Page 9 of Shadows of Nightshade
I wasn’t sure how to respond. He was being so stubborn. It was time to take action.
He had at least a foot-and-a-half on me and over a hundred pounds of muscle. I stood no chance against him in hand-to-hand combat. There was only one thing that a small, helpless woman like me could do in this situation.
Yet, despite my fear, I felt guilty. “Titus—”
He grinned, almost as if he genuinely loved hearing his name on my lips. That small facial motion made me feel even worse about what I needed to do.
I’d give him one more chance.
“I’m seriously fine.” I gave him my most severe glare. “You can leave now, please.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable, but not at all deterred by my seriousness. “I don’t think you understand. I can’t just leave you. Your people would—”
Titus didn’t see it coming. The second he refused, I pulled out my hand and aimed the pepper spray right at his eyes.
Once I had downed the attractive stalker, I ignored his screaming and took off.
I had only this chance before he recovered. According to the map, I was already close to my destination. Between my speedand Titus’s temporary incapacitation, he wouldn’t catch up to me before I reached safety.
Who cared if Dr. Stephens sacrificed me during Damen’s secret cult meeting. It was a better alternative than a more immediate demise.
I didn’t stop running until I had rushed up a long, winding driveway.
The mysterious address had led to a dark red, three-story Victorian home that was way past its prime. The lot itself was overrun with foliage, and everything about the scene was worn with decay, even the wrought-iron fence surrounding the property and the dirt driveway circling toward the back of the home.
But besides the ghastly picture, there was something else here, too. Something I couldn’t see, yet sensed it on the edges of my awareness. I couldn’t tell what it was, but there was no denying that the presence was not of this world.
It vaguely reminded me of another supernatural encounter—one that had, incidentally, led to my friendship with Finn. My fingers prickled as my feet turned to lead.
I never should have come here. But if I left, I would run into Titus again. And I didn’t want that either.
What was this place? And why would any kind of club meet here? Damen and his friends could be on a job—ghost hunting, perhaps?
That made sense. It was obvious why the owners would call paranormal investigators.
There was only one way to find out, unfortunately. I forced myself to walk up the cobblestone path and across the porch until I stood before a massive door. I felt like an intruder. But I had been invited…
All I had to do was knock.
I had less choice now than I had in front of Dr. Stephens’soffice. But before I even had a chance to touch my raised fist to the surface, the door swung open. A man stood there, looking at his hands as he furiously wrote on a clipboard. How he’d known that I was here, I had no idea.
This man, too, was insanely attractive. There must have been something in the water in this part of town. This much handsomeness didn’t exist back on campus.
He appeared to be a few years older than me. He had a square face and high forehead, and his copper-tinted hair was sprayed into a tidy wave at the top of his head. He had a small black hoop in his left earlobe, and he seemed both professional and stylish in designer jeans and a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled over his massive forearms. Right above his elbow, where the fabric creased, I could glimpse the beginning of a dark tattoo.
I wasn’t sure what to make of him. He was almost as large as that Titus guy.
He still hadn’t looked up, and I was only able to grasp the tail end of his speech. “—believe you. This is the third time this month! I get that your job is important, but you can’t…”
He finally glanced up, and his voice trailed off. My expression must have been comical because I hadn’t looked away nor closed my mouth. Plus, my hand was still raised in the air since I’d been interrupted before knocking.
The man’s full mouth dipped, and he lowered his brown, square-framed glasses to study me. “What’s this?” he asked. He cocked his head as a slow grin appeared on his lips.
I gasped! He had the same eyes as Finn. There was no denying their relationship. I pointed at him triumphantly. “Damen Abernathy!”
This was an excellent development. After all that I had gone through to try to find him, I’d finally succeeded.
Now I just needed to figure out everything else.
