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In the kitchen, she flipped on all the lights and searched the nearly bare space No kitchen table, no canisters on the polished granite countertops, no pictures on the walls The two glasses and bowls she’d left in the sink last night remained

Her fingers hesitated over the dead bolt as she thought through what she was going to say She’d et in my car

Out the back door, the cold stung her face and hands and cut through her silk blouse Shivering, she looked to the sed the back row of town houses Her small yard backed up to thick dark woods that stood silent Moonlight caught the bare branches and reround Her breath froze into white puffs as she searched for any sign of

He wasn’t here He was screith her Typical

She retreated back inside to the warmth and closed the door behind her She clicked the dead bolt in place Safe Secure

And still her nerves hummed orry

The burn phone buzzed in her pocket, signaling a text She hurried toward the phone and saw the e from the unknown caller

I’M HERE!

Eyes narrowing, she held her gun as she reread the e Had he taken the bait? Had he returned?

She typed back, WHERE?

OUTSIDE NEAR THE WOODS

Frowning, she typed, I DIDN’T SEE YOU

LOOK AGAIN

She held her gun, eyes on the back door, confident she had the upper hand Come to me, baby, come to me

Her phone buzzed EMERGENCY!

As she lowered her head to text back, quick, determined footsteps moved across the carpeted hallway behind her and into the kitchen The first knife slashed into her back shoulder blade She’d been playing chess and her opponent had mated her with one swift blow As she whirled, he stabbed her again in the shoulder, and she dropped her gun and the burn phone A ht hazers of his right hand gripped the handle of a seven-inch knife She didn’t need to see his face to make an ID

Staggering, she clutched her arm close to her body “You planned this”

“For weeks”

“Why?”

“You started it I’ it”

For a bigthe knife across her neck, destroying her vocal cords and spraying blood on the white walls Falling to her knees, her hands went to her neck Warers She searched for the burn phone and spotted it by the stove

She collapsed, her shoulder hitting the floor, and rolled on her back Her killer’s eyes danced with satisfaction

Deidre struggled to keep hershe had only seconds If she could just reach the gun

As if reading her thoughts, her killer shook his head and kicked the gun across the floor “You’ll never reach it Too bad”

Her vision blurred

“Windows, Deidre You should always check your s”

As the blade sliced at her arms, she raised her hands Grab the knife Grab the knife The blade cut across her palm

The next strike hit her torso Adrenaline faded, giving free rein to the pain, which pinched and burned every fiber and sinew in her body The knife blade kept jabbing, cutting, slicing

Finally, the cutting stopped Liquid life drained as quickly as an open tap, while her blurred gaze focused