The muscles in her shoulders tensed. She was being watched. She could feel it. Allison glanced over her shoulder from left to right. There was no one in sight, but the feeling continued.
Her grip on the platter of brownies tightened. She regretted deciding to walk to Karen’s. Then she immediately chastised herself for being paranoid. It was a simple walk down the road, less than a mile. It would be silly to drive on such a pleasant day.
The police had arrested Jim’s crazy stalker. They charged her with arson when she ranted about burning Allison’s house to the ground with her in it if she went near Jim again. The woman needed help. Luckily, she was getting a psych evaluation. She would probably end up in a treatment facility rather than prison.
Allison shook her head at her own foolishness. It was a beautiful day, and her troubles were over—mostly. She breathed deeply and smiled. The smell of cut grass and barbecue wafted the air.
Karen had invited her to dinner when she had to call and cancel her visit the other day. Jim hadn’t been thrilled with the idea. He was still worried. But they locked the woman up. She didn’t need a babysitter anymore. In fact, she should probably make plans to move back to her house. Lucas had started work on the house once the police had given the okay.
It would be weeks, if not months before her kitchen was functional and the screened-in porch replaced. She couldn’t live with Jim that long.
Her baking business was on hold indefinitely. She couldn’t bake without a kitchen.
An engine revved behind her.
She turned her head.
A shiny black exterior and the sun's glare reflected off the windshield.
She braced her body for impact.
The platter slipped from her hands, and she lunged to the right, trying to escape.
Pain exploded in her left leg.
The impact lifted her off the ground. She felt weightless for an instant before her elbow and back slammed into the car.
A scream lodged in her throat. The breath disappeared from her lungs.
Her body plummeted to the hot pavement.
The stench of exhaust battled with the sweet smell of grass. A new, cloying scent danced at the edges of her perception—blood.
A cacophony of sounds assaulted her ears. A sharp yell, the crackle and snap of something running in the woods, the squeal of tires, and the sound of running feet seemed to echo in different directions.
The sounds all faded away as she blinked to clear the clouds descending around her. Darkness claimed her. She welcomed the respite from the agony ripping through her battered body.
Jim folded his arms across his chest and stood at his living room window, watching Allison walk down the road.
She wore a pair of white shorts that ended a couple of inches above her knees. He smiled slightly, remembering how sensitive the spot behind her knee was.
A light blue polo shirt skimmed her assets nicely but not too tight to be blatant. She always dressed so that some mystery remained. Jim discovered he found that infinitely more appealing than women who dressed in clothing so tight or revealing that their bodies had nothing left to hide.
He frowned when she disappeared around the corner and out of his view. He got a tense feeling at the back of his neck lately anytime she was out of his sight.
A black Mercedes drifted into view. It pulled into the Pannelli’s driveway and turned around.
It wasn’t uncommon for a car to make a wrong turn and realize this road led them nowhere they wanted to go. Still, Jim didn’t like the feeling churning in his gut. He would follow Allison at a safe distance to make sure she arrived at Karen’s okay. He would call her later and insist on picking her up when she finished.
He’d already offered to drive her, but she refused. He hadn’t pushed the point then, and he already regretted it. Her safety was more important than sensitive feelings. Yeah, Crazy Cathy or whatever her actual name was behind bars, but until the police had solid evidence linking her to the fire and all the harassment, he would be on guard.
Jim jogged down his front porch stairs and down the street. He slowed to a fast walk when he reached the corner. If she caught him following her, she wouldn’t be happy. No point in having a confrontation now. It would probably make her more adamant later about not accepting the ride home.
A series of thuds and the squeal of tires rent the air.
Jim broke into a run.
The Mercedes sped off down the road, and he searched frantically for a sign of Allison. Had someone abducted her?
His attention turned back to the car. He squinted, trying to read the license plate, but the distance was too great.
A flash of blue leaped into his vision. A boy erupted from the woods.
He tracked the boy’s path.
Allison was crumpled on the ground by the side of the road.
His heart stuttered in his chest, and a loud roar reverberated in his head. Blood soaked her white shorts.
The boy dropped to the ground beside her and reached out a hand towards her.
“Don’t touch her,” Jim yelled. He didn’t want the boy to accidentally do further harm.
He wrenched his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed nine-one-one as he skidded to a stop next to her.
Allison wasn’t moving.
The boy cried and stared at her. “The car….it…it hit her.”
Jim didn’t respond. He was too busy frantically searching for a pulse and giving the dispatcher all the information he could. “A hit and run. Wigmore Lane. She’s hurt bad. There’s a lot of blood. She’s unconscious.”
There, he found it. A soft thump on her slender neck.
He held his fingers there a few seconds longer, reassuring himself it was there and steady.
“She has a pulse.” His voice caught, and he swallowed back the hard lump in his throat.
He gently brushed her hair away from her face. She was so pale. Her face looked untouched. He quickly scanned the rest of her, relaying any injuries he could see to the dispatcher.
“Her leg is bleeding. There’s a deep cut on her upper thigh.”
Jim yanked off his shirt and applied it to her wound, trying to stem the blood.
“Charlie!”
Karen ran down the street toward them. The boy jumped up and ran to meet her. She enfolded him in her arms before pulling away sharply and searching him for injury. “Are you okay?”
Jim focused on Allison, willing her to wake up and tell him where she was hurt.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears. What if she was bleeding internally and there was nothing he could do to help her?
He scrubbed his free hand over his face and then touched the underside of her wrist so he could continue to feel her pulse. Think, damn it! What could he do to help her?
She was so damn pale, and she still hadn’t moved.
“Where the hell are they?”
The dispatcher assured him they were on their way.
“Oh my God! Allison!”
Karen dropped to the ground beside him. She kept a firm grip on her son’s hand. He hovered behind her, still sniffling.
The wail of sirens approached. Jim jumped to his feet. He disconnected the nine-one-one call and stuffed his phone in the back pocket of his jeans.
The police and the ambulance arrived simultaneously.
Jim, Karen, and Charlie moved out of the way while the EMTs quickly assessed Allison before moving her to the gurney.
“Did anyone see anything?”
Jim looked between the ambulance and the police officer. He clenched his fists at his side.
“It was a black Mercedes, recent year. I didn’t see the driver or the license plate.”
The policeman scribbled his notes. Jim turned as they loaded Allison into the ambulance. He told him about the fire, the stalker, and the detective in charge of the case.
The ambulance pulled away with the lights flashing.
He’d done all he could here. He needed to get to the hospital and find out how Allison was. Her pulse had been strong and steady. She had to be okay.
Jim ran home and got into his truck. Sweat poured off him, and his knee throbbed.
When he drove past the accident site, more policemen had arrived and were measuring and taking pictures of the scene. He passed Karen and Charlie in their driveway. He imagined she would arrive at the hospital soon after him.
He clenched the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. Allison had to be all right. The alternative just wasn’t acceptable.