You Can't Run by Hope Davis (best way to read books .txt) 📗

had even been there. Outside, she started up RunTracker and then headed to the left, her only desire was to be away from her home.

For the next hour everything stressing her out, Vance, the case, her parents coming, it all melted away as she pounded the pavement harder and harder. She had her running playlist playing, the pace of her steps syncing with the beat. She was breathing heavy and her heart thumping furiously in her chest, but she didn’t care, it felt great to let all the stress fall off her shoulders temporarily. Nothing mattered in this moment but her feet hitting the ground.

When she got back to her house she began to stretch out on the front porch, only taking the time for what was necessary to prevent injury, she was eager to go straight to her room. She wasn’t sure why, but she really didn’t feel like talking to Kevin or Vance tonight. It was unusual for her.

She quickly and quietly unlocked the door again and stepped back in the house. There were still voices in the living room and for a second Naya tried to remember which cars she had seen out front, to determine if one of the voices was Kevin or not, but ultimately, she decided she didn’t care either way and snuck back upstairs. Afterwards she texted Vance and told him to holler if he needed and that the extra keys for him to hand out were on the table by the door.

When he didn’t respond she worried for a moment, then reassured herself he wasn’t alone and that someone would call her if there was an issue. She slipped into her most comfortable pajamas and laid on her side, facing the wall.

As if she didn’t have enough on her plate lately, one of her old cases haunting her thoughts today and wouldn’t leave. The three unsolved cases she kept in her drawer at work were connected, and they were all children. Her heart hurt every time she thought about it. It had been over a year, did the pain ever go away? Naya knew that guys like the killer she was currently trying to find, those kind of guys didn’t stop until they were caught or died, whichever came first. Tomorrow was Tuesday, which meant it was about time for their current killer to act again. And there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it and it was reminding her too much of how powerless she felt when it came to her old cases.

“Knock-knock” She heard Kevin’s voice from the top of the stairs. She considered pretending to be asleep, but knew he would never buy it.

“Is Vance okay?” She asked, really not wanting to have a stupid ‘how are you’ small talk conversation.

“Are you okay?” She heard him step on the final step, which creaked, come through the doorway and cross the room to sit on the bed behind her. “I was surprised you didn’t come to check on Vance when you got home or at least look to see if he’d eaten.”

“I heard voices and assumed he was okay. I’m not really in the mood to talk to anyone, it was a long day.”

She heard some rustling and almost turned around to see what he was doing when she felt the bed shift. Next thing she knew, his arms were encircling her.

“That’s fine, we don’t have to talk.” He whispered next to her ear.

Naya felt herself relax in his embrace, and they settled into a comfortable silence. He was right, they didn’t need to talk.

He laid with her for a while, she wasn’t sure how long because she didn’t want to break the peaceful embrace to check the time on her phone, but eventually she began to drift off. Not a deep sleep, a light doze where she was still aware of her surroundings.

Kevin must’ve thought she had fallen asleep though, because she felt him shift away from her and start to put on his shoes. She found herself thinking that he truly was a gentleman.

As quietly as he could she heard him leave, even skipping the step that had creaked as he came up. She could hear hushed voices in the hallway and wondered if he was talking to Vance. That was the last conscious thought she had before she finally did fall into a deep slumber.

CHAPTER 16

MARK

Tuesday morning.

It was time.

He had hoped that Alia would go for a run yesterday, but when it hadn’t happened he knew today would be the day. It had to be.

This was going to be difficult. Much more difficult than the others.

But he had a plan.

He propped his door ajar, waiting to hear her leave her apartment. Since it was morning, he had a couple of false alarms as other people left for work. Finally, he heard a door and when he peeked out was rewarded with Alia looking beautiful in her designer running wear.

Perfect.

She jogged lightly down the stairs and he moved over to his computer, quickly accessing her phone through the Bluetooth connection again. Modern technology made this almost too easy.

He watched as she stretched just outside the door then headed west. He watched as the line on his screen turned around corners and sped up across street crossings. Yes, he liked technology, a lot.

After what seemed like forever to his building anticipation, her line began to head back towards him. He pulled out the rag he had ready and dipped it in the ether solution, once she came back into view and began stretching in the same place she had stretched before her run, he knew it was time and quietly slid out of his apartment. He left the door propped open with another rag, that way he wouldn’t have to worry about trying to open it with his hands