Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
I swore I heard the echo of footsteps somewhere in the nothingness.
I pushed myself harder, the oxygen growing heavy as I forced it in and out of my lungs, a frenzy taking over as I fought to find the beast that I knew was there.
A sick sixth sense that promised there would be violence.
Boots thundering below me, I weaved along the tortuous path. I ducked around an ancient oak tree then propelled myself over a large boulder that stood in my way.
There was no time to prepare myself for what hit me next.
No time to prepare for the pain that splintered across my chest.
No time to discern if it was a low-hanging branch or a fist or a weapon.
Only thing I knew was that I was knocked off my feet.
Tossed into the air.
Falling with nothing below me before I started to tumble down a steep ravine.
Grunts and moans ripped free as I toppled over stones and branches and downed trees. Body being battered with each rotation.
With a hard thud, I finally hit the ground far below.
Consciousness faded in and out as I lay face down in a bed of sticks and dried leaves.
The scent of the earth in my nose and a sharp stab of agony coming from my side.
“Fuck,” I groaned, trying to shove off the daze that held me hostage.
I managed to lift my head.
Dizziness swept through, and I squinted as I tried to process what the fuck had happened.
Reaching up, I touched my temple, flinched with the stabbing ache. I pulled my hand away. With the faint glow of the moon, I could see the blood that coated my fingers.
“Shit,” I mumbled, and I forced myself up onto my hands and knees.
Pain radiated wide as I gasped for breath, but somehow, I managed to push all the way to my feet.
I swallowed around the disorder, pulled in all the frayed edges, and forced myself to focus.
My gun had landed three feet away, and I dipped down and grabbed it, then I dug my phone from my pocket and turned on the light so I could figure out the best way out of the ravine.
It was an area that was rocky and difficult for climbing, and I hadn’t spent much time down here since it was difficult to get to. But I spotted a dry channel where water likely flowed during the rains.
Wincing from the pain in my side, I started to climb my way out of the steep gulley.
Grabbing onto branches as I went, I lumbered my way up to the ridge.
My heart clattered. Beating so loud I could feel the pulse of it in my ears. The rushing of adrenaline and the roar of fear.
I made it back to where I tripped, and my gaze dove back into the forest. I inclined my head as I listened for any indication that someone was there.
The foul energy was faint and drifting away.
But I swore that I could scent the last vestiges of wickedness riding on the air.
The fucker was running scared.
I stood there for the longest time until that sense had completely abated.
Wanting to chase it down.
Sniff it out.
Had to accept he was long gone now.
But I would find him. Whoever the fuck he was, I would find him.
Inhaling a shattered breath, I turned and hobbled my way back toward the cabin, my hand pressed to my side.
Only the pain became more pronounced as the adrenaline drained.
Choppy breaths heaved from my lungs as I broke out at the clearing, and my heart thrashed like a beast as the cabin came into view.
The need inside me nearly brought me to my knees and had me crawling.
A different energy pulling me forward.
A luminescence of beauty and grace and glittering light.
And there was nothing I could do but stumble up the porch steps.
Like some kind of prodigal who had found his way home.
I turned off the alarm then hurried through the locks so I could get to her.
Guess I should have known she’d be right there, standing on the other side, waiting for me in the shadows.
The most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
TWENTY-EIGHT
DAISY
I stood in the shadowy tumult that filled Cash’s house. The energy was alive and volatile. Shimmering in the bare light that glowed from under the cabinets in the kitchen and the nightlight he’d installed in the hall in case one of the children needed to use the restroom in the middle of the night.
The man was so gruff and thoughtful it was disorienting.
But I wasn’t prepared for the storm that flooded the room when the alarm panel beeped and metal slid as he worked through the locks. Wasn’t prepared for the bedlam of intensity that spilled into the room.
The man was a towering, vibrating silhouette in the doorway, though I could feel the fire of his eyes as he froze to take me in. His stare hitting me like a thousand pounds of severity.