Still, Monique was not ready to face her empty home. So instead of getting in her car, she went around to the trunk, donned the sneakers always kept there for emergencies and decided to find and walk the trail that Margo had mentioned, the one that bordered the Golden Gates community and the government-protected marshland just on the other side. According to her godmother, a variety of rare birds and insects called this area home, so for now it was off-limits to land developers. Monique wondered how the Drakes felt about that as she breathed in fresh air and swung her arms, enjoying the impromptu exercise.
She continued to think about them as she reached the trail and began walking through it, now thankful for the government’s intervention. This natural habitat was beautiful. The trail was lined with trees and branches that created a canopy overhead. Flowers bloomed and there were so many different leaves and bushes that after a dozen or so Monique lost count. She meandered for ten minutes, not knowing where the trail ended and not really caring. Even though it felt otherwise, she was only minutes from civilization. Right now she felt safe and secure in this cocoon of natural beauty, with the sounds of the insects and frogs serving as background music to the myriad of thoughts that continued to bounce around her head: the race, Rob, Niko, the Drakes and then…
Monique stopped dead in her tracks. What was that noise? She looked around, noticing for the first time that the light was fading and that total darkness was probably less than half an hour away. Swaying branches now cast creepy shadows across the smooth trail; the sound of insect noises seemed to increase. She looked ahead of her and then turned back, deciding that where she’d come from was a better trek to take than one into the unknown.
But there it was again. That sound. She paused again, and her heart beat louder than any other sound she currently heard. Now watching all of those crime shows about stalking and strangling and murders in swamps didn’t seem like such a great idea. It was getting dark. The area was swampy. And she had the frightening and disconcerting feeling that she was not alone.
The sound became clearer. Footsteps. Definitely footsteps, coming closer and gaining speed. A jogger, perhaps? Or a serial killer? Rational thought fled, and Monique decided to do the same. She turned away from the footsteps, broke into a full-on run…and ran smack-dab into a hard chest, a scruffy chin and strong, sure arms around her.
She screamed.
“Monique! It’s me!”
Through her haze of fear she heard the voice, remembered the owner of its sound as well as the scent of the cologne that had embraced her twenty-four hours before. Niko? She looked up. It was him!
“Niko!”
“Yes,” he said, amid laughter.
The rumbling in his chest caused by his chuckling caused Monique to feel annoyed yet comforted at the same time. She pushed away from him.
“What’s so funny?”
He allowed her to retreat, but still held on to her arms, his face a study in amusement. “When you said you’d see me on the trail,” he drawled, looking square into her face with those bedroom eyes, “I didn’t know that this is what you had in mind.”
Chapter 8
Monique placed a hand on her chest and worked to slow both her breathing and her rapidly beating heart. “You scared me,” she panted, glancing behind her. “I thought I heard someone running from that direction. I thought that…”
She turned around. There they were again. Footsteps. She was sure of it this time. “There’s someone else out there!”
Monique made a move to go around Niko and away from oncoming danger. He placed a firm grasp on her arm, immediately stopping her progress. “Whoa, hold on, babe. It’s okay.”
Monique wasn’t so sure. She looked behind her and could now clearly detect someone who’d stopped running but was now definitely walking their way. He looked menacing, dressed in all black and wearing shades even though it was evening. Instinctively, she backed up against Niko. Only her fear made her impervious to the feel of him against her, to the smell of his cologne wrapping itself around her body and the feel of his five-o’clock shadow against her temple.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” she mumbled between clenched teeth, willing herself not to act like a total scaredy-cat and run behind Niko’s back. It took everything she had, until the man stopped not even three feet away from where she near-cowered and smiled.