Marked for Disaster by Anna Blakely

Author:Anna Blakely [Blakely, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saje Publishing
Published: 2023-09-02T18:30:00+00:00

7

The next morning…

“I swear, I’m fine.” Cera stood at the living room windows. With her phone to her ear, she stared at the mountain below.

The smile her mouth had automatically formed was as deceptive as the lie she’d just uttered. It wasn’t in her nature to deceive. Not when it came to her long-time therapist, anyway.

Oh, she’d gotten good at sharing half-truths and embellished stories. Really good. But those were reserved for those times when someone would ask about her childhood…

Where did you grow up? What do your parents do? Do you have any brothers or sisters?

But this was Dr. Randall she was talking to. A man who’d been there since she’d woken up in that hospital only to learn her entire world had been shattered.

He’d managed her care while her body healed from the damage James Stiegler’s bullet had caused. And later, during her time at a much different hospital.

When reality became far too painful to bear.

But Dr. Randall had already been concerned about her moving so far away from home alone. So when trouble found her again in Colorado Springs, Cera had made the conscious decision to keep it to herself where Dr. R. was concerned.

The man also had no idea she’d moved to Denver two months ago. And since his receptionist had patched her through, he had no way of knowing her phone number had also changed.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. He was the only person in her life she did trust. But the cops in Colorado Springs had warned her that guys like the one stalking her sometimes went after the people their victims cared about to get to their intended target.

The idea of something happening to a man as sweet and caring as Dr. R.,—especially because of her—was unthinkable. So she’d kept him in the dark and prayed he bought the façade.

“Would you tell me if you weren’t fine?” Dr. Randall’s voice pulled her back to the present.

“Of course, I’d tell you.” Another lie.

“What about the other?”

“The other?” She made her way over to the leather couch nearest her and sank back into the welcoming cushion.

“Cera.” The intelligent man’s tone took on a fatherly tone. “You know what I’m referring to. Your stalker. You haven’t mentioned anything about your concerns the last couple sessions. I hope that means whoever it was has been caught or moved on?”

That last sentiment came out as more of a question than a statement.

Part of her wanted to tell him, but no. When she’d made the decision to leave Oklahoma, she was determined to beat the odds and make it on her own. Regardless of her past, Cera had been about to build a future.

That determination was still there but faded more and more with each new text or abandoned note. And that was before yesterday’s turn of events.

She felt better today, though. Almost…hopeful, even. And hope was something she hadn’t felt in…

Forever.

Still, better and “fine” were not mutually exclusive. So Cera lied again.

“Yep.” She winced, pulling her legs into a crisscross position.

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