Fatal Desire, Teen Edition (2 page)

About six months into her new life, Amber got
the note that chilled her spine. After a twelve hour shift at the
hospital, she came home to her small apartment, grabbed her mail,
and let herself in. It was Friday and she and the girls were going
out that night. Amber got a shower, dried her long blond hair, and
dressed carefully in an aqua colored shirt that fit snuggly. She
pulled on a pair of white slacks, added a pair of heels the color
of her shirt and applied her makeup.

She enjoyed going out with Michelle and
Nicole. It was her only form of entertainment since moving to
Birmingham. She worked long hours at the hospital and although she
was relaxing with her colleagues was still afraid to get too close
to anyone. This was the only luxury she allowed herself. But it had
been six months and she was beginning to think that she would be
able to get back to normal. So tonight, she was going to let loose
and enjoy herself. She might even dance with that cute guy who
continually asked her out.

Later that evening after a few drinks with
the girls, a couple of dances, and some small talk with a tall good
looking guy named Ben, Amber took a cab home. Walking up to her
apartment, she saw a note taped to her door. Amber froze. A chill
went down her spine and her heart dropped to her knees. She knew.
Without even looking, she knew he had found her.

Hand shaking, Amber took the note off the
door and opened it.

You thought you could run, but I found you. I will
always

find you. You cannot hide from me. You belong to
me

and I will have you. Your new boyfriend is dead.

Amber dropped the note, ran into her
apartment and slammed the door. She was so scared she was unable to
sleep that night.

The next morning when she got to the
hospital, Michelle and Nicole came running up to her.

“Amber,” Michelle called. “That guy you
danced with last night, Ben, is dead.”

“What,” Amber asked. “How? What
happened?”

“The police say he lost control of his car
last night after drinking too much and crashed into a telephone
pole.”

“That’s crazy,” Amber replied. “He wasn’t
even drinking. He told me he just comes to the club to dance. He
never drinks. He was the designated driver.”

Michelle and Nicole could see the fear in
Amber's eyes.

“I know. I remembered him telling us that.
That is why I thought the whole thing was weird. But the police say
his blood alcohol level was over the legal limit,” Michelle
said.

Amber began shaking again. “I have to go,”
she said.

Michelle looked at Amber and asked, “Are you
all right?”

“No, I think I am going to be sick,” Amber
replied. “Can you cover for me?”

Michelle nodded and watched Amber walk back
to her car. She turned to Nicole and saw the same worried look
mirrored in her eyes she thought must be in her own. She wondered
what had made Amber suddenly turn so pale. She certainly looked as
if she was going to be sick, but she also looked very scared.
Michelle and Nicole walked back into the hospital slowly. Michelle
told the charge nurse that Amber would not be in that morning while
Nicole sent up a prayer for her new friend. Neither had any idea
Amber would not be back to work.

Amber came back to herself suddenly.
Remembering that first year of being on the run had her shaking
now. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only five but she
was getting so sleepy. She decided to find a hotel and get some
rest before she continued on. Looking around, she realized she was
driving through Nashville, Tennessee. She pulled off on the next
exit she came to and stopped at a gas station. It looked like a
decent part of town so after filling up her car she pulled into the
Holiday Inn and got a room. She always made sure she stayed in a
hotel where the rooms faced into a hallway and not outside. She
didn’t want someone breaking in undetected.

Amber pulled her overnight bag out of the car
and took the elevator up to her room. After four years and four
moves, she had learned to pack light. She always kept an overnight
bag packed and close and because she was a nurse, she wore scrubs
to work which she could buy anywhere. She could pick up and move
within an hour if need be, which is what she had done last
night.

Amber walked into the bathroom and turned on
the shower. She had packed and left right after her shift at the
hospital and had not taken the time to wash up. A hot shower and a
good night’s sleep would help her focus and get back on track.

After her shower, Amber laid down on the bed
and turned on the television. She needed to calm her mind before
falling asleep. She tried to get the visions of running and being
hunted out of her head but she just couldn’t seem to escape the
memories.

Ben Harrison was tall with thick blond hair
and laughing green eyes. He had been at the club many of the nights
her and the girls had went out. He had tried to buy her a drink on
several occasions but she had turned him down. But that night, she
had said yes.

After talking with him for awhile, Amber
allowed Ben to lead her onto the dance floor. He told stories about
his childhood and Amber listened. She did not go into many details
about her own life, but she did promise to dance with him again the
next time she was in the club.

She remembered how much fun she had that
night. The three girls left laughing. Amber had picked up Michelle
and Nicole. The girls each took turns driving on different evenings
and that night was her night. Looking back she was glad. She is not
sure what the other two would have thought of her reaction upon
finding the note on her door, and she was glad she would never have
to explain.

After hearing about Ben, Amber knew she would
have to leave again. When she got back to her apartment, Amber
called the hospital and told them she was leaving her job. She
began packing her bags being sure to pack the note she had found on
her door the night before. Hopefully one day someone would believe
her and help her find out who was stalking her.

This time Amber did not care what time she
left. She got in her car and headed south into Florida. She made
several stops, used the interstate and back country roads and kept
driving until she was sure no one was following her. After driving
for ten hours she finally stopped for the night. She did not dare
call Olivia and tell her what had happened. She would wait a few
weeks and then let her know she was alright.

She was unsure how he had found her again but
Amber decided not to take any chances. She took her powder blue BMW
that she had splurged on last year, the first really big purchase
she had ever made, and traded it for a new black Honda Civic. Next,
she drove until she found a place where she could purchase a new
cell phone without an annual contract. Throwing her old phone in
the trash, Amber left the store and drove to the nearest hotel.
Looking at a map told her she was close to Jacksonville, Florida,
in the small town of Middleburg, and a newspaper said the local
hospital was looking for nursing staff. Amber thought she would try
her luck in this new place and decided to apply for the job after
she woke up from a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, freshly showered and
dressed in casual business attire, Amber drove to the hospital and
located the human resources department. With a smile on her face,
she inquired about the position needed and asked for an
application. An older woman with salt and pepper hair, a long beak
like nose, and a nasty frown handed her clipboard without saying a
word. After filing out the forms handed to her by the surly
secretary who looked and acted as if she woke up on the wrong side
of the bed, Amber decided to drive around the city and get her
bearings.

While driving, Amber searched out the fast
food restaurants, the grocery stores, and the mall. She would be
unable to cook while staying in a hotel but if she got the job, she
could find an apartment. Amber enjoyed cooking even though it was
often only for one. Her mother had been a wonderful cook and had
passed her skills onto her daughter. Amber thought it would be nice
to one day have a husband and some children to cook for.

Later that evening after shopping for a while
at the local mall, Amber came back to the hotel to settle in for
the night. She knew it would be a few days before she would hear
back from the hospital. She decided to wait a week and if she
didn’t get a phone call she would try another city.

It would be easier to be on the run if she
didn’t have to work, and technically she didn’t have to. Her mother
and father had left her well situated. But Amber had to work. She
was not the type of person to just lie around reading, watching
television, and doing nothing all day. She loved to work. She
wanted to work. She enjoyed helping people. She wanted to bring a
smile to a little girl’s face who had just had a bicycle accident.
She wanted to help the old man take his medication whose family
never visited him in the hospital. She liked to bring flowers to
her patients and make them laugh. He would not take that away from
her.

Amber sighed as she laid on the bed. How long
would she have to run? How many people would get hurt because of
her? She again thought of Ben and shuttered. How had he done it?
How had he killed Ben and made it look like an accident?

He smiled to himself. He was clever alright.
He had not planned to kill the man dancing with his girl, just hurt
him enough so she would know not to cross him. But his plan had
worked too well. Ben had been drinking coke all evening but he had
learned earlier Ben was a recovering alcoholic. He simply exchanged
his plain coke for a mixed drink and sat back and watched. After
Amber left, Ben drank the alcohol and got the taste he had been
missing. After that it was easy to make friends and buy him more
drinks. By the time they left the club together, Ben was plastered.
It took skill and coordination, but he was able to jerk the wheel
at just the right time to run Ben’s side of the car into the
telephone pole. He was banged up some himself but it would not be
the first time he had gotten hurt taking care of an intruder into
her life and it probably would not be the last. Yes, he was pretty
clever. She wouldn’t be dancing with Ben anymore.

He knew she would run again. He was not
concerned this time. He had found her once. He would find her
again. She would slip up and let him know where she was. That is
how he knew she really wanted him. She liked to play these games.
But in the end she would be his.

He had been furious when he lost her the
first time. She had slipped away in the middle of the night. He had
no idea she would run like she did. He had mistaken how badly she
would take it if he went after her best friend. He would not make
that mistake again. It had taken him a month to put together a plan
that would help him find her but now he had a way of knowing
exactly what was going on in her life and a way of keeping tabs on
her. Oh yes, she would let him know where she was.

♥
Chapter
2
♥

The next morning Amber threw her overnight
bag into the back seat and looked for a place she could get some
breakfast and an atlas. As long as she had been running, she should
have already purchased one but she had been staying fairly close to
Georgia and simply buying state maps. This time she would go
farther and she would take longer to get there.

Amber pulled over at a pharmacy in downtown
Nashville and purchased a road atlas that would get her anywhere in
the United States. She then pulled into a Denny’s, ordered her
breakfast and began thumbing through the atlas. She had lived in
Birmingham, Alabama, for six months, Middleburg, Florida, for a
little over a year, Cleveland, Mississippi, for six months, and the
last city, where she had been the longest at two years, New
Orleans, Louisiana. She would have to leave the south altogether
and hope that he would not follow her if she went further away.

She did not really believe that little lie
she was telling herself, but it made her feel better anyway. By the
time her breakfast arrived, Amber had her plans laid out. She had
marked and highlighted a route that would take her east to the
coast, south to the gulf, and then west and north to the state of
Washington. That is about as far from Georgia as you can get she
thought to herself. This time, she would not even tell Olivia where
she was going. No one needed to know she was that far away. Maybe
this time she could get lost for good.

As she ate, Amber tried to convince herself
she was going on an adventure. Small town girl about to travel
across the country. She had already seen some beautiful scenery
while driving, but this time she was going to ignore the fact that
she was running from a maniacal killer and drive during the day so
she could enjoy the beauty of the countryside. But she couldn’t
help continuing to think about how she ended up here.

Amber waited a week for the call from the
hospital in Middleburg, Florida. She was just about to give up and
drive into Jacksonville, when her new cell phone rang for the first
time.

“Hello,” she answered quickly.

“May I speak with Amber Curtis,” said the
sour voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like the same
lady Amber had handed her resume and application to at the hospital
that day.

“This is she,” Amber replied as politely as
she could.

“I understand you are applying for the
position we have open for a nurse on the third floor of the
hospital. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I am,” said Amber.

“We would like for you to come in for an
interview this afternoon at two,” said the surly voice.