Page 49 of Kat Bethel

My face grew hot. What the fuck was wrong with me?

I opened my mouth to reject the notion that I was jealous. Even if it was a bold-faced lie.

Red and blue lights flashed through the window, and he vanished. But I knew he wasn’t gone. Emergency personnel filled the room, but I stood there like a confused shell, staring at the empty spot where he’d previously stood.

I was the only person he couldn’t destroy.

My eyes went to the poor man who’d blown his own brainpan out. Regret roiled through me. He was only dead because I was here.

What did that mean for everyone else?

Chapter 18:

IdrovebacktowardCornwall. There wasn’t a point in running, especially in the direction of a bigger town with an even bigger population. Or worse, to my little family.

The whole thing was a recipe for disaster.

It was best to put him back where he belonged. I wasn’t even sure how he’d glued himself to me.

He wasn’t physically in the car, but I could feel his breath on my neck. He wasn’t hiding his presence this time. There was no question he was in this truck with me.

My phone rang.Esme.

“I’m working on it,” I answered on speakerphone.

She clicked her tongue with disapproval.

“He attached himself to me,” I squeaked. “I can’t bring him home.”

A hand squeezed my thigh as if to confirm that I wasn’t going anywhere without him. I resisted the urge to elbow him. All I’d do was hurt myself, and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t feel less lonely with him here.

“I wouldn’t judge you.”Her words implied that there was already one monster on Aunt Jackie’s old couch.

“It’s not that.” I hadn’t even thought of the fact that her monster lover was definitely there. Two alphas in the same pit didn’t sound like a fun time. Especially since I was pretty sure mine would win.

“Have you figured out what you’re dealing with?”Esme asked.

I sucked in air, wracking my brain for the hundredth time. “A shadow?”

That piqued her interest.“Like a shadow person?”

His hold on my thigh went slack, like the answer shocked him. Interesting.

“I swear if you came up with the answer just like that, I’m going to scream.” I rubbed my temple. “What is a shadow person?”

“There are a lot of theories about that. We don’t know much. Most shadow people don’t interact with this world. It’s mostly reports of what people see from the corner of their eyes and when they wake up in the middle of the night.”Her voice took on that edge that Willow’s did when she was quoting a book from memory.“But there are those that think they are created by witches.”

“Typical. Spell, curse, or potion?”

“It’s more than that: Intention,” she answered conspiratorially. “They say that a witch’s intention on a new moon can impact a dying soul’s new cycle. That if a witch is agitated or enraged it turns the dying soul into a new energy.”

I chewed on my lip. Her words made me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t figure out why. Something on the edge of my memory that I was suddenly sure was important.

I wasn’t the only one.

The overhead light flickered with what I recognized as agitation. A loud pop that echoed in the cab made me cringe. The engine stalled, making the car behind me have to swerve around me when my speed suddenly dropped to almost nothing.

“Shit!” I yelped, yanking the wheel to the right to coast to the shoulder.