Stalked

Chapter One

Rayne POV:

I sat on my bed as I read one of my many Stephen King books; IT, when I heard a loud crash from downstairs.

"What the fuck?" I asked myself, quietly.

I opened the door slightly, poking my head out to see what was going on.

It was oddly quiet. I looked at my watch and saw that it was barely past eight. Where the hell was everybody?

I lived with my brother,Oz and his wife, Lacey for the moment. I had lost a job around a month or two earlier and ended up getting evicted from my apartment.

As I slowly walked down the barely lit hallway, I heard Lacey scream.

I stopped in my tracks as I saw a shadow through the door of their bedroom.

There was a hallway closet across from my brother's room. I quickly and quietly slipped into it.

"Tell me where she is!" A man yelled.

"She's ain't here!"

Oz!

He sounded so angry. I heard the sound of a gun shot then another scream from Lacey.

"Oz!" She yelled.

Oz was on the ground holing his stomach.

"Bastard!" Lacey yelled.

When the man turned to grab my brother's knife, I saw his face.

He had brown hair that was pulled into a bun, with green eyes. He was around average height and build. His beard seemed to be so filthy that it was darker than his hair.

The man turned to Lacey who was on the ground. He picked her up by the back of her hair and ran the blade across her throat with force to it.

There was so much blood...

I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming as he walked closer to the closet.

Just as he was about to open the closet door, there was another crash.

"Nashville Police!" I heard a man call out.

I could hear the rapid foot steps of more than one person, which means they must have spotted him.

Then came another crash.

I finally got the courage to leave the closet.

A tall man wearing a white button up, the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, showing tattoos, with a black tie.

His face had softened seeing how terrified I was.

"What's your name?" He asked calmly. "Rayne." I whimpered.

"Rayne?" I heard the man asked, slightly calmer than before.

I'd heard that voice before.

It was him.

This man is the same man that had been stalking me for the last three years. I never expected him to go this far.

"I need you to come to the station with me. Can you do that?" He asked me.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly.

"Andy Long. I'm a detective. I just got this case assigned to me this morning." He said, laughing lightly to ease my nerves a little.

I gave him a small, sad smile.

"Thank you, Detective. In one day you managed to do something that all the others didn't in three years." I told him.

Another officer walked up to me. I knew this one. I had talked to him many times over the last three years.

"Ms. Berry, I'm so-"

I cut him off, rage filling my body.

"No, fuck you! You promised to keep me and my family safe and look what happened! They're dead! This is on you, Brady." I yelled.

I turned to the taller detective.

"How did you know?" I asked. "A neighbor heard the gun shot. She called." He replied and walk away to help Brady grab the man off the ground.

"Rayne, I just wanted to see you. Please! Please forgive me!" The man said frantically as he was being dragged away by Brady and Detective Long.

"Ms. Berry?" I heard and turned to see an officer I hadn't met before.

"If you're ready, I need to take you to the station." He told me.

"I'm ready." I told him as I walked out of the house.

I saw them bring out a body bag.

I fell to the ground and sobbed.

They were dead. I couldn't believe I had brought this on them.

"Male, early thirties, and major blood loss due to a gunshot wound to the abdomen."

I heard the paramedic speak as they roll out another stretcher.

It was my brother, and he was alive.

"Oz!!" I yelled and tried to run to him.

Brady held me back from the scene.

"Get off of me!" I yelled and struggled to get to my brother.

"Oz!" I yelled again.

I lost my best friend that night. I refused to lose my brother as well.

I stood behind the two way mirror and watched as Brady talk to my tormentor.

"It's the same man." I said as tears were streaming down my face.

"You're one hundred percent sure?" Detective Long asked.

"Yes. I'm positive." I replied.

"We're in love, you know?" The man said and looked right at me, like he knew I was watching.

"Can I go now, please? I need to be with Oz." I told him.

"I just got word that he is in surgery. They think he's gonna make it." Detective Long told me.

I closed my eyes, sighing with relief.

"It may be a while until he's ready to have visitors. You think we could talk about this guy?" He asked.

I sniffed and reluctantly nodded.