Cellar Door Read Online Free PDF Page B

can.”
    I mutter under my breath, “We’ll see about that, Lance, we’ll see.”
    Once again my brother has forced me into a corner, and once again I will come out swinging. Gone are any hopes I had entertained of eventually pursuing her in a more traditional way: dinner and a movie, and the possibility of sex later on. There’s no way in hell she’ll believe me if I try to explain that she’s become the target of a madman. The bastard’s given me no choice but to take my Madonna – kidnap her -- for real.
    This will be the first time I’ve ever taken a woman without her prior consent, the first time I’ve ever ventured beyond fantasy roleplay. An adrenalin rush like I haven’t felt in years floods my veins as I visualize all that lies ahead. And the emptiness that abides deep within me shatters, cascading around me like a thousand glittering shards of glass.
     



Chapter Nine
    Madonna
    I love the way books smell, especially old ones like this. There is nothing better than spending a lazy Saturday afternoon curled up in a chair in a second-hand bookstore. But if not a bookstore, a library will do just fine. That’s where I am today. As far as I’m concerned, libraries are downright magical places. I hate the thought of libraries eventually becoming defunct as everything goes digital.
    I must admit, my new messenger bag makes carrying my books a lot easier. I woke up wanting to spend the morning at the library, so I packed up my books and brought my laptop along to write as time allows. I found a lovely spot by the window in the newly expanded Special Collections wing of the library.
    I mosey down an aisle between two long, heavily laden bookshelves. My fingers are passing lovingly over several weathered, hardback book spines when the hair on the back of my neck practically sizzles. I’m not alone. I turn and see a hooded figure at the far end of the aisle. His dead eyes seem to take my measure and he smirks. This time I can see his face and I recognize him as the man in the hooded sweatshirt from the hospital. His eyes roam over me with recognition and lust and…loathing? He remembers me, too. This can’t possibly be a coincidence. Did he follow me?
    I always feel safe in the library, but being alone with him is creeping me out. Panic tingles along my spine as he approaches me, muttering to himself. I step to the side to give him room to pass when he abruptly stops in front of me.
    I press my back against a bookshelf, dislodging several books on the other side. I jerk as they clatter to the floor. The stranger leans in toward me and slowly tilts his head from side to side, ogling me curiously like I’m an exhibit at the goddamn zoo.
    His raspy whisper drifts across the space between us. It sounds like he’s…shit, is he singing to me?! “I’m going to kill you, just wait and see. You don’t stand a chance of escaping me.”
    With that, he turns and, with a last backward glance, slinks back down the aisle to the stairwell.
    What. The. Hell. Was. That?
    I have no idea who this guy is, but he knows me, and he’s following me…and threatening to kill me. If he’s bold enough to confront me just for kicks, then he’s probably crazy enough to commit the crime. I frown and close my eyes as I try to place him from anywhere other than the hospital the other day; no luck.
    I hurry to the end of the aisle and peer out the window to the street below. My stalker lopes down the library steps and strolls nonchalantly down the sidewalk, seemingly without a care in the world. I’ve just let out the breath I’ve been holding when he stops. He turns slowly, deliberately, and glares up at me, as if he knew all along that I’d be there watching him. Malevolence rolls off him in harsh waves. I back away from the window and find a seat as I struggle to catch my breath.
    Why would someone want to kill me? And how the hell am I supposed to deal with this? If I call the cops they won’t do anything until and unless he