Page 86 of The Second Deal

Thefront door slams behind me first, then the car’s.Ishove the key in the ignition and back away fromShannon’struck.

Whitefeathers flutter in the periphery, highlighting a figure in the darkened trees surrounding the entrance.

Wingsflap and an owl lands on the brick pillar on the left-hand side of the driveway.

Iget a better look whenIslow down: long black hair appears, and so do some ofKris’sfeatures surrounding an ivory beak.

Anotherset of headlights flash over the trees, prompting me to bypassKrisand turn right.

Krisfollows, wings beating the air to keep up.

Thegash on my arm pulsates, snapping muscle sinews like dried twigs.Mynerves flare and sizzle as ifIsawed off my arm and slapped it across a smoking-hot grill.

Bloodsoaks the gauze and gushes down my arm, the crimson streams disappearing into the black material of myTimelessshirt and dripping onto my thigh.

WithKrisstill following and a set of headlights glaring in the rearview,Igrit my teeth and grip the steering wheel tighter.

Theroad to home passes by on the left.

Thebridge is just ahead.

Iveer onto the side of the road, quickly parking and abandoning the car to make the trek through dead brush and thorny mesquite to the abandoned approach.

Tiresscreech behind me until grass crunches.Adoor slams shut.

“Steph, don’t fucking go up there!”

Irun toDevil’sBridge.

Chapter30

Love You Like I Do

–Vancouver Sleep Clinic

Everysingle scratch,welt, and scrape renews and reopens with each step closer to the approach.

Myflesh is on fire.Blooddrips down my arm to the baked earth below, and my muscles scream for me to stop.

Wingsflap overhead, passing over me asKrisheads south.

I’mnot letting that bitch kill me, andI’mnot letting the devil take us all down.

“Stephani!”

Abranch catches the blood-soaked bandage on my arm and easily snatches it off.Bloodspurts down my arm.Deadgrass crunches underfoot asIpush forward, ignoring the thorns that tug my flesh open.

Thunderrolls above.

Lightningstreaks across the sky the momentIsee the approach.

Whitewings thrash above it.

“Kris!”Iyell, feet pounding the approach. “Kris, we’re ending thistonight, you understand?”

Feartugs my bones backward, back toward the safety of dead brush instead of facingDeathherself as she perches on a branch above, butIforce my legs forward.

EventhoughI’mstanding a few feet away and could probably make a run for it before she can grab me, fear finally catches up with me and sends my stomach roiling as we stare at one another.Herhair is just as long as it is normally, but her eyes are pitch black and glimmer in what little light is left in the sky as lightning flashes above.

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