Yeah, she was a little bothered she’d lost time again, while trying to find Addy at the high school. That moment of hesitation when she’d asked Knox if he’d be interested in taking a job with STAT had her a bit concerned, too. And there was still the whole former-hunter thing of his to deal with. But she’d worry about all that later. Because seriously, when was the last time she’d been this excited about a man?
That would be never.
She padded barefoot into the bathroom, ignoring the oversize bath towel she’d draped over the mirror the other day. If she could have figured out how to do it, she’d yank it off the wall and throw it out. But since she couldn’t—not without forfeiting a chunk of her security deposit—the towel would have to do. Regardless, she didn’t plan to ever look in the damn thing again.
Rachel turned on the water in the shower, letting it heat up as she replayed the evening’s highlights. There were so many good moments she had a difficult time focusing on one or two things. Telling Knox about how she became a cop was one thing, but she still couldn’t believe she’d admitted she’d been in the science club. No one knew about that part of her life, not even the members of her pack.
She and Knox had fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, his hard body pressing against hers, making her feel like she was standing too close to a fire, his heat threatening to scorch her right through the dress she’d been wearing. And that kiss? She’d never experienced anything like that. If Ben hadn’t shown up when he had, they’d probably still be going at it. Unless they’d moved on to something else entirely. She laughed. That would have been one Valentine’s dance none of those kids ever forgot. Of course, she and Knox would probably be in jail right now.
It wasn’t until steam filled the bathroom that Rachel realized the water had gotten plenty hot while she’d been daydreaming about Knox. She reached in and adjusted the temperature, then stepped into the tub, groaning as the spray poured over her skin.
Squeezing shampoo in the palm of her hand, she began washing her hair. As the bubbles slid down her back, she let her mind run wild, imagining it was Knox’s hands gliding down her skin as the lather caught in the curve of her back just above her butt, tickling her there like his fingers had done earlier. Over and over, she replayed the kiss they’d shared, remembering how delicious he’d tasted and reveling in the knowledge that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to think there was something more than random attraction going on. But then she stopped herself, refusing to jinx whatever it was that was building between them.
Rachel was so wrapped up in her fantasies of Knox she didn’t notice the nasty stench filling the air until she almost gagged on the greasy, rotting smell assaulting her nose. It was like something had died in her apartment. Rinsing the shampoo out of her hair as quickly as she could, Rachel squeezed the excess water from her hair, then turned off the water and scrambled out of the shower. Hastily wrapping a towel around herself, she walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, half expecting to find some kind of dead creature lying on her couch.
But there was nothing on the couch or under it, or even shoved in a corner behind the TV. She attempted to follow the rancid smell to its source, but it faded away completely until she couldn’t smell it anymore. She spun around in a circle, confused, trying to find it again. But it was like the smell had never been there at all. That wasn’t possible. Odors that strong didn’t simply dissipate that quickly or neatly.
She glanced at the central air vents, wondering if maybe something horribly wounded had somehow gotten into the duct work and randomly dragged its rotting ass past her apartment. But she immediately dismissed that thought. There couldn’t be anything like that in the ducts. Not unless it was a zombie rat. Because nothing living could smell that awful.
Deciding the issue was going to remain a mystery, Rachel padded into the bathroom long enough to dry off and grab a fresh towel for her hair. Naked, she headed for the bedroom, toweling her long hair dry and telling herself to forget the phantom smell that had unsettled her so badly.
Rachel slipped into the XXL University of Tennessee T-shirt she sometimes slept in and headed for the kitchen. Taking her electric toothbrush from its recharging station beside the coffeemaker, she squeezed a generous amount of paste on it, then stuck it in her mouth and turned it on. It was a little embarrassing to keep her toothbrush in the kitchen, but she’d been afraid to brush her teeth in the bathroom since the episode with the mirror. The mere thought made her cringe.
Rachel was rinsing the toothpaste from her mouth when a cold breeze blew across her shoulders. It was immediately followed by the creepiest sensation she’d ever felt. She spun around, sure that someone was behind her.
But of course, no one was there. Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing around the kitchen again, then the living room, to make sure. Her heart rate that had kicked into overdrive seconds ago slowly started to come back down.
Telling herself to stop being such a fraidycat, she rinsed her mouth again, then put the glass in the dishwasher. She turned to head to bed when she caught her reflection in the dark glass of the cabinet-mounted microwave.
Only it wasn’t her reflection.
Rachel stumbled back with a yelp, her butt colliding with the kitchen table as she stared back at the clown from her nightmares. Even in the dull glass of the microwave, it was impossible to miss the white paint covering his face, the permanent smile, and the glowing, red gaze.
She closed her eyes, sure the mirage would go away when she opened them again. But it didn’t, and she nearly fell on her ass when the face in the glass turned to continue regarding her as she moved slightly to the side. She got her bare feet under her only to lose them completely when the deep chuckle rumbled around the kitchen.
The last time she’d heard that laugh was over a year ago in a courtroom in Chattanooga.
Rachel knew she was hyperventilating, but she couldn’t stop.
This isn’t real.
The clown isn’t here.
Another chuckle echoed in her apartment, coming from every direction at once. “Oh yes, dear Rachel, this is very real and I’m most definitely here. As for losing your mind, you are indeed going insane. Of that, you can be quite sure.”
The voice was so calm yet so evil it made her skin crawl. And it was so close she swore she could feel the clown’s warm breath on her neck.
Rachel looked around wildly, trying to locate the creature who’d tried to kill her. To her horror, she found his face in every reflective surface—the toaster, the coffeepot, even the stainless refrigerator and dishwasher.
The clown’s lips pulled back in a sham of a grin, his eyes full of amusement as they bore into hers. He was stalking her. Toying with her.
She retreated, putting her back to the wall, shoving her kitchen table aside to make room. Even though she was still gasping for breath, her heart thundering in her ears, self-preservation instincts demanded she protect herself, but both the .380 and the larger .45 were in her bedroom. The thought of turning her back on the faces all around her was too terrifying to consider.
So, she did the only thing she could think of. She lunged forward to grab the biggest knife in the block on the counter. The move forced her to come within inches of one of the reflections of the clown, and it snapped its teeth together with a resounding clash that made her skitter back across the kitchen.
The thing laughed again, so loud this time she could feel it in her bones. She wanted to resist, to fight, but the sound was so disturbing she thought her very bones might shatter like glass falling victim to a high-pitched scream.
Gripping the knife, she slid down the wall to the floor, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her ears with her forearms. It didn’t help. The laughter continued to cut through her soul, even as the horrible stench of death and rot returned, pushing her mind to the brink.
