by Mac Flynn
belonging to Brent.
The stranger stepped back and his hands slipped off of me. I had half a mind to reach out and stop him, but the other half was stronger. Fear made it stronger, because suddenly I felt very afraid of this man who wasn't a man. I didn't know what he was but I knew I needed to get away from him, far away. He must have noticed the fear in my eyes because he shook his head.
"Do not fear me. Never fear me," he pleaded with me. "You are mine now, and I will always be with you."
"Jess! Come on, Jess, answer me!"
The stranger moved around the tree from where he'd come and I didn't see him pass the crack between the mausoleum and the trunk. I heard Brent's footsteps get closer and closer, and then he was calling to me again.
"Jess! Jesus, about time!" he yelled. He ran up behind me and looked at me standing so still with my eyes locked on the tree. I kept thinking, maybe hoping, that the guy would reappear. "What the hell are you doing just standing here? We have to get back to the car before Rob finds us." I didn't move and Brent glanced at where I was gazing. "What's wrong? You see something? Is it Rob?"
I finally got the willpower to shake myself from my stupor. "What? Oh, no, there was-" I wasn't sure how to explain what just happened, but Brent didn't care. Instead he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in the direction of the road. "Come on. Rob dropped the car keys so we can get out of here."
Brent yanked me toward the graveyard exit, and I was forced to turn from the tree. He dragged me through the ancient graves and clinging brush, and with each foot away from that mausoleum a sensation of fear crept over me. By the time we reached the gate Brent didn't need to drag me because I was almost outrunning him. I didn't dare look back for fear the stranger was following us through the shadows, and I was also afraid that if I even so much as glanced over my shoulder that I would be caught in his eyes. If that ever happened again I'd never be able to escape him.
or visit Mac Flynn's website.
Want to get an email when the next book is released?
Sign up here for the newsletter