Stalker, p.1
Stalker, page 1
Stalker
A Possessive Man: Book 3
Lena Little
© 2021 by Lena Little
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Mailing List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Extended Epilogue
Also by Lena Little
Preview
God, she’s perfect.
All I can think about is her. My obsession drawing me to her.
But next thing I know she’s slipped through my fingers. But stalking my prey is what I’m good at as a hitman for hire.
I’m the man she needs, whether she understands just how much she needs me…or not.
Yet.
I’m going to find her and convince my romance novel junkie that a heartless man from the other side of the tracks is right for her.
Usually when I do a little breaking and entering it’s because I’m setting up before my would-be target arrives home, only for me to swiftly execute him.
This…this is different. This is me planning for a big event in the future all right, but not one that ends in tragedy. One that ends in triumph.
But will my little girl catch onto me before I tell her who I really am?
I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy, and I always find a way.
I knew she was mine for life the moment I laid eyes on her, that’s exactly what she is…whether she wants it or not.
Mailing List
Get free books from time to time by signing up for my mailing list…
www.subscribepage.com/lenalittle
1
Sebastian
Who is she?
I bend down, pretending to tie my shoe, allowing my narrowing eyes time to rake up and down her smooth skin. God, she’s perfect. But what is she doing out here standing in front of a bus stop all alone at this hour of the night?
I untie and tie my shoelace again, something a hitman would never need to do in real life. It’s attention to detail that makes me who I am, and right now every detail, everything about her, has my undivided attention.
The airbrakes of the approaching bus hiss and the double doors come flying open. The beautiful brunette climbs up the first step, smiling at the driver and moving toward a seat near the front of the bus.
Without thinking, I tug my cap down over my eyes and step forward out of the shadows, stepping onto the bus just as the doors are closing. “Barely made it, sir. Last bus for the night too,” the driver informs.
I nod, keeping my head down and being careful not to make eye contact with anyone as I find a seat a few rows back and over from this girl who is doing things to me no other woman ever has.
Squirming in my seat, I grip the seam of one of my pant legs and pull it down and away from my thigh, then do the same with the other. It’s no use. The fabric stays bunched up around my groin, my cock fighting to break free of the denim prison that’s struggling to contain me, to keep me away from her.
My right foot taps on the floorboards while the fingers of my left hand cascade over my thigh. I can’t hold still. Can’t concentrate. All I can think about is her.
With the same youthful smile affixed to her face as when she boarded the bus, she reaches into her book bag and pulls out an Amazon Kindle. A second later her entire expression changes as she begins reading, her mind entering a whole different world. The transformation is a sight to behold, like a butterfly regressing into a cocoon.
My heart rate spikes as she flips her auburn hair over her shoulder, a portion of it cascading down the seat and positioning itself in front of the man who’s sitting behind her. He looks at her hair a little too long causing my fingers to dig into my palms as I form two fists, if that prick so much as thinks about leaning in and smelling her scent, taking a single strand of her hair, or if his face telegraphs that he might be thinking anything about her in any way other than leaving her the fuck alone I’ll knock him the fuck out.
Wisely he goes back to looking out the window and I resume wondering where this girl is going.
Completely losing track of time my body jerks when she stuffs her Kindle in her bookbag and jumps out of her seat. “I’m coming,” she says.
“Reading again?” the driver smiles and she returns it, sending a spark of jealousy through me. “Good night, Sophia.”
Sophia. That’s her name. I don’t even bother putting it in my phone because it’s etched onto my brain forever.
“Good night, Rex,” she calls to him, but my mind only hears her angelic tone sing, “Good night, Sebastian.” Mind control is everything in my line of work as a hitman, and it can be used in more ways than one. The bottom line is it’s always used to get what I want. And I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than her.
I slowly slide from my seat and exit the bus after her, a weird thing considering it looks like I forgot my own stop too. The bus driver makes no mention of it, and when a couple more guys get off behind me, it helps me fit right in.
Moving swiftly from the stop I cross the street, seeing her reflection in an oversized shop window in the concrete jungle. She thinks I’m going in the complete opposite direction. Good, my misdirection worked and as soon as I see her head down an alley I circle back and follow her, my treadless buffalo moccasins not making a sound in the night.
But my snarl does. Why is she walking down a semi-lit alley by herself? Who’s her father? And does he realize I’m about to pay his ass an unexpected visit and tell him in no uncertain terms he needs to do a much, much, much better job of keeping the jewel of a daughter he has safe.
I shake my head and stay close to the wall, watching her body move as I match my steps to the cadence of hers.
Suddenly she stops and looks back over her shoulder. I jerk my body back, flattening it to the bricks that line the alley, and after a second passes she resumes her walking, picking up the pace.
Not three seconds later two guys jump out of a perpendicular alley and immediately I identify them as the two guys who got off at the same stop as us.
“Give us the bookbag, bitch!” one orders, pointing a knife at her.
“We’ve been watching you for a week. We know you’ve got electronics in there. Hand it over and nobody gets hurt.”
Her body jerks away in fear and my stomach rolls, never feeling so upset in my entire life, so inadequate as if I let someone down. I could have stopped this before it even happened, but there’s no looking back now. Only the time to make it right the only way I know how.
“Hurt?” I snarl, dropping my voice an octave lower, a gravely threat as one man grabs her bookbag and yanks it from her shoulder while the other turns his knife in my direction.
“Who’s there? Show your face, pussy.”
“You signed your own death warrants when you pulled a weapon on a woman.”
Diving out of the shadows I tackle the man with the knife, the blade flying as his head hits the concrete, knocking him out instantly. I jump up and deck the second man in the face, driving my fist into his mouth until a tooth pops out and lands on the cold concrete.
Something inside me snaps and I can’t stop, needing her to know she’s never going to have to worry about anything like this ever happening again.
A full minute later I drop the other man, his body falling bonelessly on top of his friend. My chest heaving, I turn back to the girl…and she’s gone.
“Fuck!” I grunt. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
She’s gone and so is her bookbag. No way she’ll ever take that bus again, which means the odds of me seeing her again are just as minimal.
It doesn’t matter. I will find her. “Sophia,” I say under my breath, her name the sweetest sound in the world.
Pacing back and forth in the alley, I run my hand through my hair and try and think of a way to find her in a city of this size. I don’t have much to go by, but I’ll do it.
I look down at the two lifeless bodies and realize I need to get out of here. My eyes scan the area to make sure there are no clues that can tie me back to this incident and that’s when I see it.
Her Kindle.
Carefully I pick it up like it’s a precious stone. Opening the case it springs to life with color. I swipe my hands a few times until a litany of books appears. Clicking on the settings button I get what I’m after…
REGISTERED USER: SOPHIA SMITH
“Jackpot,” I smirk. A common last name, but there’s going to be nothing common about the way I’m going to find her and convince this romance novel junkie that a heartless man from the other side of the tracks is right for her.
And that’s exactly what I’ll do. Become I’m the man she needs, whether she understands just how much she needs me…or not. Yet.
2
Sophia
“That figures,” I huff, slapping my hand on the steering wheel and popping the hood to my car. She’s a beater for sure, and considering my barely street legal car is as old as my eighteen years, there’s not a lot I can really come to expect of her…which is why I usually take the bus at night to the community colleg
But during the day, when the temperature is warm? It’s the first time the engine has stopped worked.
I push open the door and make my way around the front of the car to the hood, pulling it open and realizing I have no clue what’s going on in front of me.
“Need some help?”
I cock my head around the hood and my tired eyes lock on a man who looks like he must be double my age walking a too cute for words French Bulldog.
“Not much anyone can do at this point.” I shrug.
“Won’t hurt for me to take a look.” His eyes are dark but welcoming. Not to mention he has a small dog that looks to be happy and well-groomed. After last night I need to be more careful around people, but this isn’t a dark ally at night. This is the day, and this man in the suit with a perfectly trimmed beard is standing right in line with the security cameras in my apartment complex’s outdoor parking lot.
“Be my guest.”
I extend my hand toward the engine and take a step back.
“Let’s see what we got here,” he says out loud, moving in closer, but keeping a safe distance from me. I take a step back, just in case, yet my mind curses my feet for the action…the woodsy smell of him beckoning me closer.
Placing both hands on the front fender he looks over the engine, and I have a second to look at his crooked fingers and the many scrapes and scratches, and even scars on the back of his hands.
He mumbles a few things as he tests some hoses and knocks on a couple of things, speaking under his breath as if he’s going through a checklist with extreme precision.
“You’re not a mechanic are you?”
“No, but I used to work on cars with my dad as a kid before he passed away.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago and the years I had with him are special. I’ll never forget them.” He pauses. “Everything checks out here. Mind if I get behind the wheel real quick?”
I remember the keys are in the ignition and he could drive away with my car. Then I do a giggle-snort combo realizing my car doesn’t even run so if he does get it to run in the first place it’s a miracle. And I doubt he’ll be driving away fast anytime soon. I can practically outrun the darn hunk of junk on foot.
“Please do,” I confirm, and he moves behind the wheel. I go to follow him, to stand at his side, but he quickly says, “Keep an eye on the engine. Let me know if you see anything.”
“Okay.”
I move back in front of the car, his little dog looking up at me as she sits there just perfectly mannered. She’s not barking, not whining, not demanding attention…nothing. Clearly, she’s been trained, as there’s nothing from keeping her from doing anything she wants, other than the tall man who’s caused my car’s shocks to strain and creak by taking a seat behind the wheel.
“Now?” he asks.
“Nothing.” I shake my head and keep my eyes glued on the engine, although I want to look around the side of the hood at his wide shoulders, the ones that extend from the door to the edge of the passenger seat. Granted my car is small, but regardless, he is huge.
For the first time in forever, I wonder if he’s huge somewhere else. The thought shocks me as I’ve never had time for men, let alone entertaining the idea of having a relationship with one.
There’s just something so thorough, caring, and even paternal, in a protective kind of way about him. We live in a world where everyone’s rushing to make another buck, and here this man is, clearly with a bank balance that tops mine, although that isn’t saying much, who’s so generously volunteering his time to help me.
“How about now?”
“Noth—”
Like clockwork the engine sputters and coughs then comes to life, the sound sounding less like a rusty gate and more like a kitten purring by the second.
“You fixed it. Wow.”
“Couple cords got tangled. You’re good to go now.”
He steps from the car, moving back toward me, and inspects the engine one last time before carefully lowering the hood. I appreciate him not slamming it, considering my ride feels like it could come tumbling down like a house of cards.
“Is there a chance it might not work later?”
“Not based on what I just fixed. Something else could always pop up, but that problem won’t bother you the rest of today.” He pauses. “If you’re worried I can give you a ride.”
“I…” My jaw hangs open as I look for an excuse that doesn’t come.
“Where you headed?” He winces ever so slightly after asking me and I wonder why, storing the thought for later. But it’s enough in the present to remind me to be careful about strangers knowing my whereabouts.
“Not far. Thank you, but my car will do the job at least for another day.”
“Okay.”
A beat passes and finally, he extends his hand. “Steven.”
I wait, cautiously optimistic before I place my tiny hand in his big mitt. “Sophia,” I say softly, and thankfully the final syllable escapes from my lips before I make contact because the moment his skin touches mine the ability to form coherent sentences or thoughts for that matter, leaves me.
My feet take root to the spot as electricity shoots through me. “Stephen King is one of my favorite non-romance authors,” I blurt out.
“Mine too,” he agrees. “In general. I don’t read romance.”
“Oh.”
I go to take my hand back but he doesn’t give it, and a part of me is glad. I want him to want it, to want me, to accept little ol’ young me. There’s something about the charisma he wields without even trying. Something magnetic about him, and it keeps my hand glued to his until finally, he releases it.
“I’m new here to the complex. I live just over there,” he says, pointing toward the units across the courtyard from me.
“Do you like it so far?” I inquire.
“I do now.”
Yet another beat passes and I feel my cheeks heat. “I better get going.”
“Yeah, me too,” he agrees. “I should get your number,” he asks, my chest caroming off my ribcage as butterflies take flight in my stomach.
“I’m…I’m in the process of changing my number right now.”
“No worries,” he says, taking a step back before reaching down and scooping up his dog.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”
“I’m sure of it too.” And with that, he walks toward the front gate and disappears into the city. I turn and look at my car, running perfectly…and I’m glad for the help from this handsome stranger. One who’s already burrowing into my brain as I drive my car out of the complex, catching a grandma type bending down and tugging on Steven’s dog’s ears down the block. Jealousy streaks through me before I shake my head, reminding myself she’s twice his age. I have nothing to worry about when it comes to Steven, not that I have any sort of claim on him or him on me. Yet.
3
Sebastian
Keeping an eye out over my shoulder, I catch Sophia leaving the apartment complex and double-back to the complex’s reception where I inquire about the apartment for rent.
Once I put the cash on the table for the first and last month’s rent and the security deposit, the woman hands over the keys and takes me to it.
Ten minutes later and she’s gone. I move to the window and look straight across…a dead shot into Sophia’s place. “How do you like that view, Louis?” I ask my newly adopted French Bulldog. I pour some water into the doggie dish I brought with me and slide out of my place, moving through the courtyard toward Sophia’s place.
I can’t help but laugh at the name I chose. Steven, because I saw her collection of Stephen King books on her Kindle, and also Inc. Magazine had some story online back in May 2017 that said it’s the number one name to give your son to ensure success. And it sure looks like it worked.
