I Am an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #2)

Chapter 4

Vincent's POV

Helping a fellow Guardian has always been met with nothing but appreciation. Not today, though. Today as I try to help out a black-haired Guardian with the loveliest russet eyes I have ever seen, she jumps at me. And not in a sexual way.

Because she looks like she wants to cut my head off, I sidestep to my right. This leaves the pretty but livid Guardian grasping at nothing but the air reeking of teenage hormones. As she slowly turns to the side to face me again, I discover that the heels attached to her boots allow her to look straight into my eyes without needing to nudge her head up.

The moment her eyes lock with mine I know it's her. Eliza Mason. I thought I saw her around Lincoln High a few times, but I was never sure. Especially because I never caught more than a fleeting glance. Standing this close to her, though, I now know I was right. It's her.

She is still dressed in the same yellow shirt, which for the span of a single minute I once thought it's meant to match her sunny personality. Eliza herself, though, altered that impression the moment she first opened her mouth.

"What the hell was that?" Eliza hisses, bringing me back to the high school hallway.

"I thought I'd lend you a hand." I shrug and rest my hands in the pockets of my washed-out jeans. "You looked like you couldn't reach her neck."

"Why would I? I was the one asking her for a favor."

I stop my exploration of the outline of her curves and lift my eyes back to hers. "Why would you ask a ghost for a favor? They're ghosts."

"And we're Guardians. So what?"

I blink at her and then shake my head. I should have seen this coming. If there was ever a Guardian whose actions one could never predict, then it was definitely Elizabeth Mason.

"What favor were you asking of her?"

"None of your business," Eliza snorts and then turns her head to her right.

I follow her gaze and come across the girls' restroom. Seconds tick by while I slide my eyes down the slope of Eliza's nose, across her stomach, and all the way down to her boots. She must feel my eyes caressing every inch of her body, yet her eyes never wander off the restroom's closed door.

For a second I contemplate quietly waiting to see what she will do next. As I check behind my back, however, I notice that my charge is almost finished with getting what he needs from his locker. This is why I turn back to my fellow Guardian and lean my side against the nearest locker.

"It's good to see you again, Eliza Mason."

As expected Eliza snaps her eyes back to me. She scrutinizes me from the top of my dark brown hair to the tips of my red sneakers, yet not a single glimmer of recognition stirs in her eyes. Talk about being invisible.

"How do you know my name?" She lifts her eyes back to mine and replaces the glare from before with minor curiosity.

"My name is Vincent Glover. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last time."

"We've met before?" She furrows her dark eyebrows. "When?"

I'm about to give her a hint on the connection we share through our charges when my charge pushes his locker shut. He turns in our direction, yet because he has his face turned toward the floor, I can't read his expression. What I can see is the top of his messy brown hair, the everyday superhero-themed T-shirt—today he's wearing a black one with Batman's bat signal—the red hoodie, the washed jeans, and the pair of worn-out sneakers. I also catch the title of the book he's carrying in his hands, which tells me that his next lesson is history.