“Now don’t speak. You save your energy. I’ve been soo naughty.”

William wished she’d stop saying soo. Didn’t her editor explain the annoyance of superfluous words? The way she phrased language insulted language.

“My schedule’s been crazy. Blame Morris. He’s got me everywhere for this release. Sometimes I wish success hadn’t happened with my first book and my days were still just writing. Then, I remind myself that would be soo ungrateful. Luck can go either way.”

Didn’t he know it.

“William, since you’re so kind to forgive me I’ve brought a special treat. If Mohammed can’t come to the mountain, then the mountain must come to Mohammed. Ready?”

She appeared positively gleeful as if this was Christmas morning and he was a child awaiting his surprise. A sudden dark thought hit him. Was she a woman who might take a pillow, push it into his face and stifle the breath from his body? For one moment, he considered owning up to everything and begging her forgiveness.

But she didn’t reach for a pillow, instead Orelia walked back to the chair and pulled an object from a bag on the floor. That’s how she’d do it, he realized. In that bag was a syringe and she would kill him by injecting air into his IV; untraceable and quick. He’d seen that on crime TV shows a number of times.

He closed his eyes so she wouldn’t enjoy the satisfaction of his fear as she ended his life. A roar in his head drowned the wild thumping of his heart. Thump-whump. Thump-whump. Maybe a heart attack would take him after all. Thump-whump. Thump-whump.

When he heard her words, he felt a moment of relief that he wasn’t about to die. Now he understood her game; and she was evil. She had no intention of killing him because she planned something worse. Jealousy could eat you alive, and this was his punishment for allowing himself to be eaten.

She returned to his bedside, dragging the chair with her to place it by his bedside. Then she settled herself into the seat and said, “Don’t you fret at what’s happened. This might seem overwhelming but when I ended up where you are it changed my life. You’ve been so forgiving, here’s your reward. I’m sharing a treat… an excerpt from my new book.”

The bed seemed to engulf William, sucking him alive into the lumpy folds. White, crisp sheets wrapped about him in such a stranglehold his consciousness began to dissolve into knots of panic. He closed his eyes willing her to become just a mirage, to make the nightmare disappear.

“That’s right, close your eyes. If you doze off, don’t worry. Knowing you’re okay is my reward. I’ll just slip out and leave you to rest. Morris will be so pleased to hear you’re doing well.”

He wanted to say, “Hardly!” His ex-agent would hardly care, but no words came. A thought crystallized in his mind though. Crazy or not, he saw her plan in all its glory. Destroy his lifestyle, his work, and then torture him until he took the coward’s way out. He would always be on his own because nobody would understand what she was doing. Only him, William Barnes the has-been best seller.