Instinctual by Amanda Mackey Read Free Book Online

needed to think and act fast. She desperately wanted to be behind locked doors in the sanctuary of her apartment. The one-man fan club outside had put his book down and was focused on the restaurant. Maybe he didn’t think she could see him watching from inside, but for a brief moment they appeared to be eye to eye. Kate didn’t like the look of him one little bit and could find no reason why he’d chosen to focus on her, especially given what she was wearing. Underneath the beauty and grace of Italy lay a very different world. An underworld of crime. Murder. Drugs and other unlawful goings-on. A world that stayed invisible to most people. Like a thorn in Italy’s side it was sitting below the surface, simmering. Carlos had always warned Kate of that and to be aware of it when she was out on her own but she’d shrugged it off nonchalantly, as if she’d already convinced herself that it didn’t affect her and she had no need of the knowledge. What horrible things could possibly happen in Vernazza?
    The saving grace of the evening came in the form of a rowdy mob of people walking past. At a guess there were twelve people, all adults. Some couples had their arms around each other and others walked side by side. Either way there was enough coverage for Kate to hide behind and ease into the night. Quickly, she exited and sank low, using the group as a human shield, feeling more like a criminal than an innocent woman trying to hide from a seedy stalker. Well, she didn’t actually think he was a seedy stalker or that he was going to hurt her, but he was focused on her for a reason and she wasn’t hanging around to find out what it was.
    Her plan seemed to have worked because soon her new allies had turned the corner out of view, merrily on their way to God knows where. The gentleman beside Kate slapped her on the back in a show of glee, raising her to her feet, real quick. She hoped she hadn’t gone from one fire into another. It appeared he thought Kate had decided to join their little soiree and was out for a night of boozy celebrations. She hated to break the bad news to him and didn’t know if he’d be able to understand it if she opened her mouth, so she just smiled and hurriedly walked on ahead, turning to make sure no one was following the group before detouring into a side street and running the rest of the way home. Once inside she locked the door, made sure all the windows were firmly shut, and pulled the curtains. It was a little unnerving to say the least. Things were getting weird.
    Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she dialed Carlos’ number. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
    “Come on, pick up. I know you’re probably asleep, but answer, damn it.”
    Ring. Ring. It went straight to voice mail, so Kate put on her, “I’m happy and there is nothing wrong” voice and left a brief message, wishing him well on his insurance seminar tomorrow. If that’s even where he was going, which her all-knowing was telling her he wasn’t.
    Suddenly doubting her ability and wondering if she was just being skittish and un-necessarily distrustful, she undressed and crawled into bed, placing the phone on the bedside table just in case Carlos returned the call. She decided to leave the living room light on in case the boogieman chose to invade her villa in the middle of the night and then she snuggled deep under the covers, willing herself to think about festival day, hoping sleep would grab her quickly. It didn’t take long as she felt herself drift off, pushing aside the images of the dark man at the harbor.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Brooding for most of the night and angry for the mistakes of old, the run down, detached house jutting precariously towards the ocean on the outskirts of town, had sheltered Jake for the night.
    What the hell was he doing? He wasn’t a part of Kate’s life anymore, that was clear. She was happy, obviously with a guy she loved. He should just go. Leave her to