The_Demons_Wife_ARC Read Free

sense of
disappointment or of something irretrievably lost filled her, making her feel
hollow inside.
    She glanced at
the door, then at her wristwatch, then at the door again, expecting Sally to
come out of the restaurant any second now, but there was no sign of her.
    What’s taking
her so damned long?
    Claire had the
disquieting feeling that, for whatever reason, Sally had ditched her. She
started walking, pacing back and forth under the awning as icy tension wound up
inside her. She thought maybe she should go back inside and use the restroom,
too.
    No…I can wait.
    Instead of
going back inside, she increased her pacing, fighting the feeling that
somewhere…out there…in the darkness…someone was watching every step she took.
The rhythm to the oldies song by The Police began to play in her head.
    “Every move you
make…”
    “Stop it,” she
whispered to herself, her breath coming out a mist.
    But no matter
where she looked or what she thought about, the unsettling feelings only got
worse.
    Finally, the
restaurant door opened. Claire jumped and turned to look, expecting to see
Sally, but she stepped to one side, disappointed, when a couple exited instead.
Her back was to the wall, but she didn’t realize she was standing at the corner
of the building, almost in the darkness—when a rough hand clapped over her
mouth, and a strong arm wrapped around her stomach, tightening so hard it
forced the wind from her lungs.
    “Make a sound,
and you’re dead,” a man’s voice whispered.
     
    ~ * ~
     
    One of her
shoes flipped off her foot as the man dragged her backwards, into the darkness
beside the building. She had a brief sensation of vertigo, like she was falling
backwards, spinning down into darkness. The most vivid detail she remembered
later was the stench of the man’s breath, which smelled like rotten onions and
was as hot as a furnace on the side of her face. Because his hand was covering
her mouth, any sounds she was making were smothered. Snot blew from her nose.
Later, she thought she remembered hearing the sharp, pained whimpering of a dog
that might have been hit by a car or something.  She never could believe that
such a sound had come from her.
    She clawed at
his hand, trying to pull it off so she could scream. She kicked his shins as
hard as she could but couldn’t get enough oomph behind it. She wiggled and
thrashed from side to side, but he seemed to be supernaturally strong. It was
like struggling to lift a gigantic rock.
    Claire wasn’t
a weakling. She worked out…irregularly, but she had never felt so overwhelmed
and helpless in her life. Fury and fear rose up inside her as she squirmed and
fought and gasped for air…all to no avail.
    The man’s
other hand was all over her. Touching, rubbing, squeezing painfully. By the
time he took his meaty paw off her mouth, she was too exhausted to cry out. He
zipped the front of her coat down and reached inside, squeezing her breasts
again, so hard the pain brought tears to her eyes. He grabbed the front of her
blouse and ripped it down with a quick, savage movement. Buttons flew in all
directions. She heard them clatter on the pavement like tumbling dice.
    This is
it…He’s gonna kill me, was her only clear thought as tears of
frustration burned her eyes.
    But then
something extraordinary happened.
    Her assailant
went suddenly limp. The bear hug he had on her relaxed, and he slumped forward.
His chin dug painfully into her neck, and the stench of his breath was suddenly
whisked away by cold, fresh air. Claire lurched to one side, shaking herself
free of the man’s arms. Even in the darkness, she could see that his eyes were
rolled back in his head. They glistened like soft-boiled eggs, bulging from
their sockets. His mouth dropped to one side, and he looked for all the world
like he was having a stroke.
    “Where
am…What?…I didn’t…”
    He stared at
his hands as though amazed that they were part of him.
    “I…I never…”
    Then he