Read Online Patrick's Heart by Stacey Espino - Free Book Online Page A

dropped down to all fours, shifting into the red wolf. He shook out his thick coat and pawed the ground before racing off into the dense forest at the rear of the house.
    “Cassidy?” called Matthew. “Twenty minutes is up, sweetheart.”
    When she didn’t answer, Garret’s blood flashed cold. The little house was empty.
    “Do you have the same feeling that something isn’t right here?” asked Matthew.
    “If he’s hurt her…”
    “She can’t be far.” They both raced back outside, ready to join Patrick.

Chapter Seven
     
    Cassidy had kept her cool as long as possible. When Peter started demanding answers to personal questions, she bolted for the door. He grabbed her upper arm as she tried to escape, his fingers digging deep into her soft flesh.
    “No, Cassidy!”
    “Please…I don’t even know you.”
    “How can you say that? I’ve been watching you for years. I know your favorite color, it’s green. You bring a paper-bagged lunch to work every Monday and Wednesday. And you chew the ends of your pens when you’re flustered.”
    “Let me go!” She managed to wrench open the door and began to run. Her heart beat so fast and her breathing was so rapid that she couldn’t hear anything else. Her legs burned from exertion. She hoped to find cover in the thick brushwood ahead. Her men had taught her a trick or two about surviving in the forest. Peter was a city boy, so he’d likely be clueless in these rustic surroundings. So could hope.
    It sickened and terrified her that one man could be so obsessed with her while she didn’t have a clue. Was he also dangerous? He’d traveled all the way to Climax and had already showed he had the potential for violence.
    As she ran, she tried to garner why on Earth he’d be this fixated on her. She wasn’t a flirt and barely knew him. And she certainly wasn’t the prettiest girl at the call center.
    Peter was just a familiar face at the office, and there was nothing besides friendly small talk between them. What did he expect to happen now? What had he planned? All the recent deaths and disappearances played in her head. Maybe it was Peter that left the threatening note on her door. Who else could it be? It would make sense given his recent crazed behavior.
    “Cassidy… You can’t hide from me.”
    “Fuck,” she muttered under her breath. He wasn’t far behind. Had twenty minutes passed yet? Would Matthew know to look for her in the woods? Where was Patrick, the wolf-man who claimed she had nothing to worry about now?
    She should have left a clue, but it was too late. The landscape was a mix of forest and rocky outcroppings. Mountain ranges dotted the horizon in most directions, a secluded paradise under other circumstances. She’d never ventured this deep on her grandfather’s property before, and soon came to a dead end. There was a low cavernous rock about thirty feet across. Rather than waste time traipsing around the obstacle, she ducked for cover under the low overhang, hoping to remain hidden. If she didn’t have to, she wouldn’t venture into the dark interior. She waited in suspended terror, listening for the sound of Peter’s footsteps. Time passed slowly, minutes feeling like hours. When all remained silent, not even the birds or squirrels complaining in the branches above, she dared to creep out of her hiding place. Her legs cramped, her toes going numb. Cassidy ignored the discomfort because the alternative was far worse. She ran her fingertips along the smooth rock, tracing the dark, glittering veins of crystals. The diversion calmed her somewhat.
    “I told you, you can’t hide from me.” He was standing only feet from her, watching her intently. She’d heard absolutely nothing, not even the rustle of a leaf or snap of a dry twig. “Let me have my say.”
    She shook her head. “Stay away from me or I’ll scream.”
    He laughed, a maniacal sound. “Who would hear you?”
    “My ride should be back by now. He’ll look for