Free Wanted: County Knights MC by Ellen Harper Page A

man walked three buildings behind me, keeping the same pace as myself. Not faster or slower, but the exact same pace. His face was shrouded in the darkness of the night, and his hands were in his pockets. He didn’t look away when I saw him, instead he looked directly at me. 
     
                  My heart sped up and I took longer strides, trying not to alert him to my quickening steps. My building was only another block ahead. The footsteps picked up speed and sound, he wasn’t even trying to hide that he followed me. I tried to dig my cell phone out of my bag while I continued making my way home, but it had slid down to the bottom of my bag and I couldn’t reach it without stopping to dig it out.
     
                  A cat howled from behind a trash can, making me jump. He laughed. The guy behind me let out a low chuckle. I didn’t look over my shoulder again, I didn’t need to. I could feel him there, closer than before. 
     
                  My building was within eyesight, I could see my steps. I worried about the stalker chasing me up to my apartment, breaking in. Maris would be home by then, she might have been asleep. If he made his way into the apartment it wouldn’t just be me who was in danger. I’d be putting her in harm’s way as well. 
     
                  Deciding to try and make a run for it, I dropped my bag and darted down the gangway, heading for the alley. I knew the streets around my house better than him, I hoped.
     
                  I barely made it to the backyard of the building before I felt a cold hand grip my neck. My breath was knocked out of me as I was thrown against the brick building. I hit my head against the rough surface and grunted from the pain of it. 
     
                  The stench of cigarette smoke and beer filled my nostrils as he pressed himself against me, pushing me harder against the building. I tried taking a deep breath, but my lungs wouldn’t expand with his weight against my chest. “So you’re the little bitch,” he snarled. Yellowed teeth flashed at me just before another sparkle in the night became more interesting.
     
                  Cold, sharp metal pressed against my neck. I tried to lean away from it, to slip out from his grasp, but he only pressed harder. The bite of the knife drew my attention.
     
                  “Just hold still. I think I’d like a bit of fun before we get to the main event.” I heard a buckled being worked on, a zipper moving. I kicked my legs out, but hit nothing but air. The darkness didn’t allow me to see much. His body blocked the light from the alley.
     
                  Reaching up, I tried to claw at his face, his arms, anything that would get him to let up on the pressure he had on me so I could wiggle free. His weight was too much, the pain in my shoulder weakened me. 
     
                  “Fuck,” he growled as he was ripped away from me. He landed on the ground, under the moonlight, flat on his back. My rescuer took no time in keeping my assailant down for the count, applying several hard punches to his face before shoving him to the ground and standing up. 
     
                  I watched everything unfold as though I were sitting in a movie theater. Things like this didn’t happen in real life. My rescuer turned slowly back to me, and for a moment I tensed, worried I’d only swapped out attackers.
     
                  “Anna.” The tenderness mingled with the roughness snapped my attention to his face. Jackson.
     
                  Jackson was there, and he’d saved me. Again. I sagged against the building, letting the adrenalin run out of my system. A soft whimper escaped me as he scooped me up into his arms. Pushing my face into his chest, I took calming breaths.
     
                  “Thank you. Thank you,” I said over and over again. I