Chapter 5 The Stalker
Chapter Five
“I’m Nichole.”
Lana forced a small smile. “Lana Del.”
Nichole stared at her for a second, then bursted into laughter. “Relax. Don’t be so tense. I was just kidding.”
Lana frowned at how hard she was chuckling.
“Besides, I know exactly who you are.”
The stiffness on Lana’s face eased a little. “Oh.”
Nichole suddenly grabbed Lana’s arms tightly and then flung it back down. “You know you’ve been my idol for a long time?” She casually asked.
Lana didn’t understand her.
“When I first came to the city, the few racer friends I knew kept talking about you. So I decided to find you and make sure we have a friendly match.” She smiled. “I honestly didn’t expect to be just as good as you.”
Lana didn’t know if she was supposed to take that as a compliment or a challenge.“Well… it’s a pleasure. I guess?” She just shrugged. “You did keep up.”
Nichole grinned. “I’ll take that.”
There was a brief silence before Lana finally broke the silence. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
Nichole nodded. “You definitely will.”
Lana turned and started walking away. “What an asshole.” She whispered under her breath.
“What?” Zara’s voice came from behind as she caught up with her.
Lana glanced sideways. “Nothing.”
Zara looked over Lana’s shoulder at Nichole, who was already surrounded by a few curious racers. “Oh…” Zara smirked. “Got someone who almost beat your ass?”
Lana scoffed. “I was actually trying to be nice.”
“And?”
“Turns out she’s an ass.”
Zara laughed. “That’s what happens when you finally meet someone who can keep up with you.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “She didn’t beat me.”
“Calm down. I didn’t say she did.”
They continued walking toward the parking lot together.
Lana couldn’t stop herself from looking back one last time. Nichole was still standing beside her car, talking casually with a few racers. For someone new, she blended in surprisingly fast, and that was strange. Usually, new racers either tried too hard to impress everyone or kept to themselves until they got used to the place.
Lana looked away. It wasn’t any of her business.
The race was over, but she still had to deal with her father the moment she got home. If she was lucky, he would only lecture her for an hour. If she wasn’t…
He would find another excuse to remind her that she needed to take her life and education seriously. Lana was still a university student, although she only showed up whenever she felt like it. Most people couldn’t even tell she was still in school, and that was exactly how she liked it. Unfortunately, Erik never missed a chance to remind everyone.
Lana let out a quiet sigh. Some days, she wondered if Erik Brown had ever seen her as a daughter or if he only saw her as someone he needed to control.
Probably the latter.
She reached her car, tossed her helmet onto the passenger seat, and slid behind the wheel. After waving goodbye to Zara, she started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
About halfway home, Lana glanced at the rearview mirror. A black SUV caught her attention through the rearview mirror. Her smile faded. It was the same SUV that had followed her home from the racing grounds the last time.
Lana frowned. She quickly switched lanes, and as expected, the SUV switched lanes too. Lana’s grip tightened around the steering wheel. She decided to slow down and let the SUV pass, but the moment she slowed down, the SUV slowed down too.
That wasn’t normal.
“Shit…” she muttered under her breath.
Without thinking twice, Lana made a sharp turn into a busy shopping district without using her indicator. Her eyes darted between the road and the rearview mirror. The SUV was still trailing behind her. It got to a point where it stopped on the other side of the intersection.
Lana finally let out the breath she had been holding. If this had been the first time, she would’ve dismissed it as a coincidence. But this wasn’t the first time, and neither was it the second or the third.
Lana wasn’t the type to get scared easily, but she didn’t slow down again until she reached home.
…
Several streets away, the black SUV remained parked beneath the traffic light. The driver’s window rolled down halfway. A pair of eyes followed Lana’s disappearing car until it was completely out of sight.
The man reached for the phone resting on the passenger seat as a message flashed across the screen.
Did you lose her?
A slow smile spread across his lips as he typed back only three words.
Never lost her.
He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat before starting the engine. He already knew where Lana Brown lived.
He always had.
