Eye of the Abductor
boy being carried out in his grandfather’s arms.
    “Thought I saw someone I know. But
it wasn’t them."
    Living in the same town created a
chance of running head-on into Dorothy. And if that happened, she’d forge ahead
with Plan A and go to court for custody. But she’d rather have all her ducks in
a row and go for the kill. A surprise attack would work more in her favor.
    While Brance finished off his last
sip of coffee, the waitress returned and set the ticket beside him.
    “Pass it over,” she demanded.
    “Tell you what. I’ll pick up … ”
    “No,” she said, interrupting him.
“We had a deal.”
    He slid the ticket over. After
staring at the total amount and calculating the gratuity, she pulled the money
from her billfold. She left three dollars on the table for the waitress.
    “Thanks for breakfast."
    “You have no idea how grateful I
am for you fixing my car.” She stood and walked toward the cash register.
    Outside, he opened her car door.
“Now see, it’s not too painful being friends.”
    “Painful is an understatement.
Your date cost me my job.”
    “You dumped ice water on her.”
    “If she’d been standing, I’d have
slugged her. What a bitch!”
    “Now that’s an understatement.”
    They both laughed. He’d be shocked
to know she’d slugged her share of women. She’d been in prison, not a prep school.
    At the apartments, she pulled into
the spot next to his Crown Victoria. Before she realized what he was doing, he
placed his hand over hers. Male heat filled the car. Every breath held his
virile scent. Sexual impulses rippled through her lower abdomen.
    She wanted to snatch her hand back
but couldn’t. Thank goodness he didn't know the effect he had on her. She
thought about where his hands had been in her dream and almost climaxed. Heat
spread through her like a brushfire. She had to escape. Now!
    “Remember what I said, call me if
you need help.”
    “Thanks, I’ll remember that.” She
slipped her hand from beneath his and opened the door.
    Once inside her apartment, Allison
closed her eyes for a moment, fighting desire and need. Lord help her. The man
made her dizzy. As she recalled each vivid detail of the dream, her body burned
even more. She couldn’t let Brance into her life and certainly not into her
bed. Now she had to figure out a way to keep him out of her dreams.
    ***
    Sitting in the choir room Wednesday
night, Allison pushed stop on the tape recorder and stuffed the sheet music
into her folder. She liked recording the sessions to practice with. After
putting her folder away, she grabbed her purse and left.
    Because the parking lot closest to
the choir room had been crowded for a special youth event, she’d parked on the
far side and cut through the building. At the exit door, she realized she’d
left her tape recorder and headed back to the choir room. The long hall joining
the old section to the newest addition stood deserted and dark.
    An eerie sensation traveled up her
spine. She scolded herself for being afraid.
    By the time she reached the choir
room, she’d broken out into a cold sweat. She flipped the light switch and
entered the large room. The tape recorder sat where she’d left it. She dropped
it in her purse and left again, turning the lights off behind her.
    Allison hesitated and considered
going outside and walking around the outer building to her car. Knowing it’d
take longer, she forced herself to trudge back through the building. Halfway
down the hall, she heard footfalls and stopped to glance back.
    Darkness.
    Silence.
    A silhouette of a person took
shape.
    “Rick, is that you?”
    No one answered.
    Maybe it wasn’t a person. An
object perhaps.
    Allison turned and briskly walked
the length of the hall. Rather than go up the stairs, she hid under the dark
stairwell. Her heart accelerated rapidly as someone approached. It hadn’t been
her imagination.
    The person went up the stairs,
giving her the opportunity to dart down another dark hall

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