Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall Page A

to him right now, sitting there not doing anything with her car on. Her heart racing, she pulled out of the spot and drove back to her apartment as fast as she dared. She nearly ran to the front doors and then walked each hall from one stairwell to the other to make sure no one had followed her. She reached her floor with a sigh of relief.
    Yet, as if her heart hadn’t done enough racing and slowing today, she could see from the end of the hall that something waited outside her door. She approached slowly, though she didn’t know what kind of danger a bottle could prove to be. Looking around, she found no one watching her or waiting to pounce on her, so she knelt down and picked up the bottle of red wine.
    Blood Red Shiraz .
    She licked her dry lips and looked around the hall again before examining the bottle. A cream white card hung around the bottle’s neck, tied by a red ribbon strung through a hold in its corner. She opened it using just the tips of two fingers and broke out in a cold sweat when she read the message.
    I’ve missed you.
    She quickly opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Once she’d locked all the locks, she did a thorough check of the entire apartment and all the locks on the windows. She checked the locks on the door again to be sure before leaning back against it and sliding to the floor.
    The bottle seemed to laugh at her from where she’d left it next to the sink. It said, ‘I am always watching.’ He’d killed Thomas and seen her at the crime scene. She closed her eyes. He saw me with Aidan and Elle.
    This happened every time she stopped. Sooner or later she’d get a whiff or a glimpse of him. Or he’d find her before she realized and he’d play mind games. Only this time, he’d left her a note. He never talked to her. That was part of the punishment for her… contamination.
    He’d never made so many kills in one place before, either. He would kill sometimes because someone got in his way or he felt she needed reminding of why she should let him do as he wished to her. But here? He’d declared Echo Falls his hunting ground by assassinating three werewolves before even bothering with her.
    And she hadn’t even seen it until tonight.
    ‘As long as you live in Echo falls, whether or not you choose to be a part of our pack, I will keep you safe.’
    If only Aidan knew. If only she’d known for sure before tonight. If she had, she would have never let him swear something like that. She liked Echo Falls and for the first time in a long time, she could see settling down and making a new life. But to do that, she would have to finally face up to who and what she’d been running from.
    She stood up and looked through the eyeglass on the door. Seeing no one, she then walked over to the sink. The bottle of wine looked nice. Expensive. He’d taken his time picking it out, knowing she would notice. Knowing that the message meant he’d been carefully picking out his victims all along. Nothing came randomly. Thomas had been killed to get her attention, and now that he had it, she needed to run.
    “I will not run. Not this time,” she said.
    She tore off the card and tossed it in the sink, pouring the entire bottle of wine on it. When the bottle had emptied, she took the soggy remains of the card and tore it into pieces. She looked down at the mess, putting the bottle in the sink on top of it. Her hand shook and she turned away, walking to the bedroom.
    She only bothered to take her shoes off before pulling herself completely under the covers. Reaching under her pillow, she gripped the hilt of the knife, the feeling giving her some comfort.
    Elle’s words from earlier ran through her mind as she stared at the wall, and she promised herself she could and would be strong.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
    Aidan nodded to the barman who gave him a fresh whiskey. “Haven’t needed to be here in a while.”
    The barman nodded and moved away.
    Aidan hardly ever