The Missing Ink

"You shouldn't be here," I whisper, though my voice trembles with something that isn't quite fear.

A low chuckle answers from the dark-smooth, quiet, dangerous.

"You keep saying that," he murmurs, "but you never sound like you mean it."

I can feel him now, close enough that the heat from his body presses against my back. My heartbeat betrays me-loud, desperate, wanting.

"Tell me, Amailia," his voice slides down my spine, "why do you keep waiting for me?"

Before I can move, his arm slips around my neck-not choking, not gentle, but something in
between. He draws me against him, breath ghosting over my skin.

I don't fight.

I don't look back.

Because some part of me, the part I swore I'd buried, wants to know what it feels like to be caught.
~
When Amalia stumbles upon a forgotten journal in an abandoned house, she is plunged into a mystery surrounding the girl who once owned it- a girl who vanished without a trace months ago. The town of Port Hope whispers rumors of the "Black Rose," a signature left behind by a shadowy figure thought to be responsible for the disappearances.
But when Amalia begins to receive her own black roses, she realizes she's caught in a deadly game. Someone is watching her-someone dangerous. As the mysterious figure draws closer, Amalia feels his presence everywhere, stalking her every move.
As the haunting presence closes in, Amalia finds herself entangled in the journal's secrets-secrets that lead her to question not only the identity of her stalker but the truth behind the girl's disappearance. With each revelation, the danger intensifies, and Amalia must tread carefully. Not everything is as it seems, and in a town full of secrets, the real threat might be closer than she ever imagined.