WILD [JENLISA]

36

Jennie quickly stepped back and moved to close the door, but he shouldered his way inside, shoving her backward hard enough to knock her to the floor. Her cell phone clattered out of her hands and skidded across the hallway, coming to rest beneath a small end table.

For a terrifying instant she couldn't breathe. Couldn't open her mouth, couldn't force out sound. Then her lungs started working and she screamed, "Irene!"

Jiyong kicked the door shut and launched himself on top of her, hitting her hard across the face with his fist. Stunned into momentary silence, she moaned in pain as he scrambled over to the cell phone and disconnected it. He shoved it into his pants pocket and clambered back onto her body, pinning her down before she could gather her wits and try to escape.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here." His pupils were so dilated they made his eyes look black. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The expression on his face was a curious mix of fear and arousal. "I came for your girlfriend. She was going to be my final gift to you."

"She's not here," Jennie said. Even as the lie rolled off her tongue, a growl from the guest room raised the hairs on the back of Jennie's neck.

Jiyong glanced sharply at the closed door, then back at Jennie. "Is that your new dog? I saw you walking her right before I discovered the police watching me."

"Yes, that's my dog." Jennie's heart hammered in her chest. It would take Irene at least fifteen minutes to get here, assuming traffic was moving.

Jiyong might not keep her alive that long, especially when he knew someone had heard his entrance. "Please don't hurt her."

"What good is having a protection dog if you're just going to leave it locked in a room?" Amusement transformed his face into something almost human. "I mean, it's a little tragic to be murdered right after you've put away your only weapon. Stupid bitch."

Jiyong's words sparked Jennie's memory. She'd shoved the gun Irene had insisted she carry into her backpack before she left her apartment.

Though she hadn't honestly imagined that Jiyong would escape his surveillance detail and come after her on the one night she was unprotected, Jennie had liked the reassurance the gun provided. Not that it was doing her much good, hidden in a backpack that lay facing away from her, just out of reach.

A vicious snarl erupted from the guest room, then a series of increasingly frustrated howls. Lisa could sense she was in danger. Even now, with Lisa's mind completely divorced from its human sensibilities, their connection remained. The emotion coming from Lisa was raw and disjointed, difficult to discern. But Jennie knew that she was enraged. As Jennie's terror grew, the noises from the guest room rose in volume.

"What the hell's wrong with your dog?"
Confusion passed across Jiyong's face and he met her eyes for the first time, really studying her. "What is it with you and dogs? Every time I get close to you there's some fucking dog to chase me away."

"I like dogs." Jennie fought not to let her gaze stray to her backpack, not wanting Jiyong to anticipate her next move. "The police are on their way. You should leave now if you don't want to get caught."

Jiyong laughed. "Stick to forensic pathology, Doc. Your psychology needs a bit of refinement." Sitting up slightly, Jiyong reached behind his back and withdrew a large, wickedly sharp-looking knife. "I wasn't expecting to get close to you again. I'm not losing this opportunity. Not after everything we've been through."

Jennie's stomach churned. He spoke of her almost fondly, as though they had a relationship he truly valued. "You're going to kill me? Is that your endgame? I thought this was about getting the better of me."