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last three steps with a painful stab to her ankle and grabbing her purse as she ran for the front door, unlocking the deadbolts with inhuman speed, even as her hands shook wildly and a sob rose up in her throat.
    She threw open the door and ran blindly down the steps of her front stoop and down the walkway, right into a solid mass of muscle, and the scream that she had been holding back finally broke free with a soul stealing vengeance. It ripped from her lungs and from the very depths of her body with the power of a hurricane.
    ***
    “Jesus Christ ! Katherine, it’s me!” Cole yelled trying to pull her to him, but she was thrashing and fighting as if the Devil himself had been chasing her. Cole’s eyes shot to the doorway that she had just run out of as he wondered if indeed, he had. “ Katherine!” he yelled again, pulling her into his arms and against his solid chest, resting his lips on the top of her head. “It’s me !”
    He knew the moment that he had gotten through to her. He felt her body relax just a bit, and she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and burrowed her face against his neck, her body quaking against his with a powerful shudder.
    “Sweetheart, tell me what happened?” he demanded, his tone rushed as he gazed towards the house, looking for anything that might have caused her panic. But everything looked deathly still.
    “He’s here!” she sobbed against him, and Cole went right into action, his entire body tensing up. He pulled her away from him and held her at arm’s length, his gaze locking with hers. “Get in my car and lock the doors. Do you understand me? Stay there until I come and get you,” he ground out, but she shook her head violently.
    “No! Don’t…don’t leave me alone! Please,” she begged, the crystal depths of her eyes imploring him. Begging him…looking as if every last bit of her resolve was about to snap.
    Damn it! He seethed, not wanting to put her in any danger, but a very large part of him unable to let her leave his side. He needed to know that she was safe. “You stay behind me,” he barked at her as he pulled his gun from its holster. “And…you stay damned close! Got it?”
    When she nodded shakily, he pushed her behind him and headed for the door. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone as he did. “This is Detective McKenzie, badge number 44280. I need backup at 30465 Mill Dr., possible break in and suspect might still be in the house.” He slammed his phone back into his pocket and walked through the doorway, Katherine glued to his back.
    ***
    As they walked through the entryway, the only sound coming from inside was that damned song…still playing, and Katherine had to fight the urge to hold her hands over her ears and scream, but she couldn’t seem to let go of the fistfuls of Cole’s shirt that she clung to. She needed this contact so badly, but that damned song just kept playing. The bastard must have put it on repeat.
    Cole walked over to the stereo and slammed his hand down on the button, thankfully ending it before it finally threw her over the edge.
    “Where,” he whispered, his eyes sweeping every nook and cranny of her tiny house in an instant.
    “Up…upstairs,” she choked out, and continued to hold onto the back of his shirt in a death grip as he headed in that direction. She could hear the sirens faintly in the distance and finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
    ***
    Katherine sat in the back of the patrol car, feeling claustrophobic as Cole spoke to the officers on the scene. She watched as he took command of the situation, ordering the men to branch off into the surrounding area in search of Him. She took a deep, shuddering breath as she realized that they wouldn’t find him. He was much too good. He knew how to hide. He knew how to stay in the shadows much too well. He had been doing it for so long now.
    She pulled her robe a little more securely around her as she fought off the shivers that were crawling