Excerpt of Guardian of Her Heart by Linda O. Johnston

Dianna Englander drew in her breath so sharply that it
sounded like a muffled scream.
There. Behind the green minivan, several rows away in the
parking garage, stood a familiar figure. Again.

He was too far off for her to see him clearly, but she
felt him grinning at her.

She stood, trembling, beside her red sports car in its
assigned parking space. She gripped the handle of the
driver's door. Moisture flooded her eyes and spilled over -
tears of fury. Of frustration.

Of anguish.

She'd known she hadn't been hallucinating the first time
she'd seen him, a week earlier.

After all this time, he had come after her. Here.

Oh, she hadn't been hard to find after all the hype about
the opening of the Englander Dispute Resolution Center
almost exactly a year ago.

The Center had been named after her husband Brad - dead,
thanks to the man who stood just a few yards away.
Murdered by that monster.

And so was the precious baby created by Brad and her, who
had died before ever being born ...

"Damn you, Glen Farley." Dianna's voice was barely a
whisper, but it echoed in her mind. Damn you ... damn you.

But she was the one who had been damned.

Knowing how foolish it was, she took a step toward the
evil creature who had ruined her family. He raised his
hand as if waving to her and walked beyond the minivan and
into the next row of parked vehicles.

"Stop!" She hadn't intended to cry out, but the shout
filled the air.

She heard soft voices behind her and turned. A woman with
a couple of kids approached a sedan a few cars away,
looking nervous as she hastily shepherded the children
inside.

Dianna pasted a small smile on her face that she intended
to be reassuring. But judging by the way the woman slammed
her car door shut and quickly started the engine, Dianna
knew she looked as distraught as she felt.

As the car pulled away, she returned her attention to
where she had seen Farley.

He wasn't there.

She realized then how fast she was breathing. Inhaling the
ugly odor of exhaust fumes, here in the indoor parking
garage.

She yanked at her purse until its strap jerked off her
shoulder. She fumbled with the zipper till it opened and
dug for her cell phone. Call 9-1-1, the rational part of
her mind instructed.

"Hey, Dianna," said a soft female voice behind her. Dianna
pivoted. Eleven-year-old Julie Alberts stood near her
father Jeremy's black luxury sedan in its space two over
from Dianna's. Julie's brown eyes, luminous even in the
dim parking garage light, widened. Tendrils of brown hair
that had escaped from the barrette at the back of her neck
framed her gamine face in coiled wisps. "Are you okay?"
she asked.

No! Dianna wanted to scream. But she didn't want to
frighten Julie. "I'm fine, honey. I was just leaving. Get
in my car and come with me, okay?" She slipped her phone
back into her purse. What good would the police do now?

"But my dad's supposed to meet me here to drive me home."

But Farley was here. Farley killed people.

They had to leave, all of them.

"We'll pick him up at the elevator," Dianna said.

"Let's go. Now."

Julie didn't move. She looked scared. "Dianna, what's
wrong?"

Before she could answer, Jeremy Alberts appeared near the
doorway from the elevator. "There he is." Dianna motioned
to him to come quickly, then hesitated. Was it better to
flee through the garage or drive out? Before she made up
her mind, Jeremy joined them. "What's wrong?" he demanded,
parroting his daughter's words. He gave Dianna an odd
look.

Her emotions were clearly showing.

"Did you see -?" He didn't finish, but the question
remained written in the furrow of his shaggy salt-and-
pepper brows.

He didn't have to say more.

Dianna had filled him in the first time. Fortunately, he
had believed her. Had acted appropriately.

But all his security measures hadn't stopped Farley from
returning.

"We'll fix it, Dianna," he said in a gruffly reassuring
voice. "Don't worry."

"We need to get out of here," Dianna told him. "Now."

"Yes," he agreed, hurrying Julie to his car.

Dianna tried to watch everywhere at once. There were no
other cars driving around, no further sign of Farley. But
that didn't mean he wasn't still here. Or that he hadn't
rigged up something harmful.

"What's going on?" Dianna heard Julie insist before the
car door closed behind her.

Dianna got into her own vehicle. Her hands trembled as she
clutched the steering wheel, and she watched all around as
she let Jeremy's car lead the way down the ramp, get out
first.

If Glen Farley hurt someone else, it shouldn't be the
Alberts.

Or her. Or anyone.

It had been more than a year since he'd stopped stalking
her ... before.

Why was he here? Oh, Lord, why was he here?