This One Moment (Pushing Limits, #1)(71)

My phone pinged. It was a text from Mom to tell me they had arrived safely in Florida, the first leg of their trip.

Have fun! I replied. And make sure Dad doesn’t forget the sunscreen this time. :)

Once dinner was ready, I carried the soup and grilled cheese sandwich into the living room. Purposely avoiding the entertainment news, I found one of my favorite shows. But somehow watching the FBI track down a serial killer didn’t appeal to me when I was alone in a big house. And especially not when Nolyssa fans wanted to see me “removed from the planet” because I didn’t “deserve to exist.”

I eventually settled on a sitcom. By the time the closing credits came on, the world outside the window was a dusky black. I stood up to close the curtains. The Christmas lights on the house to the right of my parents’ home were on, as were the living room lights. Nolan’s house was dark. No big surprise there.

As the next show ended, the doorbell rang. I didn’t feel like answering it, but since it was obvious someone was home and it might be important, I walked to the front door and peeked through the peephole. The guy looked familiar and it took me a second to remember why. It was Lindsey’s stepfather.

Confused what he was doing here, I cautiously opened the door. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

“I didn’t know you live here,” he said.

Smiling, I opened the door a little wider. “I don’t. I’m house-sitting for my parents. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I realized our flashlight batteries are dead, and my wife’s worried we’ll have another power outage like the neighborhood had last night. I was going to ask if you had any we could borrow, but since this isn’t your house, you probably have no idea.”

I laughed. “You obviously don’t know my parents very well. I swear they can’t survive unless they’re fully stocked with batteries.” I stepped back so he could enter, and I shut the door behind him. “What size do you need?”

“Double A’s. Four of them.” A familiar spicy aftershave brushed past me.

Why the hell did you bring her here?

Even though I was safe in my parents’ home, my pulse accelerated, my heart slamming against my ribs in its haste to get away. Whoa. What the hell just happened?

“You okay?” Lindsey’s stepdad asked, frowning in concern.

I nodded. “I just remembered something.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing, really. The batteries are in the kitchen. I’ll be right back.”

Pushing away the old memory, I entered the kitchen and went straight for the battery drawer. Yes, some families had a junk drawer. My parents had a battery drawer. I peered in at the organized array of different sizes.

Without warning, a thin wire dug into my neck from behind, cutting into my skin. Choking me. I grabbed it with both hands, struggling to keep it from ending my life. The familiar odor assaulted me again, and I briefly flashed back to that night once more. Of being hit on the back of my head. In Nolan’s house.

Chris’s words from just before his death echoed in my head, and a distant memory returned of a move I’d learned in the self-defense class I’d taken in college. I tapped my palm against the man’s package. One tap, two taps, and then wham! I hit him hard, surprising him. His grip on the wire loosened.

While he was groaning and doubled over in pain, I jerked to the side and nailed his face with my fist. I didn’t have time to wonder why I hadn’t done this the night I was attacked; I just ran.

With my lungs and throat burning from the near choking, I hurled myself toward the front door. I snatched hold of the doorknob and twisted it. But Lindsey’s stepfather must have locked the door before following me into the kitchen. It refused to open. Shit.

I scrambled to unlock the door, breath coming fast. But in my haste to escape, I’d forgotten it got stuck unless you push on the door while twisting the lock. Leaning my weight against the door, I reached for the doorknob.

Lindsey’s stepfather grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me away from the door. Screaming, I wildly punched and struggled and squirmed. Anything to keep him from getting a firm hold on me. Anything to break free.

It worked. The hand holding me lost its grip, and I jerked my arm away.

Not expecting the sudden release, I stumbled sideways, the momentum pulling me toward the stairs and away from the door. With the man between me and the front door, I didn’t have a choice. I scrambled up the stairs, pushing hard to escape before he caught up with me.

Just before I reached the top step, I tripped.

A hand grabbed my ankle.

I screamed.





Chapter 45


Nolan


I grabbed my overnight bag from the overhead compartment and waited for everyone in the aisle to start moving. I was ready to shove them out of the way if it took any longer—which wouldn’t help my bad-boy image. Unfortunately, the flight had been delayed more than three hours due to bad weather.

As soon as I stepped off the plane, I rushed to where the cabs were waiting for new arrivals. The cold winter wind howled through me. Snow blanketed the ground; the roads and sidewalks hadn’t been cleared yet.

I climbed in a cab and gave the driver Hailey’s address. My leg bounced the entire ride there. I had no idea what I was going to say to her.