Roxxy always walked fast after her evening shift—head down, fingers curled tight around the strap of her bag, as if the night might swallow her if she slowed down. She wasn't wrong.
Not tonight.
A streetlamp flickered overhead as she passed beneath it, its buzz echoing in the empty alley. She hated this shortcut, but it cut ten minutes off the walk home, and she needed the escape from everyone's eyes. People were exhausting. Eyes were worse.
But she didn't know someone else's eyes were already on her.
A tall silhouette leaned against the far wall, shadow swallowing him whole. He didn't move, didn't speak, didn't even pretend to be doing anything normal. Roxxy's heart leapt painfully.
She considered turning around.
Too late.
"Roxxy."
Her breath stopped. A voice like dark velvet. Smooth. Low. Controlled. She had never heard it before, but somehow it sounded like it knew her.
She froze, hugging her bag to her chest.
"H-How do you know my name?"
The man stepped forward. His boots were silent on the damp pavement, which made it worse—predators moved quietly too. As the light hit him, she caught a glimpse of sharp cheekbones, a scar grazing his jaw, and eyes that looked like they weren't used to blinking.
"Because," he murmured, "I've been waiting for you."
The way he said it wasn't romantic.
It was dangerous.
Her pulse drummed in her throat. "Why? Do I… know you?"
"No." A faint smirk curved his lips. "But I know you."
Something hot and uneasy tightened in her stomach. Not fear—something that annoyed her for even existing. His eyes traced her, deliberate, stopping at her trembling fingers.
"You shouldn't walk alone this late," he said, voice dropping lower, "anything could happen to you."
She hated how his words warmed her skin.
"Please… just let me go," she whispered.
Andrew stepped closer, enough that she could feel the heat of his body, too close for a stranger, too close for safety.
"Roxxy," he said softly, like he was comforting her, "if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already."
That wasn't comforting at all.
Her breath shook, and he watched it like he was memorizing her reactions one by one.
"I'm Andrew," he finally said. "And I'm not here to harm you."
A lie? A truth?
She couldn't tell.
But she did know one thing—
those eyes would not be leaving her anytime soon.