Read Online Enigma Black by Sara Furlong-Burr - Free Book Online Page A

ten o‘clock. One thing I’ve never been able to get used to is walking through a city completely devoid of people at a time when logic says it should be teaming with activity. Perhaps there was some truth to Chase’s theory. In moments like this, it made perfect sense.
    Despite the absolute perfection of our moment together, however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something didn’t feel quite right. Upon turning down the alleyway leading to my apartment building, it seemed like there was someone watching us, calculating our every move. My body tensed, my stomach shifted from euphoric butterflies to a sudden sickness as though something terrible were about to happen. In a flash, I whirled around to face the dark, empty street stalking our footsteps.
    “What are you doing?” Chase asked with uneasiness in his voice.
    “I don’t know what it is, but I suddenly have this strange feeling that someone is watching us.”
    “Oh, man, I knew this would happen someday. The fresh air has made you delusional,” he laughed. “That’s it; I’m never letting you out of the house again.”
    “You may want to check your faucet; your sarcasm’s leaking,” I said in annoyance. “I’m serious, Chase. I feel someone watching us. We’re not alone. I mean…we are alone, but we’re not…it’s just…oh…you know what I mean.”
    Chase placed his hand on my shoulder. “Celaine, there’s no one there. If there were, we would’ve noticed it. There are only so many places a person can hide on this empty street.” He was right, although I would never have admitted it. Behind us, there was nothing but dark, deserted alleyway; ahead of us, more of the same.
    Realizing that I wasn’t going to let it go, he opted for a compromise. “Okay, if someone had been following us they obviously aren’t now, but if they still are, I hope whoever it is enjoys the show.” Scooping me up into his arms, he pressed his lips to mine in a passionate embrace; one that I wished would last for an eternity, but instead ended entirely too soon. “Well, we had to make it worth their while, right?” he smirked, still holding me close to him.
    “Uh-huh,” was all I could reply. Great, not only was I paranoid, now I could hardly walk.
    ****
    In the shadows, at the exact location—down to the coordinate—where they told him she would be found, he waited for her. Lighting a cigarette, he checked his watch impatiently. It was nearly curfew, which meant that she should soon be within his sight. The hunter would have his prey. This amused him. It’d been just about the only amusement he’d experienced in the last several months. Slumping further down the wall, he wondered if she would come with him willingly or if she would need to be dealt with. He hated dealing with people; it left such a mess. 
    Finally, she emerged from the pub. Doing as he’d been instructed, he cautiously took a step out from his place of hiding within the shadows to engage her, quickly backtracking at the sight of someone else with her. Oh, great, a boyfriend , he thought. They didn’t say anything about there being a boyfriend .
    With no other option but to remain hidden, he watched his new target. She was beautiful, he observed. Tall, dark-haired, with a nice figure—from what he could see of it. There wasn’t a single thing about her that screamed “killer”, making him wonder whether they’d completely lost their minds in their selection of her. When they had first informed him that she would be a “she”, he envisioned a woman with more girth and slightly more muscle. After all, she was the first woman they’d ever chosen.
    His target turned down an alleyway with her boyfriend in tow. He couldn’t allow himself to lose sight of her. At all costs, he had to stick with her until his job was done; no matter what the outcome may be. With the cigarette still aflame between his lips, he leapt onto a fire escape, scaling the side of the building lining the