Fatal Desire, Teen Edition (8 page)

♥
Chapter
6
♥

Derek cursed out loud as he slapped his hand
against the steering wheel. He had lost her. She had at least an
hour head start and he thought he had been following her only to
discover she had traded cars on him.

Very clever, Amber, he thought. Hopefully
that would keep her stalker at bay long enough for Derek to track
her down. He had already put out an APB on the new car she had
purchased with strict instructions not to pull her over. He just
wanted to know where she would be staying for the night. For now,
he was stuck. He had no idea which direction she had gone.

His rumbling stomach reminded him he had
missed breakfast. Derek drove off the car lot and turned into town.
He stopped at a Huddle House and gobbled down the eggs and bacon
the waitress brought him. Swallowing the coffee quickly, Derek
headed back out the door. He had no idea which way to go but he
couldn’t sit around and wait.

Derek suddenly remembered the atlas he saw
laying on the nightstand the night before. He had thumbed through
it noting the highlighted routes. It looked newly purchased so she
must have gotten it shortly after she left New Orleans. Derek
decided to try his luck driving south. He found the nearest
interstate and started heading towards Florida.

Amber drove for five hours before stopping.
She was starving since she had missed breakfast but she didn’t dare
stop sooner. She pulled into a Burger King and ran in to go to the
bathroom. She ordered her lunch to go and stopped at the nearest
gas station to fill up. As she was gassing up, she noticed a patrol
car drive by, back up and turn into the gas station. He seemed to
be looking at her car.

Amber’s heart sank. What had she done that
the police would be looking for her? She watched the police car
drive away and breathed a sigh of relief. Amber paid for the gas,
jumped back into her car and headed down a back country road. She
had alternated between back roads and interstates all morning. She
had not even made it out of South Carolina because of the
circuitous route she was taking, but she was positive no one was
following her.

Continuing on to the south, Amber cranked up
her radio and sang along to the local county station. The back
roads and highways took longer to drive but she saw some beautiful
countryside along the way. Later that evening, before it got dark,
Amber got back on the interstate to find a hotel in a more
populated area. She had finally crossed over into Georgia but she
did not plan on staying in that state long. She would drive down to
Florida through Alabama even though it would take her longer. She
didn’t want to be in the place where her nightmare began.

She wasn’t sure her stalker actually lived in
Georgia, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Besides, if she got to
close, she might give into the urge to drop in and see Olivia.
Amber knew she just couldn’t take that chance.

She was running again. He was surprised she
had taken off so quickly this time. He didn’t even see her leave.
No worries. He would wait. She would revel herself in time. He had
become an expert at waiting since meeting her. He would wait
again.

Derek got the call about two that Amber was
in a small town only about thirty minutes from where he was. He
smiled to himself. Yes she was trying to run but his resources
would allow him to keep tabs on her.

After that it became even easier. Amber was
strolling through small towns all over South Carolina and that aqua
blue car she bought was easy to spot. There were not many Toyota
Camry’s in that color on the road. She had made it easy for him and
she didn’t even know it.

By the time she stopped for the night at a
hotel in Georgia, Derek knew exactly where she was. He had still
not decided whether to confront her or simply continue to follow
her until she reached her destination.

His head said follow her, but his heart said
confront her. Let her know you are there for her. Tell her what you
do and that you believe her and want to help her.

Derek decided to just continue to follow her.
He didn’t want to scare her. He wanted to talk to her, comfort her,
but he didn’t want her to run again. He would maintain a distance
and she would never know he was there until he was ready to tell
her.

Amber woke up the next morning much the same
as the morning before. She was wrapped up in a man’s strong arms.
Her heart dropped. He had found her. She jumped and began to
struggle before she heard the low voice that told her Derek was the
one holding her. She stopped struggling and just lay still as he
explained why he was laying in her bed.

“Look, honey,” Derek said. “I couldn’t take
the chance you would run off again. I’m an FBI agent and I have
been tracking you for a year. I’m on your side and I want to help
you find your stalker so you can get back to living a normal
life.”

Amber calmed down and listened. She wanted to
get back to living a normal life. She didn’t want to run anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe Derek could help her find the man
responsible for her nightmare.

When he thought she was calm he let her go.
Amber turned to face him chest still heaving from her previous
struggle. Derek, looking down at her, couldn’t resist kissing
her.

Unprepared for the torrent of emotions
running through her body, Amber gave herself to that kiss. It
started soft and slow. Derek kissed her gently, then ran his tongue
over her bottom lip sampling, tasting. He teased and tormented as
Amber silently pleaded for more.

An hour later Amber drifted back to sleep
with a smile on her face as Derek held her and stroked her long
blond hair. He let her lay there resting on his chest as he thought
about what had just happened. He would not apologize and he would
make sure she never ran from him again.

Amber woke a few hours later, well rested and
a smile plastered on her face. She hoped Derek was not still in the
room because she would be very embarrassed if he was. She slowly
sat up, stretched and looked around.

Breathing a sigh of relief upon not seeing
Derek, Amber started to rise from the bed to take a shower. When
she heard the hotel key in the door she jumped back under the
covers. Derek laughed seeing a flash of skin just as he opened the
door.

Amber, red-faced and embarrassed, tried to
hide behind her pillow. Derek grabbed her pillow and kissed her on
the nose.

“I went downstairs to get breakfast but they
had already cleaned up so no gravy and apples for you,” Derek
teased.

Amber laughed and grabbed the styrofoam plate
out of his hand. Inside was a cheeseburger and some fries.

“I found the hotel grill and ordered a couple
of burgers,” Derek said.

“Thanks,” replied Amber.

They ate their burgers in silence but not the
awkward silence Amber expected after what they had done a couple of
hours earlier. When they finished, Derek left the room to let Amber
shower and dress. He warned her she had better not run again, but
just in case he attached another tracking device to her car and
then sat down in the hallway and waited for her to finish
dressing.

They would need to discuss their plans from
here. Derek was not about to let the blond beauty walk away again.
He was sure Amber would not like what he was about to suggest. It
was time to lure the maniac out of hiding.

Amber just stood in the hot shower letting
the water soak into her skin. It was the first time in a long time
she felt this relaxed. Her body still tingled when she thought
about Derek and she smiled.

She wanted to stay here just for a few days
before she went on to Washington. She wondered how much time Derek
had left on his vacation and if he would stay with her.

Amber couldn’t believe what she was thinking.
She barely knew the man. She had just met him. Her parents would be
so ashamed of her. But Amber couldn’t bring herself to regret the
way she was feeling.

After a long soak under the shower head,
Amber scrubbed her body, washed her hair, and climbed out of the
shower. She quickly dried off and dressed so she could find Derek.
They would need to talk. She hoped he would stay a couple of days
and then she would head on to Washington to hide again. Surly he
wouldn’t deny her a little pleasure before going back to his
life.

Coming out of the bathroom, Amber looked
around the hotel room only to find herself completely alone. Her
heart sank until she heard the hotel key in the door that indicated
Derek was coming into the room.

“I wanted to give you some privacy,” Derek
said.

“Thank you,” Amber replied.

She walked back into the bathroom, grabbed
her hairbrush and began twisting her hair into a wet bun. Pinning
her hair back out of her face gave Amber the time she needed to
broach the subject she wanted to talk about.

“How long are you on vacation for,” Amber
asked.

“I’m not on vacation,” Derek answered. “I’m
on the job.”

Confused, Amber looked at him. “I just
assumed you were on vacation when I met you in Myrtle Beach,” Amber
said.

“You must not have heard me earlier, Amber. I
have been tracking you for a year now. I followed you to Myrtle
Beach from New Orleans,” explained Derek.

Amber began to panic. “If you followed me,
then he could have also,” she whispered.

“No, I made sure no one was watching you or
following you other than me,” said Derek.

“But, how do you know. You found me. So could
he. I didn’t see you following me. I assumed I was alone,” Amber’s
panic began to climb.

Derek reached for her hand and pulled her
into his chest. “Listen to me, Honey,” he said soothingly. “You
didn’t see me because I wasn’t tailing you. I had a tracking device
on your car so I could hang back. This guy wouldn’t have anything
that sophisticated.”

Amber began to relax as Derek talked. The
sound of his voice soothed her raw nerves. Derek led her to a chair
and began to explain.

“About a year ago I was given the file of a
gas station attendant who had been locked in a store room while a
fire was set to one of the pumps outside the building,” Derek
said.

Amber jumped out of her chair and began to
pace. “He was locked in,” she asked.

“Yes, there was no way he would have been
able to escape that fire. It was a wonder the fireman even pulled
him out alive. Of course the smoke and the flames were just too
much and he died a few days later,” Derek explained.

“While investigating we came across your face
on video surveillance and you were the only customer who had not
come forward to talk with us.”

“Because I had already left town,” she
mumbled.

“Yes,” Derek answered. “It took some time to
find out who you were but once I did and learned that you never
came back to the hospital after that night, you became high on the
suspect list. I tracked down the places you had been and found
similar stories all the way back to your hometown.”

Amber sat on the bed and hugged her knees
close to her chest. “Did you think I had killed those people,” she
asked in a small voice. Amber wouldn’t look at him for fear of
seeing the truth in his eyes. She wondered how many others thought
the same thing. How many of her previous coworkers saw her as a
vicious killer.

Derek sat next to Amber and put his arm on
her shoulders. “I am not going to lie to you, Amber. We did think
you were some sort of black widow, luring men in then picking them
off and moving to the next town before you could be discovered. All
of the deaths were cleverly disguised accidents. If the attendant
had not been locked in that room, we would not be here now.”

“Do you still think that,” Amber asked as she
shrugged off his arm and stood again. “Do you believe I am capable
of something that disturbing?” Amber crossed her arms over her
chest as she waited for Derek’s answer.

“No, Amber. Absolutely not. I have sent
pictures of the letters your stalker left for you to my boss and
our lab is analyzing them now. We will catch this creep and put him
behind bars where he belongs,” Derek assured her.

“Tell me how he did it. I have never
understood how he killed those people and made it look like an
accident,” she asked.

Derek went into full detail on what the lab
had found from each of the crime scenes. He explained about Ben
Harrison’s previous drinking problems and how he had been lured
into driving drunk. He also told her the lab believed someone was
in the car with Ben and turned the car into the telephone pole that
took Ben’s life.

He talked about the paint transfer on Josh
Stinson’s car and showed her the simulation video of the accident
that cost Josh his life. When he talked about Mike Lester, the gas
station clerk, Amber began pacing again.

“I didn’t even know his name,” she
whispered.

Derek continued on and told her how long it
had taken to compile his information. He told her about the six
months of surveillance on her in New Orleans and how he followed
her when she ran again the night they pulled Jesse’s car up the
cliff.

“I thought I was safe. It had been two years
and not a word. I thought he was gone for good,” Amber
explained.

Again, Derek took Amber into his arms. “We
were in Myrtle Beach when I got the coroner’s report. It was then
that I began to question your involvement,” Derek said.

Amber looked up into Derek’s eyes. He
couldn’t resist kissing her. He kissed her deeply then pulled away.
He needed to finish this. She needed to know just what she was
facing.

“Amber,” Derek said. “Jesse Chunn’s neck was
broken before the car went over the cliff.”