in plain sight, my books still being published, I'd known and accepted that I could remain a target of bashers and naysayers. I'd even had those who'd believed I'd been part of the psycho's murder spree given I'd played out the scenario page by page. Which was only partially true. I might have a vivid imagination, but I certainly couldn't imagine or fabricate the horrible atrocities James had performed.

I grabbed the detective's business card in my hand, his personal cellphone number written on the back; I took a deep breath before dialing it. Fortunately, even thought it was almost ten in the even here, it was an hour earlier in Seattle.

Thankfully, he answered on the second ring. "Detective Finley."

"Detective, this is Noel Young. I just received a threatening call and I wanted to make certain Mr. Jones did not get out on bond."

He kind of half laughed. "Ms. Young. You have nothing to worry about. Even with James Jones hiring a bigwig attorney out of New York, the judge laughed when bail was requested. The man is on high alert lockdown wearing wrist and ankle shackles at all times, monitored by someone twenty-four/seven. Since he was in court today for attempting to bite the officer sliding his food in, I know he's safely tucked away. What was said?"

This is the part I knew he might laugh at me. A closer rumble of thunder almost pummeled me from the chair. I gripped the arm with enough strength I was certain I'd break it off.

Calm down. Just calm down.

I took several shallow breaths on purpose. "Nothing was said. I heard claws being scraped down a board of some kind just like I used to hear."

As soon as I'd issued the words I cringed. At least he didn't burst into laughter. I'd told him several times about the sound during the course of the horrible investigation.

"Ms. Young. Don't take this the wrong way but that's not much to go on. Plus, I hate to say this, as tight as the agents who took over the case have tried to be with evidence, but it is entirely possible that leaked. In addition, given the judge is determined to bring this to trial much faster than normal, it's been all over the news here. You're still a public figure and sadly, cellphone numbers can be found. However, I'll send you info on having one unlisted and so far under the radar no one will be able to find it. You'll need to pay a few hundred bucks but at this point, I think it's worth it."

What I wanted to ask the man was why the hell he hadn't offered this before but I held my tongue. Of course he was right about the evidence being distributed. I knew it happened all the time. "The Feds took this over?"

"Yep. We knew they would as soon as he was caught. They let us do the dirty work of hunting and capturing him before taking over. I don't give a shit at this point. I'm just glad the man is being brought to justice."

Exhaling, I tried to put the evil genie back into the bottle. "I'd appreciate that information and I will get another number."

"Happy to, and make certain to email that number when you have it so I can keep you up to date."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you for taking my call."

"Of course and try not to worry. Maybe in a couple months the nightmare will truly almost be over."

He had no understanding of the long-term effects of trauma, which was why those suffering from PTSD were so misunderstood.

I tossed the phone and took another deep breath. I'd make the switch in the morning and that would give me some peace of mind. I had to get a grip. Things were going so well.

Even as another clap of thunder shook the house, I managed to get to my feet. "Come on, baby boy. Let's finally get that treat." Without looking back, I turned off my office light, leaving my phone right where it was, and headed into the kitchen with my wineglass in my hand. Maybe a little refresher would make me feel better.

I pulled out the cutesy treat jar Zoe had given me as a gift, pulling not one but two biscuits into my hand. I wanted to reaffirm the extended wait he'd been trained for by placing a treat on his paw but I was too anxious tonight. "Here you go, baby. Not one but two. You are a very good boy."

Watching him gobble down his treats was peaceful in a way. If not for the storm, I'd feel a lot better. Sighing, I moved to the open bottle of wine, topping off my glass. I leaned against the counter, trying to calm my breathing.

Of all the things my psychiatrist had taught me, the breathing exercises had been the first and only trick that had worked to calm my nerves. Max was the best idea in the world, which might mean Dr. Mallard would be kept around for a little while longer.

At least until the bastard was convicted.

I enjoyed watching Max and sipping wine, trying my best not to pay any attention to the now howling winds outside. When what sounded like a branch was flung at the window, I jumped far enough I jostled the wine all over my arm and shirt.

"Damn it." God, I hated being jumpy. After placing the glass on the counter, I rinsed my hands and grabbed a towel, trying to clean up the mess. At least my PJ top was dark in color.

Max's sudden growl immediately drew my attention.

My body froze once again and I slowly turned my head toward the window, the source of his bark. That didn't last long when he suddenly went nuts, more so than I'd seen him do before, bounding toward the back door, barking and growling as if an entire army was trying to get inside. At least my reactions weren't slow this time. I immediately checked the front door to ensure it was locked before racing to the back where Max stood barking up a storm at the back sliding door. Thankfully, I'd closed those blinds as I always did at night. Windows were fine but the expansive glass was too much of a wide-open space, an easy target for an assassin or a stalker.

God. Here I went again, reliving my own books in vivid form.

A bright flash of lightning became a blue neon glow outside the door, the blinds only making the glow appear that much more ominous.

I hadn't forgotten. I was locked down tight. I backed away but Max continued growling. "What's out there, buddy?"

His sounds dropped to a level I'd never heard before, which raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

"Come on, let's go back to the kitchen."

Max was overly protective, but he was also obedient, issuing one last growl with his teeth bared before rushing to my side. I was cognizant of every sound, including another whapping noise hitting the side of the house this time. I adored nature but the trees were going to get cut back. I couldn't take another night or storm like this.

Another crushing extended bolt of lightning flashed where I could see it out the kitchen window. In my mind, the branches looked like clawed fingers reaching out from the heavens.

Only the bastard would be going straight to hell.

The loud boom of thunder coming right after the flash was enough to make me jump out of my skin.

I was almost to the kitchen when the lights went out completely. They didn't flicker like they normally did in a weather event. They simply stopped working. Now my hackles were raised high as kites. Something was terribly wrong.

My heart racing, I rushed into the kitchen, managing to make it without tripping. I jerked open the drawer where I stored two of six flashlights, yanking one into my hand. My breathing ragged, I turned it on, keeping the beam low as I headed toward the edge of the window. The moment I peered out, I slunk back even more.

I had had two kinds of close neighbors. During this time of year, the foliage yet to develop on the trees, I could see when lights were on in their homes at night.

They were tonight.

Only my lights were out.

Oh, God. What was I supposed to do?

I backed against the counter, gasping for air as I grabbed a knife from the butcher block. Now Max was quiet, remaining by my side so closely I could feel the pressure of his nose against my knee.

Another bang.

Another rumble of thunder.

Another flash of lightning.

Another hard thudding of my heart.

And another growl followed by a whine as Max rushed from the room.

Oh, fuck. Oh, God. What was I supposed to do? With the flashlight in one hand, the knife in the other, I carefully moved from the kitchen, finding Max sitting in front of the door.

"Come on, Max. We're going to go call the police." My whisper was harsh and low pitched and had absolutely no effect on him.

He refused to budge.

"Max."

His tail thumped.

And all of a sudden, a hard pounding occurred on my door. I was frozen in time all over again, uncertain what I should do.

Max wasn't barking any longer, but I sensed he was ready to lunge if necessary. It was the half German Shepherd in him. I adored the combination with the Golden on the flipside. That's why he could work the two personalities perfectly.

"Okay, Max. We are not allowing anyone to hurt us. Never, ever again." I carefully placed the flashlight on the hall table, the beam pointing at the door before gingerly unlocking. After two quick breaths, I swung it open with a significant amount of force, the knife raised high over my head ready to hammer down the blade if necessary.

A dark form stood on my doorstep, the huge body soaked from rain. There was no hesitation on the man's part as he snapped his hand around my wrist a split second before I managed to drive the blade into his chest.

As he lifted his head, his eyes were dark and cold.

And I couldn't help but issue a blood-chilling scream.