Chapter 5

Rosalyn's head jerked up from the back of the sofa and she sleepily blinked. She couldn't believe she'd dropped off to sleep. Then she heard a noise, probably like the sound that woke her. Someone knocked on the door again.

Her pistol lay on the cushion beside her. She grabbed it and trembled. Would he actually knock on the door. Did he really expect her to just open it and let him in? Or was this another of his games? Trying to rattle her? Wanting to frighten her even more?

She wouldn't let him know, but he was succeeding. Staying low, she crept over to take a position beside the front door. "Who is it, and what do you want?"

"I'm with the power company, ma'am," a deep, male voice responded. "We have a report your power is out."

"Yes, it's out. Fix it," she yelled through the door. The gun shook in her hand as she kept it pointed toward the door. She thought she heard a low laugh. Was it Varian out there, taunting her again?

"Ma'am, I need you to sign a report and give permission for me to go around to the back of your house. The trouble's not in the main line, so it has to be on your property."

Rosalyn decided to take a chance. "Please, call the cops. The man out there, the one in the SUV at the curb, he intends to kill me. He's the one who cut the power and he turned off my water and phone. Go get the police, now!"

There was a minute of silence. Then he asked, "What SUV, ma'am? What man? There's no one out here but me. Look, lady, I don't want to get mixed up in any funny business."

She heard his footsteps receding across the porch. "No, wait, please. Call the police, send an ambulance, anything. Help me!" Rosalyn begged.

Crawling on hands and knees, she peeked out the window in time to see an average looking man wearing a yellow hard hat. He climbed into a pickup truck bearing a power company logo. There was no sign of the dark SUV or Varian anywhere on the street.

Rosalyn turned and rested her back against the wall beneath the window sill. Tears leaked down her cheeks. She shivered from the cold, even though fear made her feel numb all over. Her one chance to get out of this and she'd blown it. Varian's mind games were working.

Where is he? What is he up to now? Will he wait until dark and try something? What? What can he possibly do?

Time passed slowly. The clock chimed the hours. She remembered to use the key and wind it late in the afternoon. Just seven more hours. If she could last seven more hours, he would go away, she told herself over and over.

A scratching at the side window drew her attention. The light from outside, almost gone for the day, silhouetted a dark figure near the window. Rosalyn dove for the floor. The blankets hindered her movements. She tossed them off and scrambled behind the sofa, the pistol clutched tightly in her hand.

When the noise came again, she flipped off the safety, rose up over the sofa back, and fired. She quickly ducked behind the sofa as breaking glass assured her she hit the window.

Male laughter told her she did no damage to Varian.

Rosalyn whirled and fired as she heard noises at the front window. Glass tinkled to the floor once again, and still she heard him laugh.

"You're wasting time, Rosalyn. Demetrius is waiting for you to join him," he called.

Then she heard him outside the bedroom window. He must be checking every entrance, trying to find a way in. She scrambled along the floor until she could peek around the bedroom doorway. Rosalyn aimed and fired, hitting the window.

They worked their way around the house. Varian made sounds and she fired the gun in his direction. She searched out an extra, fully loaded clip for the gun and changed it expertly. Soon all the windows were broken and there were holes in the metal covering the back door, but he continued to laugh and taunt her.

"They're going to lock you away, Rosalyn. When the police get here, they'll think you're nuts. How will you ever explain it? You'll spend your remaining years in an asylum for the insane," he jeered at her.

As if summoned by his words, she heard sirens in the distance. Is he right? She forced herself to think past her terror. Of course not. They'll believe me when I tell them he was trying to get in to kill me. They'll save me from him.

Flashing lights and screaming sirens suddenly filled the street in front of her house. The screech of tires and slamming of car doors heralded the arrival of help.

Terror rose in her mind once more. He had hunted her and hounded her for hours. He wouldn't give up this easily.

Where is Varian? Is he waiting to pick me off when I open the door? Or when they help me to a police car?

Rosalyn flinched at a loud voice yelling at her over a speaker.

"Throw the gun out and come out with your hands on your head."

What do I do? What do I do? She heard whimpering and realized it came from her own throat. The sound brought her around. The calm, controlled Rosalyn took over.

She crawled near the window and yelled, "Did you catch him? Did you get the man trying to break in and kill me?"

After several minutes, the same voice told her, "Rosalyn, your husband is here. We know you're upset. He said he's sorry he forgot it's Valentine's Day. We have a doctor on the way. He'll give you something to help you calm down. Right now, we want you to open the front door and toss the gun out. We don't want anyone hurt."

Oh, crap... They believe Varian. They think he's my husband. That dirty, rotten, cheat! He's not playing fair. Just like Demetrius. A rage she hadn't felt since she stabbed Demetrius flooded her mind and body. I'm going to kill him. Devil take him, I'm going to murder him.

Rosalyn jerked the chair from beneath the doorknob and worked the locks on the front door. She opened the door and walked through.

She heard someone shouting for her to stop, to drop the gun...but all she could see was Varian. He stood beside a policeman, outlined by the flashing red and blue lights. A perfect target.

She held the pistol with two hands and aimed carefully. Rosalyn took a deep breath and held it as she had trained to do for so long. She squeezed the trigger instead of jerking it. She kept pulling it – until she fell.

Pain spread throughout her body. Burning agony, she could hardly breathe.

Varian knelt down and leaned over her. The sight of her blood-covered body filled him with contentment. Demetrius' wife, his sister, could stop her vendetta now.

"This is from Demetrius and his wife. Happy bloody Valentine, my dear."

The End