The sharp blast of a car’s horn sounds to my left, and for a second I jolt out of the weird subconscious state that I’m in. A Ford Explorer has slammed on its brakes to keep from hitting me. I can’t make out the driver’s words. He flips me off. I make eye contact with him and keep on running. Soon, in the shadows of tall live oaks and wispy moss, I slow to a jog, then a walk. The sounds that plagued me earlier are now a dull hum, and within minutes fade to nothing. Have I run so far that I’ve escaped the city? People? Am I finally alone?
Then, a heartbeat. Not mine. Someone else’s. Steady. Strong. Ahead of me.
I follow.
The small town of Thunderbolt. That’s where I am. As I move beneath the sparsely spaced streetlamps, I watch ahead of me. Male. Young. Early twenties. His tall, lanky figure casts a long shadow as he jogs. A rain begins to fall. Light at first, then more steady. It lifts the jogger’s scent and wafts it to me. I inhale deeply. Sweat. Soap. I inhale again.
Blood.
I grow closer. Twenty feet. Ten feet.
A strong hand encircles my arm and jerks me to a stop. I’m aware of very little around me, save the jogger getting farther away. Rain slides down my cheeks, drips off my nose, plasters my hair to my scalp. My eyes remain fixed on the jogger.
His scent remains fixed in my nostrils.
“Riley!” an angry voice growls in my ear. The grip tightens on my arm. Shakes. “Riley! Look at me!”
When I don’t, the hand belonging to the voice grips my chin and physically turns my head. Large hands grasp both sides of my face, tilts it up. Uses his thumbs to brush the water from my eyes. He’s standing close, intimate. I’m staring, but not seeing. All I can hear is the sound of a heartbeat growing farther and farther away. It fades to nothing, and for a split second, my mind goes totally blank.
Slowly, the sounds of the city, the scents surrounding me, filter in. The blankness lifts. A horn blasts. A door slams. Somewhere, someone is whistling. I blink several times. These sounds are familiar.
“Riley?”
Eli’s face comes into focus. Dark brows pulled together, the streetlamp’s shine winking off the silver hoop. His face has hardened in anger. Or is it worry? His hands caress my face, so I guess it’s worry. Why he’s in that state, I haven’t a clue.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Eli’s look is…invasive. I know he’s probing my mind. Yet it seems he struggles this time. “What are you doing out here, Riley?” he asks. “Chaz showed up at Inksomnia alone.”
I glance around. How’d he get away from me? I shrug. “Went off chasing a squirrel. Yanked the leash right out of my hand. He’s done it before.” I give Eli a reassuring smile. “See what a smart boy he is? Went straight home.”
Eli’s frown deepens. “You’re out in the rain,” he says, “your mind is blank and you’re stalking some jogger.” He peers down at me and a wet hank of shaggy midnight hair falls across his eyes. “You weren’t aware of your surroundings, Ri. Or of me walking right up on you.”
Again, I shrug. And chuckle. “So now I’m a stalker? That’s just crazy, Dupré.” I sigh and give him a long look. “I’m fine, Eli. I was just lost in my thoughts is all.” I play-punch him in the arm. “You worry like an old lady.”
Eli’s eyes don’t leave mine. Even as we both stand in the rain, he studies me. “Did you know that guy?” he asks.
I glance around, my eyes seeking the dim streets beneath the lamps. I see no one. “What guy, Eli? I was just out for a run. Nothing more. Nothing less. Can we get out of the rain now?”
Eyes on fire search mine. The black T-shirt Eli’s wearing clings to his body from the rain, and every muscle there is perfectly etched beneath the thin cotton material. I look at him. He looks at me. His eyes narrow.
Finally, he drops his hands, lets my face go. “Home. Now.”
Home. Eli has pretty much moved in, and it’s worked out so far. We take off at a jog in the now steady drizzle, Eli purposely one step behind me. Within minutes we’re crossing Bay and easing over the cobbles to the merchant’s lane, then to Inksomnia. As I move to open the door, Eli stops me. I look up at him.
“What?” I ask.
After several silent moments, he shakes his head. “I’m having trouble reading you,” he says. A frown still tugs at his mouth.
I smile. “And that’s a bad thing? Hmm. I get my private thoughts back. How…ordinary.”
With his knuckles, he skims my jaw. “I don’t like it.”
I grab his hand and lace our fingers together. His are, as always, lukewarm, steely-strong. “Tough.” I open the door and pull him inside. Chaz is there and immediately barks. Next, Seth and Josie are in the foyer, right behind him.
“What happened to you?” Seth asks. “Why’d Chaz come home without you?”
I shake my head. “You too? What is this?” I glance from Eli to Josie, then back to Seth. “Twenty questions? I went for a freakin’ run is all. Chaz yanked the leash out of my hand. I knew he’d come back here. Jesus.” I said that last bit under my breath. I was irritated. Tired of being drilled. “Last time I checked I didn’t have to wear an ankle bracelet.”
The look on Seth’s face caught me right in the gut. Hurt. Surprise. And I wasn’t used to it. But damn—I couldn’t help it. I was tired of being interrogated. “Chaz got away from me. That’s all. Now can I go take a shower please?” I don’t wait for an answer from anyone. I push past Seth and Josie and head upstairs. In my room, I kick off my sneakers, pull my shirt over my head and fling it onto the floor. I peel off the wet pants I’m wearing and go straight into the bathroom. After a moment of nothing but hot water, the room fills with steam. The water pelts my back and shoulders as I stand there, thinking.
That was what happened, right? I had Chaz on the leash, and then…he wasn’t there anymore. We were jogging. He…pulled loose. I decided to finish my run because I knew he’d head on home. Then Eli appeared and freaked out. We came home. End of story.
They, I decide quickly, are all fucking nuts.
It’s slowly happening, isn’t it, love? The changes? I warned that barbarian you keep company with, but he wouldn’t listen. Please, Riley. You must leave. Come back to me. I vow, I’ll do everything in my power to help you.
I rub the water from my eyes. Victorian still has the ability to communicate with me through my mind; it’s annoying and comforting at the same time. Can’t explain it, not at all. It is what it is. Leave me alone, Vic. There’s nothing wrong with me. And holy hell, you too? I just got reamed by my brother and Eli. I don’t need it from you, too. Get out of my head and let me shower in peace.
Christ, woman. You’re naked? In the shower? Why do you torment me so? Never mind. I can still see remnants of tonight’s events in your mind. You’re getting confused, aren’t you, love? It will only get worse. Trust me.
I am not confused, damn it. Now go away.
I continue to bathe—wash my hair, scrub my skin, rinse. I can still feel Victorian’s presence. How, I don’t know. But I do. What are you doing, Victorian?
After several seconds, he answers. You don’t want to know.
Yes I do. Why are you still here?
I can’t stop thinking of you naked; your skin wet, slick with soap. It easily places…images into my head. I can’t help myself when that happens, Riley. I—
Yeah, yeah, never mind Loverboy. Don’t wanna know. Later, Vic.
For a certainty, my love…
After drying off and pulling on a pair of soft sleep pants and a tank, I brush my teeth, hit the lights and climb into bed. Exhaustion makes my bones heavy, my skin ache, and just as I slip into sleep, Eli’s strong arms pull me against him.
“Rest,” he whispers against my temple, and despite my sleepiness, the feel of his lips moving across my skin makes me shiver. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Oh, God,” I mumble, sliding my arm over Eli’s chest and snuggling close. “Have we become that old couple that doesn’t have sex anymore?”
Eli’s chuckle rumbles against my ear. “We had sex this morning.”
“Okay,” I say, already being pulled into slumber. “Sorry if I was a bitch earlier. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Again, Eli’s lips brush my skin as he kisses me, and his arms tighten around me. “Everything’s going to be okay, Riley. I swear to God, it will be.”
That last part I barely hear, but it slips into my subconscious, where I keep it safe. Keep it all safe—Eli’s arms, his strength, the brush of his lips across my skin. Somehow, I know that I’ll need those reassuring words, those memories. Later. For now, I sleep.
It’s raining. Still dark outside. Streetlamps throw an amber hue over the wet cobbles. Close by, a tire hits a pothole and water splashes against the fender. Footsteps slap the sidewalk. A heartbeat echoes off the brick walls. Human. I blink and listen, then I look around. Why am I outside? Didn’t I just fall asleep, warm in my bed with Eli’s arms wrapped around me? I know I did. So why am I here? How did I manage to get away from Eli?
I look around, but see only a long shadow at the end of the lane. The shadow’s moving and it matches the footsteps I hear. They’re quick, sure—not like those of a stumbling drunk. More like…someone who is frightened. I hurry toward the sound, the long-moving shadow. The heartbeat grows louder, faster, and the pungent scent of fear clings to the brine of the Savannah River that perpetually hangs in the air. I am closer now, the heartbeat reverberating off the damp stone around me. Now, only that taunting beat sounds in my head. Nothing else. The human senses me. Hides. The scent of blood hovers like mist in the air.
A craving quickens inside me.
Silently, I edge along the shadows toward the hiding place. Closer. A whimper reaches me, then a strangled cry. Just as I ease around the corner of the alley, I see them. There are two. They’re young—one male, one female. Newlings. Suddenly, I’m confused. I react. I leap.