LITMIR.BIZ

       ONE

      She hated this time of night.

      Rebecca Miller stepped outside and shut the shop’s door behind her, taking care to lock it. The air was thick with the smell of wood smoke from the houses nearby. She rubbed her arms to ward off a chill—not all of it from the cool fall air. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Was she being watched? Holding the key out in front of her like a weapon, she peered into the darkness. Nothing. Her brother Levi would have cautioned her against letting her imagination run wild. Her Amish mother would chide her for her lack of faith in the Lord’s protection. Well, she had faith. But she had also learned the hard way that having faith did not prevent horrible things from happening. And she had the scars, mentally and physically, to prove it.

      Her breathing quickened. She forced herself to breathe slowly. In. Out. In. Out. Better. Was she panting? Could anyone hear it? Levi had told her that hearing people could hear the sound of her rapid breaths when she was frightened. How accurate that was, she didn’t know. She’d never heard breathing, or any other sound, in her entire life. Rebecca had been profoundly deaf since she had been born into her large Amish family. They hadn’t put hearing aids on her. When she had left her Amish community instead of being baptized at seventeen, she had tried them, but didn’t notice any difference. Now at twenty-five, she had no interest in trying them again.

      She rarely allowed her deafness to hold her back, having spent years striving for independence in the hearing world, but sometimes she felt the lack of hearing keenly. Like now, knowing if someone was stepping closer to her, she’d never hear them coming.

      She wondered again what had possessed her to agree—for the first time since she’d taken the job—to close by herself the bookstore she worked in. Every other time she’d worked this late, she’d had someone else closing with her. Granted, it was only a little after eight thirty in the evening, but in October, it was so dark out that it might as well have been ten o’clock at night. She shivered. Whether from cold or apprehension, she wasn’t sure.

      Sucking in a deep breath for fortification, she started across the empty alley to where her car was parked. Maybe she should have taken her best friend Jess’s offer to let her husband, Seth, drive her home when he had finished his work shift. She could have waited inside the locked store until he came, and they could have retrieved her car tomorrow. Not wanting to put them out, she’d refused. Now she wished she’d accepted.

      No. She shook her head. It was time she took care of herself and got over her fear of the dark.

      In her periphery, a shadow moved. She flinched. You’re being ridiculous, she signed in her head. No one was there.

      Her heart continued to thud inside her chest. Memories of the past started to cloud her thoughts. What if someone was out there, like before? Only, this time, she was alone. Of course, having people with her hadn’t been enough to protect her back then.

      Please, Lord, be my shield.

      Holding her hand out, she pressed the key fob to unlock the car door. The headlights blinked, then remained on. In the sudden light, she saw her hand was shaking. She hated the fear that crawled inside her. The fear that kept her from going about her life like anyone else. Instead, she was constantly looking over her shoulder.

      Just a few more feet, and she would be safe inside her car. She quickened her pace and practically threw herself into the car, then slammed the door behind her. Leaning back against the headrest, she let out a slow breath and felt her heart pounding inside her chest.

      Remaining where she was, she flicked her gaze to the rearview mirror. And froze.

      Cold, dark eyes glittered at her from beneath a dark ski mask. Someone was in her car!

      Whipping around, she came face-to-face with a nightmare. The intruder shot forward and grabbed her by the neck and yanked her back against the headrest, trying to choke her. She couldn’t breathe! Lungs burning, the keys fell from her hand as she twisted and turned, trying to break her attacker’s hold. Both of her hands latched on to the arm around her throat. She tugged and pulled with all her might, but to no avail. Her eyes seemed hyperfocused, zooming in on every detail as adrenaline coursed through her system. She saw every hair on the arm that tightened around her throat, noted the sharp lines of the tattoo on his wrist. She struggled against her attacker’s grip, but he wouldn’t budge. Her knee banged against the steering wheel. She barely noticed it.

      The alley was empty. There was no use hoping anyone would see her.

      The man’s grip tightened. Rebecca clawed at his arm as hard as she could, feeling several fingernails break off. Lifting one hand, she shoved it back into the attacker’s face, stabbing her thumb into one dark eye.

      The black-masked figure reared back and rubbed his injured eye.

      She was free! But she wasn’t safe. Not yet.

      Before the villain could recover, Rebecca fumbled for the door latch and tumbled out of the car. Gaining her feet, she bolted.

      Out into the alley and toward Main Street, she ran as fast as her long legs would carry her.

      As she approached the end of the alley, the glow from the streetlights cast shadows on the buildings she raced past. The attacker’s shadow loomed too close. And it was getting closer. Her attacker was only a few feet behind her! Leaning forward, she pushed herself harder.

      A hand slid down her hair. She felt a few strands catch, rip out of her scalp. The pain was instant, but it wasn’t enough to stop her. She kept running, even as her eyes watered.

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