Find Me

15

FIFTEEN-QUINN

I'd processed everything Dylan had said and stored it away, in a far corner of my brain. I'd pull his words back out after this was done. I hadn't completely lied to him. I wasn't running this time. As I laid there, in his arms, feeling him fall asleep next to me, I realized he was right. I couldn't run for the rest of my life. I was going to end this. I'd been hunted for most of my life and I was tired of it. I was going to be doing the hunting now and when I found him, one of us was going to die. I just hoped it wouldn't be me.

If I made it out of this alive, I prayed that Dylan would forgive me for sneaking out. I just couldn't stay. If I stayed and the sperm donor found me with Dylan, I couldn't risk something happening to him. I loved Dylan. There, I admitted it. I was fully, completely, head-over-heels in love with Dylan Pennington and as soon as this was done, if I came out on top, I was going to tell him that. I was going to go back to him and let him be my first at everything.

For now, though, I needed to focus. Where would he go? Marcus Prescott had been a shrewd business man before meeting my mom, knocking her up, and eventually killing her. Would he contact any of his old contacts, hoping to track me down? Honestly, it wouldn't be hard to track me. I'd enrolled in college, which would easily be traceable. I calculated the distance between Leavenworth and McPherson and realized he was already here. It'd take him about six and half hours, if he drove straight here.

In hindsight, I realized I should have gone to school further away, but my scholarships were to McPherson. I should have tried to start a life somewhere else though. In another State. It would have been tough going, but I was a survivor. I would have made it work somehow. Instead, I'd left myself nearby and kind of felt like a sitting duck now. Although, I think, deep down, I knew this day would come. In a way, I was ready for it. I needed to move on. The only way to do that would be if Marcus Prescott was dead. The sun was just starting to come up and I knew the campus would begin to come alive within the next hour or so. Suddenly I knew what I had to do and headed for campus.

I hadn't really stopped to consider how stupid I was being. I'd simply grabbed the pepper spray that I always carried with me now and a kitchen knife. I had one in each hand and with my oversize hoodie on, I hoped it would hide that fact. I studied every shadow and every sound as I made my way to the center of campus. When the back of my neck began to tingle and my palms began to itch. I knew. He was near.

"You stupid, stupid girl." His voice, coming from my left, didn't startle me.

After years of running from this man, I'd learned a thing or two. Even though I hadn't seen him coming, I'd known he was there. I turned to face him and had to fight the urge to run. This man had been able to fool people for so long because he didn't look like a psychopath. He was handsome and had a charismatic smile when it suited him. Few people truly knew him for the monster he was. As I stared up at him, I slowly felt my fear leaving me. This was it. Do or die.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked, laughing. "I can't believe you walked right to me. What's that all about? You brave all of a sudden? You tired of this cat and mouse game?"

I ignored his questions and asked, "So what's your game plan? You came here to finish the job, right? You plan on killing me. What then? The police are going to find you and lock you back up. Then you'll be charged with two murders, instead of one. So why do this at all?"

He threw his head back laughing, "You honestly think I've only killed once in my life? Your mom wasn't the first. Marcus Prescott isn't even the name I was born with. He's my seventh alias and was a damned good one. I would have gotten away with killing your mom too if that nosey guy next door hadn't gotten involved. I visited him before coming here for you. Taking care of him didn't take long at all."

I sucked in a shocked breath, "You killed him?"

He snorted, "Of course I did. I don't like loose ends. You're a loose end. As soon as I'm finished with you, I'll disappear again and make a new life somewhere else. I'll become someone new again. It's too bad. I really liked Marcus Prescott."

I couldn't let him get away with this. Who knew how many people he'd taken out of this world? Who knew the number of unsolved cases related to this disgusting man? We'd probably never know, because if I had my way, he wasn't going to live another day. I sent a quick glance around, noting the growing movement around campus. A couple shops down the street now appeared to be open. "Bean There" being one of them. This made me think about Lexi. She'd become such a good friend and I was glad I'd had the opportunity to meet her. I felt pretty good about helping her get over her fears, so that she could give Cohen a chance. They seemed happy and I hoped their happiness would only grow. I thought about Hal Grover. He'd become someone I could look up to. Nobody could compare to Dylan Pennington though. He'd rooted his way inside my heart and as long as it was beating, I knew I'd always love him. I just hoped I'd have a chance to see all of these wonderful people again.

Marcus tilted his head and studied me for a moment, before a frown marred his forehead and he said, "You're different."

I nodded, "I am. I'm happy here. I have friends here."

Marcus scoffed, "Friends. All they are is loose ends. If you get too close to people, they'll only hurt you."

I frowned, "Is that what happened to you?"

Marcus laughed, "If you're trying to find out why I am the way that I am, don't bother. I'll tell you. My parents were perfect, doting parents. They treated me like gold and I thought they treated each other the same. Then, when I was sixteen, I caught my dad with his secretary. They weren't working, if you know what I mean. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I didn't like my mom getting played like that. So I went home to tell her about dad's indiscretion and she already knew. She and dad had both been having affairs the entire length of their marriage. I guess you'd call it an open marriage. I killed my mother that day and when dad came home, I killed him too. That's the first time I disappeared and I stopped being Billy Roberts."

"Billy Roberts?" I asked, tucking that information away for the police.

Marcus...or rather Billy, snickered, "Yes, can you seriously see me being a Billy my whole life?"

"Uh no." I said, to humor him. Honestly, I didn't care what he called himself. Either way, he was Satan.

"Yes, well, I'm all talked out. Now, are you going to run and make this interesting or are you just going to stand there while I choke the life out of you?" He suddenly charged me, hands raised, ready to grab my neck, but I sidestepped him and swiped the knife at him. He cried out, while blood now ran down his arm.

Shit, I should have planned this better. Now that he knew I had a knife, I wouldn't be able to get the jump on him. Fear crept back into my bones, when moved faster than before and had me around the neck, before I could blink. As he was literally trying to squeeze the life out of me, I lifted my other hand and sprayed the pepper spray in his face. He dropped his hold on me and I stabbed him, in the stomach. I pulled back, intent on stabbing him again and again, but he grabbed my wrist, twisting it until I heard a pop and horrendous pain shot up my arm. I no longer had the ability to hold onto the knife and it fell to the ground. I went to shoot him with pepper spray again, but the pain of my wrist was so excruciating, it was slowing my movements. He was easily able to disarm me of the spray and then he was suddenly the one holding the knife.

He grinned, wickedly, and stepped toward me, blade extended, "You're going to die now." Then, before I could blink, my own knife was stabbed into my stomach. Everything went black.