ALL ALONG I WAS THE SERIAL KILLER, BUT THEY NEVER KNEW

The Glimpse

Cade knew she’d felt him.

He could tell from the way her stride had shifted, the subtle tension in her shoulders. She was good — too good. Most people wouldn’t have noticed. Most people lived wrapped in their own noise.

But Elara… she was aware. Hyper-aware.

And that made her interesting.

He’d been trailing her for days, not too close, not too far — always letting the distance breathe. Enough for her to question herself. Enough for her to wonder if it was real.

A profiler’s job wasn’t just to study a suspect’s movements. It was to study their mind.

Today, he decided to change the game.

When she exited the library, Cade stood just across the street, leaning casually against a lamppost. His posture was unassuming, almost bored, but his eyes never left her.

He knew she’d look — people always scan their surroundings, even when they pretend not to.

Sure enough, she glanced his way. Their gazes met for a fraction of a second. Cade saw the flicker in her eyes — recognition? No. Something sharper.

She didn’t stop walking. She didn’t quicken her pace either. But her jaw tightened before she turned the corner.

Cade didn’t follow this time.

He wanted her to think about it. To replay the moment in her head.

Was he just another stranger? Or was he the shadow she’d been feeling all week?

In truth, he wasn’t certain yet what she was hiding. But he knew this: whatever it was, she’d fight to protect it. And the more she fought, the closer he’d get to tearing it out of her.