Bashful, James looked down at his feet, backing me against the table I’d been cleaning. “No.”
“Because you’re scared of their response? Or because you know you’re being silly?”
Crimson eyes peered up at me through dark lashes. I lifted an eyebrow, and James tucked his head into my shoulder. “I thought I was supposed to be the know-it-all,” he murmured. “Wisdom with age and all that.”
I ran my fingers through his sideswept hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. “It’s okay to be nervous, baby.”
James nearly purred, leaning into my touch so my nails could scratch at his scalp. “Keep calling me that, it helps.”
When he raised his head, I made sure to brush my next words across his lips. “Get me out of here and into bed, and I’ll call you whatever you want.”
James pressed his mouth to mine, keeping the kiss brief. “Does that mean we don’t have to argue over who’s taking out the trash tonight?”
“Oh, how romantic.”
James laughed, sending tendrils of pleasure licking across my skin.
“It’ll cost you,” I added.
“I can afford it.” He pointedly glanced at my crotch before walking away.
I shivered, then braced for the bitter New England cold that would slam into me as I tied up the trash and tossed the bags outside. After propping the door open, I carried the bags one by one to the dumpster. As I approached with the last two, movement in the back of the alley caught my attention. Everyhair on my body stood on end, goosebumps drawing across my skin. Now, I was shivering for a third reason. I heard a noise, but I didn’t dare move any closer.
I’d seen a dozen versions of this movie, and it never ended well.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is someone there?”
“Ryder?” came a broken, almost eerie whimper.
Nope. Hell to the nope. I spun on my heel and beelined for the door, only to hear the voice again. “Ryder, wait!”
This time, I recognized it—and it was one I never thought I’d hear again.
Poised under the light at the back door, I let the person approach me. She seemed to shake a little more violently with each step.
“What’s going on?” The door swung open, and I was forced aside as James burst into the alley. He immediately put his arm around me and nudged me to stand behind him. Normally I would’ve argued, but this had the makings of a blockbuster horror movie written all over it.
“I’m not sure,” I muttered, heart pounding with her every footfall.
Dani.
“Oh, good,” she said to James, sniffling. “You’re here too.”
Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself. Even in a thick jacket, she trembled. James nudged me closer behind him. “Ryder, go inside.”
It didn’t take me long to figure out why he sounded so alarmed.
Salem in January was typically cold, but hers weren’t normal shivers, nor was her sniffling from any ordinary chill. When she stepped into the light, I saw it.
Her eyes were blood red.
Chapter 5
“I’m not hereto hurt you, I swear,” Dani said through chattering teeth. She was pale—deathlypale. The bright colors in her hair that I’d grown to recognize her by were gone, her waves having been cut short, barely brushing her shoulders. And it looked like her hair hadn’t been washed in days. It fell in stringy strands over her forehead. “They just left me, a-and I didn’t know?—”
“‘They?’” James echoed, one arm still secure around me.
A car door slammed, and for the first time in our relationship, I saw Jamesflinch. He shot a concerned look at me over his shoulder. I’d never seen him so unsure of what to do. Then Dani swayed, and he leapt forward, catching her with an arm around her waist. To me, he said, “Let’s get her inside before anyone sees.”
