Burned: Black Cipher Files #3 (Black Cipher Files series) by Lisa Hughey

Rover blocked the Volvo and had partially hidden me from the monster. But if I rammed the car blocking my way, my stepfather was sure to check out the commotion and see me. “Get out.”
    I yanked the seat belt over my body, and sent up a prayer that these old Volvos truly were built like tanks.
    Zeke Thorn hadn’t budged. He was scrutinizing the street. “I won't hurt you,” he repeated.
    “Then why the hell are you here?” I cried. “Leave me alone.”
    “Come with me, in my car. Whoever you’re afraid of won’t be able to identify it.”
    I shook my head so violently the strands of my hair sprang from the tight braid and curled against my cheek. “I don’t even know you.”
    “Shit. I’m no good at this people stuff.” Zeke tugged at the neckline of his O’Neill t-shirt. “This is why I stick to numbers, programs, equations. You plug in the variables and come out with an answer.”
    Had the monster seen me yet? I tried to peer through the windshield without lifting my head very far above the dash. Fear and rage clashed violently inside me, and I wondered how long I could keep down the scone I’d eaten for breakfast.
    I needed to get the hell out of here before he could get me.
    I flashed back to him staring up at me in that attic window. To the menace in his eyes before he’d turned around to make sure my grandparents were dead. To the first three times he’d found Mama and me and we’d managed to escape before he got close enough to grab my mother.
    In thirteen years, this was the nearest I’d been to the man who’d murdered my grandparents and stolen my childhood. I couldn’t even think about how he’d found me, us. How was that possible?
    “Look, I only want to help you.” Zeke sounded desperate.
    Welcome to the club, asshole.
    “You can’t. No one can.” Just leave me alone.
    “Let’s take my car. Tell me about your problem and we’ll see what I can do.” He spoke calmly, gently, all trace of desperation gone.
    Maybe he could help. Maybe there was something he could do. Except I knew nothing about him. Nothing.
    “We’ll never know unless you tell me about it.”
    The unseasonably warm October sunshine streamed through the window. He waited, on the edge of a precipice for my decision. His focus shifted across the street. Reflexively, I slid further down in the seat.
    “Was that the guy?”
    “Can’t you just leave me alone?” The urge to scream obstructed my throat. Which was fortunate, because I shouldn’t do anything to draw attention to myself.
    “I want to help you.” Zeke craned his neck to peer over my head.
    “Don’t stare.”
    It had been nine years since the last time he’d tracked us down. I’d still been a kid. Now I was a full grown woman. And he still had the power to terrify me. I wasn’t sure I could move if he saw us and turned that malevolent gaze on me. Which was why I had to get the hell out of here. Since I didn’t know how he’d found me I had to assume everything I owned was compromised. Which I then realized meant I needed to ditch the Volvo.
    “Which car is yours?”
    “The Rover.”
    “You blocked me in?”
    “I wanted to make sure you talked to me.”
    “You aren’t some crazy stalker, are you?”
    That’s all I needed. Another crazy stalker.
    “No!” Zeke burst out. “Come with me. I want to help you.”
    The monster was now out of sight. He’d headed down the street toward the flower shop and the bistro. But he’d have to come back this way to get in his nondescript old truck.
    Zeke adjusted his ball cap. “I am the good guy,” he snarled.
    I yanked my keys from the ignition and threaded them between my fingers, making a fist with my right hand. I couldn’t go anywhere in my car, which was potentially compromised anyway, and he was blocking me in. I had to get out of here before the monster came back.
    “Let’s go.” Then I said fiercely, my throat tight, but my resolve absolute, “But if you have anything to do with him,