Page 104 of Shadows of Obsession

Toward Connor's office.

The door was closed, but I distinctly heard quiet whimpering and scratching coming from the bottom gap. Nails scraping against wood, frantic and insistent.

Chester?

Curiosity and a twinge of concern propelled me forward, my feet moving automatically. "Chester, what are you—"

My voice cut off abruptly.

As I passed the half-open bathroom door, a shadow slipped out behind me. I caught the movement in my peripheral vision. Dark, fast, wrong, and my eyes widened in startled fear.

I barely had time to gasp before a large hand clamped firmly over my mouth from behind, stifling any sound. The palm was rough and calloused, smelling faintly of sweat and something chemical. In the same instant, a muscular arm slid around my torso like a steel band, pinning my back against a solid, unyielding body.

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs as I struggled against the iron grip with everything I had. I kicked backward, twisted, stomped. Anything to break free, to make noise, to fight, but my attacker's hold was unbreakable. His strength was overwhelming. A desperate need to scream welled up, but the sound was trapped.

In a burst of violent strength that knocked the air from my lungs, he slammed me face-first into the wall. Pain exploded across my cheekbone and forehead as I struck the surface, drawing a muffled cry of pain and fright that died against his palm.

Stars burst behind my eyelids. The world tilted sickeningly.

Dazed from the impact, my ears ringing and vision swimming, I frantically tried to turn my head, desperate for a glimpse of my assailant, to understand what was happening.Please don't do this, Daniel.

But a rough hand tangled in my hair, fingers digging painfully into my scalp, forcing my cheek to stay pressed against the wall. The paint was cool against my flushed skin, rough with texture.

Sheer panic seized my chest, tightening like a vise until I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. My lungs burned for air, but the hand over my mouth made it impossible to draw in enough oxygen.How did he find me? Oh God—

The terrifying realization crystallized with brutal clarity. Daniel had finally made good on his threats after months of ominous silence. He'd tracked me down, found me despite everything, and now he was here to punish me for fleeing his obsessive clutches.

Sick dread churned in my stomach, bile rising in my throat. The thought of Jaxon coming home to find me gone, or worse finding my body. made my blood run cold. The knowledge that my fate could emotionally destroy him the same way Nikki's death had, forcing him to relive that soul-crushing agony of loss and helplessness... No. This can't happen to him again.

Adrenaline-fueled tremors overtook my muscles, making me shake uncontrollably against my attacker's grip. And then I felt it, an abrupt, sharp sting in my shoulder.

The sensation was distinct. A pinch. Then burning pressure. Then something cold spreading beneath my skin.What—

A wave of numbness followed, radiating outward from the injection site like ice water through my veins. Against my will, my body began to sag, my legs losing their strength. My knees buckled as a heavy lethargy stole through my limbs, slow and suffocating. My mind screamed at me to fight it. Stay awake. Fight—

But my body wasn't listening. The world softened around the edges, sounds turning distant and hollow. As I slid toward the floor, darkness tunneled my vision, shrinking everything to a dim, narrowing point.

Through the haze, I caught a blurry glimpse of my attacker's profile.

Sandy blonde hair. Not dark.

Not Daniel?

Confusion swirled through the fog of encroaching blackness, making it impossible to process what I was seeing. If not Daniel, then who—

Movement behind the first figure caught my fading attention. A second shadow loomed in the hallway. Tall, broad-shouldered, unmistakable even through the haze.

My drug-addled mind fought to focus. The height. The build. The way he stood.

Jaxon?

The last thought that flickered through my fading consciousness was an awful, bewildering question that made no sense, one that couldn't possibly be true but looked so real.Why was Jaxon just standing there, letting this happen?

Then—nothing.

Jaxon

"Anna? You in here?"