Free Hunting Human by Amanda E. Alvarez Page B

back was shocking and very unwelcome. But it was enough to make her realize that she was out of breath and could hear the blood rushing in her ears.
    “Come home with me.” He kept his face close to hers, his breath ghosting across her swollen lips, but the hand on her back slid away, pressing against the door of the Jeep. “Come home with me, Beth.”
    Air rushed into her lungs and back to her brain, restoring reason. Beth shook her head. “I’m not… I don’t…” She wasn’t the type of woman to take a lover lightly, and never on a first date, but for the briefest moment she considered it.
    “I’m not ready.”
    “Any more ready and we’d combust.” Something in her expression must have conveyed that her mind was set because he sighed, placed a final, brief kiss on her lips and took a strained step back. “I had to ask. At least now I know it’ll be on your mind.”
    Oh, it’ll be on my mind. Probably to the point of distraction.
    “At least say you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow, we’ll do something casual, maybe catch a movie.”
    “Okay.”
    “That’s it, just okay? I don’t have to harass you into it this time?”
    “Not this time.” A small smile played across her face.
    “I guess I’ll have to kiss you more often, especially if it’s going to make you more accommodating.” He smiled and bent his head. “Maybe I should try it again and see if I can’t change your mind about tonight…”
    Beth laughed as she dodged to the right. “Such an ego. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She unlocked the car, but Braden pulled the door open before she got the chance.
    “I’ll call you when I’m done with work, probably around six, if that works.”
    “Sure.” She tossed her purse on the passenger seat and clicked her seat belt in place. “We can meet at Angie’s.” When she turned the ignition, Braden leaned up, placed a quick kiss on her cheek then closed the door. Beth rolled down her window as she put the Jeep in reverse, “Do you need a lift to your car?”
    “Nah, I’m close. Good night, Beth.”
    “Good night.”
    Palms damp against the steering wheel and nerves still singing she curb checked as she pulled out of the parking lot. She was certain she saw Braden laughing in her rearview mirror when she curb checked pulling onto the street.
    ***
    A distant peal of thunder resonated up the street. W here the fuck was she? Markko pushed smoke through his nostrils and tossed the butt of his cigarette to the ground where it joined a dozen others. He’d tracked the Williams bitch to where she worked downtown and located her car in one of the few public lots close to her job. He’d toyed with the idea of going into the café to see if this was the right woman or not, but the last thing he wanted was an open confrontation. If this was the bitch he was looking for, he didn’t want to confront her in a coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon. No. They were going to play this game on his terms, on his schedule. He’d expose himself when she would be alone and vulnerable, and when she would feel the most violated.
    Instead, he’d retreated to her car, found a sheltered vantage point and waited. For hours. At this point, he didn’t care if this was the woman he was looking for. He was considering killing her for the inconvenience. And if it actually started to rain before she got here? Well then he’d just have to kill her slowly.
    A few minutes later, a man and a woman rounded the corner and started up the long street toward the parking lot. Wind heralding the incoming storm rushed past them, catching the woman’s skirt and making her shiver. Markko pressed closer to the alley’s opening. They were still too far away to be sure, but the woman was the right build, tall and slender, with the same brown hair he remembered from years ago. But she had her head tilted toward the man she was with, her face hidden from view.
    Cursing, Markko shifted farther forward, careful to remain out of