Be Afraid (43 page)

How much longer before the cop got into her apartment? How long to slice skin? Seconds?

Blood flickered along the narrow column of her neck and dripped on her hair. “Please.”

“We’re meant to be together.” Desperation tinged the anger.

“Just leave. While you can.”

He dragged the tip of the knife over her belly, etching a red scratch along her pale midline.

Fear contorted her gut as keys rattled in the front door. Had the cops gotten the apartment manager’s master key?
Hurry!
A door opened and caught on the security chain. The balance of her life depended on seconds.

Philip mopped up the blood trickling from her neck with his forefinger and smeared it across his forehead. “We live and die together
.
”

He raised the knife and plunged it into her gut. At first, shock and then agony sliced and burned through her insides as she stared into blue eyes that danced with satisfaction. He pulled the knife back and drove it down toward her neck. It skidded over her collarbone, before he sliced her cheek and her arms.

Cops pounded on the door. “Ms. Carson!”

Screaming, she grabbed the blade. The edge cut her palms. Blood gushed from her hands as he pulled the blade free and raised it again. She lost count of how many times he stabbed her before he rose breathless and stood over her. He stared a long moment at the blood blooming on the bedsheets. His eyes filled with fresh tears. “What have I done? God, I’m sorry.”

In the next instant, he vanished through the window, leaving her alone and bleeding. Stunned by pain, she lay still, feeling the warm blood pool around her body.

A scream caught in her throat as her hands went to her belly, now crimson and wet. The front door banged open and then the bedroom door. The silhouette of the cop appeared in the doorframe. “Leah Carson?”

The cop’s gaze settled on the blood pooling around Leah and then swept the room for threats. When he determined the room was clear, he holstered his gun and pushed a button attached to the mike on his vest. “I need an ambulance . . .”

His deep voice drifted away as her insides burned and her heart pumped hard. She lay as still as possible, fearing Philip had severed an artery.

Her mind drifted to a sandy beach where the breeze was gentle, the sky a bright blue, and the sun warm.

“Ms. Carson, can you hear me?” Desperation edged the words. “Open your eyes.”

She looked up and saw the blurred face of an officer with dark, graying hair. Kind, worried eyes.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Who did this to you?”

Air hissed from a slice in her chest as she gasped in a breath. “My husband. Philip Latimer.”

The room chilled quickly. A shiver passed through her body, and she imagined her spirit leaving, drifting above, looking down at the pale lifeless body that had been her.

Her eyes closing, her mind traveled to a warm beach, where the sky winked crystal clear and the waves lapped against fine sand. A seagull squawked. A gentle breeze. So far away from the pain, Philip, and Death.

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

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Copyright © 2015 by Mary Burton

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ISBN: 978-1-4201-3213-7

ISBN-10: 1-4201-3213-X

First Electronic Edition: May 2015

eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3214-4

eISBN-10: 1-4201-3214-8