She couldn’t remember the last time she had time to relax in a hot bubble bath. Josie laid her head back and let the heat soothe her stress-filled body. She needed this after the past few days.
That story they’d fed Julia was so wrong on so many levels. Then to come home to more hate-fueled messages and even a dead rat on her doorstep.
Maybe it was time to call the police; for the first time, the messages actually scared her. They were becoming more and more violent. This person was psychotic and had left five messages over the last twenty-four hours, each one a little angrier than the last.
Josilyn stayed in the bath until her hands were like prunes and the water was growing cold. She sighed and stood to dry off. She felt like a wet noodle, pliant and soft from the hot water relaxing her to the point she was dozing. It took almost too much energy to get dressed in her old sweats and tank.
She padded into her bedroom and came to an abrupt stop. A tall, well-endowed woman sat on the end of her bed with a look of utter hatred on her familiar face. “You’re finally here, you pathetic bitch.”
“You again,” Josie said, staring at the bimbo who dragged her away at the fair not too long ago. “How did you get into my apartment?” Josie’s voice was high and threaded with anger. She’d had enough crap for someone to yell at her in her own goddamned apartment.
The big woman jumped to her feet and snarled, “I told you to stay away, but you wouldn’t listen. Now I’m here to make sure you do.”
“Are you the asshole leaving me messages, putting trash on my doorstep, and just plain harassing me for weeks now?” Josie asked in bewilderment. “I don’t know you and I don’t work for the company anymore. What in the hell is your problem?”
The woman stomped on the wooden floor like a five-year-old ready to throw a tantrum. “Don’t play stupid with me. I know what your family did to my husband. It’s the only reason he married someone like you.”
Josie laughed as she suddenly caught on to who this woman was. “You’re Miss Double-D from the car wash down the street. The one my dipshit ex, Michael, cheated on me with? You were the cause of our divorce!” She laughed. “I would thank you, but you don’t seem like the reasonable type.”
Josie wondered what the woman meant by what her family did to Michael. Josie’s family hadn’t done anything to Michael except take him in as a son-in-law. She thought Michael married her for love, but now that she thought about it, he hadn’t been a fraction as loving as Xander.
Josie had never seen an adult act so childish before. “What are you going to do, try to kidnap me again? You don’t really think I’m going to sit here, do you?”
Miss Double-D gave an evil smirk. “Oh, no, honey, that would be too easy, and I won’t be the one doing anything. But I will help my husband get his revenge and he will come back to me.” She glanced to the doorway behind Josie and smiled. “Have you met Trey yet? He says you belong to him, and he isn’t happy that you’ve been hiding from him.”
Josie’s eyes widened as she slowly turned to face the freak from the alley. His eyes were glowing as he prowled closer.
“Mine, you belong to me. You’re my mate. How could you leave me to go to another man?” He stalked closer and closer. “Mine, I won’t let you forget it this time.”
Josie screamed and hurled herself across the bed and away from the freak shifter, but she hadn’t taken into consideration the woman who sat there in her frightened fight-or-flight response. Miss Double-D jumped on top of her and held her down as the freak came closer.
“Stop fighting me. This will be easier that way,” the deranged woman gritted out as she fought to subdue Josie.
Josie clawed and kicked. “Get off me, you crazy bitch.” She heard a slap, then the weight on her back was suddenly gone. Trey grabbed the woman around the neck and lifted her off the floor. He slammed her against the wall, denting the surface.
“Don’t hurt my mate. No one touches her but me.”
Josie gathered enough of her senses to scramble across the bed, headed for the door. Hopefully, that monster would take care of Miss Double-D so she’d never be a problem again. Not that Josie wanted her killed; she just didn’t want notes or dead animals left at her front door.
She made it to the far side of the bed, ready to swing her feet to the floor. A rough hand grabbed her foot and yanked her backward. She rolled over and kicked her heel at his nose. A crunch against her skin felt good.
Her other foot was released, but she fell off the bed from being dragged. The beast roared and fell against the wall, stumbling over Double-D’s body. Josie was up and around the bed in a blink. As soon as she stepped out, a heavy weight slammed into her back. She crashed on top of the secondhand coffee table, knocking out her breath as it crumbled beneath them.
The squeeze of his arms was suffocating her, not letting her take the breath she needed. She felt her consciousness slipping away. Her tank top was ripped away as her body was rolled face-up. She heard a huge crash and the floor shook under her.
The beast’s face was in hers. His breath was rotting decay. If she was going to pass out, now would be a good time. She didn’t want to live through this experience. If she lived.
The face was suddenly gone, and the last thing she heard was her window shattering.