Stubborn and in Love (Book Three)

28.

Melody's POV

Jack and I had decided to take a stroll around the grounds of the church. We wandered down a small lane leading into a secluded wooded area.

The small church seemed to fade away as the woods swallowed us up into a new world.

"Peg looked great didn't she?"

"She must've been, Sousa was acting like a school boy who just had his first kiss."

Jack stopped to skip a rock on the small babbling brook running alongside us. The bottom of the water gleamed in the bright Sun.

A simple stone bridge covered in rich, green moss took us over the brook.

"You know, I was going to ask you something Melody-"

"Wait, shh."

I held up my hand and motioned for him to stop moving. I'd heard something from within the quaint woods, something moving.

All of a sudden, I felt as if we were being watched.

"Jack...something about this spot, with the lane and bridge..."

"What? Have you been here before?"

"No, but I've read about a spot pretty similar."

He turned to me, eyes wide.

"The poem," we said in unison.

"Mel, this is crazy. How would he even know we'd end up here? This exact spot?"

"I have no idea, but this is it. But I don't think we're alone-"

Suddenly, with a great force my knees buckled under me and I slammed into the grass below. I tried to stand, but a wildly strong hand grasped the back of my throat and pinned me to the ground.

Jack's POV

The figure had moved so swiftly I hadn't time to see who it was.

They pinned down Melody and managed to hit me in the back of the head at the same time, causing me to fall unconscious for a few fleeting moments.

When I woke, I saw a woman, brown hair covering her face, hovering over a trapped Melody.

There was a searing pain coming from my neck, but I had to remove the attacker as fast as I could.

With one big shove I sent her tumbling to land on her stomach. She got up quickly as I helped Melody onto her feet.

The mystery woman turned slowly to face us, her face revealing...