Behind closed doors, I exhaled. That had been exhausting. I felt like I had expelled more energy at dinner than I had all day glued to Chase’s rear end. After a quick, efficient shower, I sat down and began the process of detangling my long hair. Tossing the smooth strands into a ponytail, I pulled the covers back and got into bed. I hiked the blankets up to my chin and hugged Mr. Snuggles the bear to my chest.
Sleep was a long time coming. My thoughts raced around in circles with the information I had learned today about Chase. There was more than meets the eye with him and his new neighbor. I felt it in my gut and something told me that I needed to find out what secret the two of them had. It might prove to be useful intel for the facility and maybe even in bringing down the infamous Chase Winters.
Tomorrow was a new day. Possibly the day I killed him.
Chapter 6
Shopping used to be a pastime that I loved. Retail therapy, that was what I had called it. Whenever I had needed a pick-me-up, I went to the mall, such endless possibilities to cheer me up. Now, I did push-ups, ran a mile, or practiced with my longbow. They all soothed my mind in one way or another.
I pulled the black hood down lower on my face as I trailed behind Lexi and Angel. The dynamic duo was engaging in Halloween shopping.
I rolled my eyes under my hood.
Lexi, as far as I was concerned, didn’t need a costume. She was already something scary.
Today I decided to see what I could unearth about Angel, Chase’s obsession. Fine, so obsession might be a tad strong, but there was definitely something steamy going on between those two.
After two stores, I thought maybe this had been a bad idea. I was already bored to tears, and I remembered how much Lexi loved to shop. There was an obsession for you. Lexi had an unhealthy fixation with filling her closet with more overpriced clothes than she could possibly wear in a lifetime.
But then again, half-demons do live longer than we do. Maybe she was looking ahead to her future. I hated to be the one to disappoint her. All that money and time flushed down the toilet, because when I was finished with Spring Valley, there wasn’t going to be a demon infestation.
I sighed in glorious relief when they got in line to check out. Lexi had some kind of Grecian getup draped across her arms. Shifting near the registers, I listened to them chat about going to some fabric store, and I groaned—maybe a little too loud.
Angel scanned the waiting area as I feigned interest in a pair of glitter socks that lined the aisle near the registers. Who was I kidding? I didn’t look like the kind of girl that bought glitter anything. I looked more like I was on military leave.
Lexi pulled Angel’s attention back to her as she went into full-out Lexi-chatter-mode. I actually felt sorry for Angel. Well, just a little bit. I had to stifle a snicker as I watched Angel fight to follow Lexi’s lively babble. Her head looked ready to combust. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t thrilled at Lexi’s shopping escapades. Chase’s girl looked like she was ready to blow this popsicle stand.
And I was right there with her.
Today might have been a bust, but I had something fun planned for the drive home. I thought this sleepy town needed a little action. A warning per se. Something to let Chase Winters know of things to come.
As casually as possible, I dropped the glittery socks back on the shelf and headed for the exit. Having no interest in following those two knuckleheads to a fabric store, I pushed open the door. The cool air of October washed over my face as I shook the hood off my head. For the most part, I had tried to be invisible around town—always wore sunglasses, a hat, or something to conceal my identity. I wasn’t yet ready to make my debut back from the missing person flyers.
It really wasn’t hard to slip by everyone unnoticed. I was a different person even without the disguise.
Inhaling everything that I loved and missed about country air, I hopped into my car. There was only one way in and out of town. Main Street. Roaring the engine to life, I put the SUV in gear and headed out.
A mile or so down the road I pulled over to the shoulder and drove my dark blue SUV as far into the overgrowth as possible, concealing it from the road. I hopped out of the car, grabbing my bow along with a sheath of arrows. I was dying to get in some target practice. The last thing I wanted was to let my skills get rusty, and I had just the perfect mark.
There was nothing more serene and beautiful than the woods during autumn. The colors exploded before my eyes in apricot, garnet, and lemon. Pinecones littered the ground. I knew many who feared the woods of Spring Valley and rightly so. Stories and rumors about this placed swirled in the schools and in the community. Now with Halloween so close, I could feel the evil coming to life, like it was rising from the graves.
But that didn’t scare me. Actually, I was excited.
Totally twisted.