He
needed a woman. Not just any woman would
do, but a petite woman who was fiercely independent and thought she was
tough. Well, that is what he wanted,
anyway, to make the chase that much more fun.
He loved it when a little woman realized just how small she truly was
under his demanding and brutal tutelage.
He leaned back in the chair that he occupied in a street side cafe,
watching the people walk past him, oblivious to the havoc he could wreak upon
their lives if he so chose. A smirk
briefly crossed his lips, quickly dissipating at the approach of one of the
servers of the café.
“Would
you like any more coffee, sir?” the server asked.
The
man studied the server. She was new to
the café; tall and blonde, she had a distinctly Scandinavian cast to her features. He turned on his charm, changing his body
language subtly so that he seemed to show an interest in her. He maintained just the right amount of eye
contact, put a smile in his eyes, and simply focused on her. She was not what he wanted, but it never hurt
to charm everyone around him. Not only
did it keep him above suspicion, but it also amused him to toy with people’s
emotions and attractions.
“Thank
you, no. But, if you could be a dear,
and get me a water with lemon?” He responded with a warm smile.
The
server nodded, cheeks tinged slightly pink at the perusal he had given her, and
hurried off to get the water. The man’s
attention returned to the pedestrians, finally seeing the particular woman he
was watching for. He enjoyed the hunt,
and this hunt held such promise. He had
been sifting through his options, but this woman drew him the strongest. He had been following her for the past month
and he liked what he saw.
Her name was Eve. She did not make the 5’5” mark and was quite slender. With dark blue eyes and curling auburn hair,
she managed to attract a fair amount of attention. What amused him was that she seemed
completely oblivious to the glances thrown her way. She was a student of muay thai, and from what
he had witnessed in the free class he had taken in her gym, not a bad
fighter. Eve would be a challenge. She was friendly enough, but kept a distance
from people. If what he had learned from
following her for the week was accurate, she was an introvert, enjoying her time
alone and not inclined to bring many people into her circle. He had only witnessed her interact socially
once, and that was drinking a beer with one of the employees at a bar that she
frequented alone on a weekly basis. She
just might do.
******************************************************************
Eve walked her usual route home
after work. She was ready to curl up
with a brandy and a good book, hidden away from the rest of the world. Work had been more draining than usual. Eve sometimes wondered what made her apply
for a job that required such a high level of interaction with people. Sometimes she just wished she could become a
hermit and escape the masses. At least
Eve was able to get her alone time, even if it was just her walk to and from
work. As she walked, she scanned the
people around her and the familiar buildings.
Eve’s gaze went past the
bookstore and the pharmacy, studied the people sitting at the café patio, and
noticed the new dresses in the dress shop.
This stretch of street was beginning to make her feel unsettled, though
she could not quite pinpoint why. It
used to be one of her favorite areas to walk through, with a number of shops
that she enjoyed frequenting, as well as the bar that she frequented to write
in. Eve’s gaze returned to the café
patio. He was there again.
Eve supposed that most women
would have found him attractive, though she was not really one to say. She tended not to notice, much to her mom’s
frustration. The man was tall and
muscled, with longish black hair and a perpetual five o’clock shadow. What Eve had
noticed was that he was at the café every time she walked by on her way home
from work. That was not anything
unusual, people had their habits after all, but there was something about him
and the way he watched people that made her feel uneasy. She watched him turn on his charm when the
blonde waitress diverted his attention for a moment before he resumed his
people watching. Eve picked up her pace
when she noticed that his gaze had landed on her. The urge to get home increased dramatically.
******************************************************************
Jared looked down at his ruined
shirt and sighed. That was the last time
he was going to help his sister with Kids’ Books and Crafts time in her
bookstore. Somehow the little imps had
managed to not only cover the fabric of his shirt with glue and rainbow
glitter, but one especially mischievous devil had decided it needed
ventilation. How the kid managed to get
his hands on a pair of scissors, Jared could not fathom. Jared stripped off his shirt and chucked it
into the trashcan, thankful that it was warm out. He would be attracting stares no matter what,
but he preferred that it be because of his size and tattoos, not because he was
a giant victim of a glitter bomb.
“Bye, Janet! You owe me big for this.”
Janet’s muffled voice sounded
from the back, “Thanks big brother! You
are a lifesaver!”
Jared grinned and waved, even
though Janet could not see him, and walked out into the street. He blinked in the bright sunshine, trying to
see after the relative dimness of the bookstore. Jared’s stomach growled. He should get some food from the café down
the street to take home for dinner.
Jared noticed a slight female with curly hair walking in front of him as
he walked to the cafe. There was
something about her that drew his attention.
Her posture seemed to declare a
discomfort and a hyperawareness. Her
steps hitched when her gaze locked on something or someone in the café, and
then sped up. Jared frowned. He looked over to the café to see what might
have discomforted her. All he saw were a
variety of customers sitting at the outside tables, though one man seemed to be
watching the woman as she walked away.
As she was attractive, a man watching as she walked by was something
Jared would expect, but the look in the man’s eyes seemed off. Jared watched as the man put money on the
table and left the café, going in the same direction the woman was walking. Jared narrowed his eyes and followed. Something was not right.
******************************************************************
The man put down a generous
amount of cash to cover his bill and left the café to follow the woman. His decision was made; she was the one for
him. Eve was already nervous,
subconsciously aware that a predator was watching her. It was time to hunt.
He followed the woman down the
street, past shops and through the milling crowd. He noticed how the sun glinted off of her
hair as she turned her head to look behind her.
The man lengthened his stride slightly to lessen the distance between
them, subtly increasing her feeling of being stalked. He knew she was aware of his presence, her
body language shouted it for his eyes alone.
Eve took a sudden turn, down a road that she did not normally take on
her way home. The man grinned.
When he turned the corner, he
spotted the woman just up ahead. He
could tell she was struggling not to show her growing fear. Her head was up, her posture erect, but her
pace kept fighting to increase its speed.
He caught up to her as they neared an ally and grabbed her, one arm
around the waist, the other over her mouth.
He pulled her into the ally before anyone noticed what was happening.
The woman struggled in his arms,
fighting to break free. Muffled screams
escaped from her mouth, but went unheard by anyone except him. Her screams were his alone. She suddenly went limp, her full weight
dragging on his arms. Instead of
loosening his hold, the man tightened his grip and pulled her further into the
ally. Eve resumed struggling, trying to
throw elbows, kick his knees, or trip him, but was unable to break free. The man could feel his excitement growing.
His victim fought for all she
was worth and he could feel her strength.
Definitely a challenge, just what he needed. The man could not keep the grin from his
face; that is until the woman managed to hit his nose with the back of her
head. He blinked his watering eyes and
struggled to keep his grip tight. She
broke free, but he quickly caught her again, putting her in a chokehold. He tightened his grip and held the choke
until she fought no more.
Suddenly the man found himself
flung against a wall, his head ringing.
He felt warmth seeping from his mouth and tasted blood. He shook his head and looked up. A tall, tattooed man stood over Eve’s
crumpled, unconscious body, his gaze locked on him, the threat clear in his
eyes.
“If you value your life, little
man, you had better run,” the tattooed man growled.
He ran.
