Page 23 of Edge of Darkness

Kit parked in the underground parking reserved for his apartment building. He lived on the tenth floor and had a fairly decent view, thank goodness.

The layout of his apartment was one where you entered through the kitchen. The reason for that was the floor-to-ceiling windows at the other end. His apartment had lots of natural light, even if it was small.

He hung his keys up next to the front door, then locked it. The kitchen was open concept to the living area with a small island between the two. The flooring was some sort of fake, light gray hardwood and the walls were white.

Even the cabinets in the kitchen were light gray. The countertops were gray marble. There was a whole lot of damn gray, so of course Kit combated it with pops of color everywhere.

The living area only had enough room for a couch, a small chair, and the TV. The bedroom and bathroom pretty much followed the same theme: gray flooring and white walls.

It wasn’t a bad apartment, but it was just… an apartment. He’d grown up surrounded by nature with lots and lots of room to roam. Sometimes it was hard to breathe in this little boxy thing.

He’d kill to have a garden again.

Kit changed into pink yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt that looked as if it had been splattered with pink and orange paint. Tying one part of it into a knot on his hip, he padded out of his bedroom. Flipping his hair over his shoulder, he made a beeline for the kitchen.

Time for wine.

Curling up on the couch with his drink, he turned on the TV. It was a little early to think about dinner, so he decided he’d pick up where he’d left off rewatchingGame of Thrones. Hello badass dragons! Then maybe he’d have dinner delivered from his favorite Italian restaurant down the street.

Honestly, what could be better than that? Maybe if he said it a few more million times, he’d believe it.

TWO HOURS later, Kit’s doorbell rang. Stomach growling, he hurried toward the door. He was more than ready to dig into some lasagna. He checked the peephole before opening it, grabbed his food, then shut his door quickly.

Good Lord, his mouth was watering. He poured himself another half glass of wine and settled down with his food in front of the TV.

Around eleven he was yawning so hard his eyes were watering, so he turned off the television and headed toward the bedroom. Stripping, he hung his clothes on a hook in his closet.

His apartment might be small, but it did have one thing that was to die for—a garden tub. Damn thing was like a small pool. He threw some bath salts into the running water, lit a few candles, and piled his hair on top of his head.

He still had what was left of his wine with him, of course.

Kit soaked until his fingers and toes started to prune, then got out, dried off, and slathered himself with lotion. Taking off the remains of his makeup, he moisturized, then grabbed a cute pajama set.

The shorts were cut high on the hip, and the top was basically a tank with spaghetti straps. It had the cutest little bow in the middle. The material wasn’t real silk—he couldn’t afford that—but it still felt cool and soft against his skin.

And it was red. For some reason, that color seemed to be on his mind a lot lately.

Climbing into bed, he pulled the sheet over himself, then told his brain to shut up and go to sleep. And oh yeah, if he could have just one night where he didn’t dream of pointy teeth sinking into his neck, that would be great.

CLOUDS DRIFTED across a full moon, briefly bringing darkness to the land. A warm breeze fluttered his hair. Kit tucked a strand behind his ear.

Where was he? Looking around, he could see a tree line off to the left. Okay, so woods were close by. But at the moment, he was standing in a field, grass swaying gently in the breeze.

Off in the distance he could see the lights of a house reflecting off water—a small lake, maybe? Even from here he could tell the white stone structure was massive. He didn’t know anybody who owned a house that big.

Wait. A field?

Glancing down, he saw he was dressed in his favorite red suit with a black mesh tank-like shirt. His belt and shoes were black.

“Okay, what the hell?”

A dream. He had to be dreaming. Nothing else made sense because there was no way he’d be standing in the middle of a damn field dressed in one of his vintage suits. Still, it was a damn strange dream he was having.

The breeze picked up, playing with his hair, tossing it around. Thunder rumbled across the sky, a deep roar that Kit felt in his chest. Oh, if he got his favorite suit wet, he’d cut a bitch. No lie.

Looking up, he noticed there were no clouds in the sky now. The full moon lit everything with its ghostly light. He could see as well as he could during the day, which yeah. No way that was normal.

Did he mention this was a damn strange dream?

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