Stroke Of Fear (22 page)

  
Shifting, I remember the soreness. It travels up my thighs and settles between my legs, reminding me of everything we did last night. Sliding the covers off me, I grab Tanner’s shirt he wore before our swim yesterday. It smells like him and it envelopes me. I snuggle into it for a few seconds, before scooting out of the back of the truck. The dew drenches my bare feet and the weeds stick to my heels.

   The cab door to his truck is opened, so I grab my cell out of the cup holder. 7:00 a.m. We need to leave soon. We both have activities set for the day. Digging for my jeans, I slid
e into them and button myself up. It isn’t until I shut the door that I notice something whipping in the wind underneath his windshield wipers.

   Tip-toeing over, I grab what appears to be the back of a newspaper.
There’s something on it in small writing with a permanent marker.

   I see you.

   I drop the paper and cover my mouth with my hands.
Is this a sick joke? Who would do this?
Cassie knows I’m here, but no one else.
Eric, maybe?
No. Cassie would never do this or let Eric.

   Grabbing the note from the ground, I crawl back into the bed of the truck. “Tanner,” I whisper.

   He moans, stretches and sits up rubbing his eyes. If this were any other moment, I’d be turned on. He has sex hair, mashed against his head. Not to mention the sloppy we-had-sex-last-night grin. “Good mornin’.”

   “Read this,” I say before shoving the note at him.

   He looks down and then looks back up. “Where did you find it?”

   “On the hood of your truck
. Who do you think did it?”

   Tanner’s serious now. He sits all the way up and looks over it again. “I’m not sure. It could be a fuckin’ sick joke. But, I’m thinking it’s the person
stalking around the camp. No one knows besides us and Cassie. Cassie wouldn’t do this, Aubrey.”

   “I know,” I whisper out. “That means he’s watching us.”

   Tanner nods, wraps his fingers over the back of my neck, and kisses my forehead. “That’s exactly what it means. And it’s gonna stop now.”

   “What are you going to do?”

   Tanner stands up and pulls on his swimming shorts from yesterday. He doesn’t bother looking for a shirt, before he helps me out of the back of his truck. “Tanner what are you going to do?” I ask, getting into the passenger seat.

   He puts the truck in reverse and spins his tires. I haven’t seen him this pissed before. His locks his jaw and starts toward the camp. “Tanner,” I snap. “What are we going to
do?”

   He swallows, his jaw clenching. “I’m going to kill him.”

Chapter Eighteen

Tanner

“Wait, so I have to come, too?” Eric is staring at me like I’m an idiot. I shake my head and start to lace up my shoes.

   “Yes, he’s been stalking the camp. There are kids here. The police won’t help, so I’m going to find him.”

   Eric laughs and slaps his knees. “You’re joking with me, right? What do you country folks call it? Picking with me? Hell no. I’m not going. That’s a death wish.”

   “Whatever, you don’t have to come, Eric. I’m just tryin’ to make sure we’re all safe.”

   Eric rolls his eyes. “You’re really going to go?”

   “Does it look like I’m
picking
with you?”

   Eric snorts. “Okay. I’ll go. But, what exactly do you think we should do with this guy if we catch him?”

   Standing up, I tuck my phone into my jeans pocket. “Kill him.”

   Eric must see the
desperation in my eyes, because he gives me a short nod. It’s one of the only times I’ve seen him serious. “Okay.”

   It’s past nine. I don’t know when to expect this guy or if he’s even going to come back. Eric grabs a hunting knife and slides it into his boot. I feel like we should be on
The Walking Dead
right now. My hatchet is still in my truck, so I dig it out and turn to Eric.

   “Really?”

   I shrug. “I didn’t bring a gun to summer camp, Eric. It’s all I have. Plus, I could really scare somebody with this shit.”

   “Okay, you
do
look a little badass.”

   He barks out a laugh and then stops to look over my shoulder.

“Is the axe murderer standing behind me?”

   He shakes his head back and forth slowly. “Worse. It’s Jake.”

   What. The. Fuck.
I know he’s being decent toward me now but I’m not sure we’re ready to run off into the sunset and be best friends. Jake stalks toward us baseball bat in hand. He has a half smile on his face. “We’re going creeper hunting?” he asks.

    We? Who in the hell invited you?
“Um, who told you that?”

   He suddenly finds the ground interesting.
“I went by Aubrey’s cabin to check on her. She told me you guys were going to search for the guy. I thought I’d help.”

   Eric nudges me in the ribs with his elbow and gives me a
come the fuck on
look. I glance back at Jake. Even though he’s trying to get my girl back, I feel sorry for him. Because there is no way after last night she’ll ever go back to him. I saw it in her eyes. She was so breathtaking—her soft body shuddering under me. She was so damn responsive. “Okay. You can come.”

   He looks like a damn kid in a candy store. Give grown men
hatchets, knifes and bats, and they think they’re zombie hunters.

***

   We start in the extra cabin. It’s already ten. We’ve been waiting for hours. Eric is playing
Candy Crush
on his phone while hiding behind a door. He’s cussing underneath his breath.

  “Put that away, Eric,” I hiss at him.

   “You’re just mad because you forgot your phone, asshole.”
   He’s fucking right. I did forget my phone.

  
“
Pst
.”

   I roll my eyes. “What is it Jake?”

   “I’ve got to piss.”

  
Christ.
Are we the adults or do we need to go get the campers to help us? “Hold it, Jake. I told you to go before we left.”

   “I can’t. I have to fuckin
g go, country. I’m stepping out of position. Gotta drain the pipe.”

  
Fuck. What’s the use?
Jake slides out from under one of the bed and runs toward the bathroom. A few minutes later I hear the toilet flush. Jake’s walking out of the bathroom when he stops dead in his tracks. A look of pure fear washes over his face. “Someone is in the fucking window.”

   My gaze averts toward the opened window
to my left. The man I saw before is staring in at us, the white cap covering his eyes, a sneer riding up his lips and then he’s gone just as fast as I see him.

   “Go!” I yell. All three of us
scramble to a run toward the door. Jake’s in front, swinging the baseball bat at his side. It’s so dark. I’m running, searching the ground for him. I catch a glimpse of a shadow behind the cabins close to the woods. He’s running fast. “This way,” I yell pointing my hatchet toward the gap in the woods.

   The moon is our only light, giving us glimpses of
trees. My heart is jack-hammering in my chest. He’s right in our reach. We’ve got to catch him.
   “Fuck, I knew I should have been working out,” Eric yells from behind me. Creeper guy darts into the woods where a trail is and disappears. Jake looks back at me and nods. There is no way we can let this guy get away. Not with a camp full of kids running around.

   The trees branches slap at my face. I tear at them, pulling and cussing. Running with scissors is never a good idea. Running with
a hatchet in the dark is a fucking stupid idea.

   “Jake
!” I call out.

   “I’m on his tail. Over here.” I follow the sound of his voice and dig into the mushy ground beneath me. I can faintly see the outline of something darting in and out of trees. I’m hoping it’s Jake.
Using my hatchet, I chop at the branches. All I can concentrate on is my breathing and the limbs slapping at my face.

   “Jake!” I yell.

   “He’s looping around. Go toward the cabins.”

  
What. The. Hell.
Turning I run smack into Eric. “Where are you…?” He doesn’t even try to finish his sentence. We’re both back on the trail and running as fast as we can. I don’t stop until the trees clear and we’re back at the camp. Searching the woods’ edge I see someone break from the barrier and take off into a full blown run.

  Jake breaks through next
sprinting toward the guy. My feet are burning as I run through the camp toward him. He hasn’t stopped once. He’s in different clothes, but I can make out some kind of letterman jacket.
What school is that?
I can’t even make out the colors in the dark.

   The ground is slippery
, and I stumble a few times before busting my ass in the mud. I have no idea how long we’ve been running but none of us have stopped. I don’t even realize where we’re at until the cliff comes into view.

   It’s so dark I can’t tell if Jake sees where we are. “We’re at the cliff. Watch out!” I’m screaming, my throat burning from running. Jake skids to a stop, sending a dust storm up his legs. That’s when I see the man. He doesn’t think twice before leaping over and diving into the rough waters. Then he’s gone.

   We walk back in silence. Jake’s face is bruised and scraped from the limbs. Something is nagging at the back of my head, but I can’t put my finger on it. How did he just jump without question? I guess he figured he’d die either way. But, no. That dive was perfect. It almost looked like he was…a swimmer.

***

   Aubrey and Cassie are sitting outside on their porch when we walk up. Aubrey’s eyes are wide, and she rushes toward me checking my body for injuries. “Are you okay?” she asks, holding my arms out to look.

   I nod and kiss the top of her head. “I’m fine, darlin’.” Eric rushes toward
Cassie and wraps her in a hug. Even though they act like they’re just hooking up, I know they really like each other. That look is fear. Fear of losing someone.

   Aubrey’s gaze flickers from mine to Jake. His breathing heavily, watching the ground. Aubrey breaks from my grip and grabs
Jake into a hug. A slight sigh releases from his mouth, and he tugs on her harder. I actually feel sorry for him.

   “You okay?” she whispers.

   He nods into her neck. “I am now.”

   Aubrey pulls back, gives him a smile and walks back over to me. “What happened? Did you catch him?”

   Slowly I shake my head back and forth. “No, he jumped over the cliff.”
   “What? You mean… he dove into the water? The winds are terrible he couldn’t have made it.”

   Jake
scoffs. “I have a terrible feeling he did. He dove so perfectly. Like he knew exactly where to land. Exactly what the fuck he was doing.”

   Aubrey begins to tear up
, and Jake takes a step toward her but stops. “I think I need to talk to you alone,” I say.

   Eric slaps my back. “I think I’m going to stay over tonight. You gonna stay here
, too?”

   I nod. Eric’s gaze flicker
s toward Jake. “You want to stay over, too?”

   Swinging the bat over his shoulder
, he shakes his head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

   I know exactly what he means. He’s not ready to be that close to Aubrey and me together. I’ll be sleeping with her, I could only imagine how that would feel. “Call us if you see him.”

   He nods.

  
“Hey,” I call out. Jake turns. “Thank you.”

   Eric and
Cassie rush inside to take a shower and leave us by ourselves. Aubrey sits down on her bed and glances up at me. “What is it? What do you need to talk to me about?”

   “I don’t want you to freak out. I’m not sure yet. But, you said
Michael was a swimmer right?”

   “State champ three years in a row.”

   Taking her hands in mine, I rub my fingertips over her knuckles. “When he jumped it seemed perfect. Not like someone freaking out and jumping over the ledge. It was a perfect swimmer’s dive.”

   Her face turns pale. She shakes her head back and forth quickly. “No. No. No. It can’t be him. He’s in prison. I called and
…” She stops, breathing in and out really fast.