CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Reid
Ithrow the blanketone the sisters kindly left out for me over the sofa.Although the night has somewhat cooled, with a soft, warm breeze, there is no way I will be able to sleep with that thing on me, despite how thin it looks.My blood has always run hot, which is why I’ve never really needed to wrap up warm in the winter.It just makes summers suck.
I strip out of my clothes and reach for the overnight bag Mum brought with her earlier when she arrived to grab my gym shorts.The sisters don’t know it, but me staying here was planned from the minute we left the house in a panic.Mum didn’t want them alone, not whilst the cameras were yet to be installed.Liam can’t get to it just yet, not with a new list of shit he has to get through.However, he isn’t leaving them completely vulnerable.Tomorrow, a panic button will be given to each of the women on a keychain, and a few will be placed in various places and rooms around the house.The house ones will be less noticeable as long as the person hasn’t seen them before, and more accessible than a keychain.I’m pretty sure the keychains and the necklace that will be given to Milly will also have a recording device.You press it, and you have one minute and thirty seconds to shout out descriptions of a person or a place.
I drop down on the sofa, placing my arms behind my head.My mind drifts back to Summer.I have no clue what makes her different to all the others; I just know that she is.A part of me doesn’t need to know what makes her stand out.It’s never been an issue before.But then the other part needs it to make sense.
She lit up for me in the kitchen, and if it wasn’t for the chick with glasses, I would have been inside of her and fucking her against every surface we got near.That is how undone she made me.I didn’t even know the chick had walked into the kitchen, let alone grabbed herself a bottle of water.
“Are you not going to go after her?”
I glare at the girl who just cock-blocked me.“Why would I do that?”
Her gaze goes to my dick and it immediately softens.“Never mind.You do you.Goodnight.”
“Yeah, night.”
She had looked at me with contempt and annoyance when she asked if I was going after Summer.
I snort.I never chase after women.
Or most women.I do like a little bit of a chase now and then.I love banter.The give and take.The heat that swirls between me and a woman.
With Summer it burns, and any resemblance of control that I think I have, goes out of the window.
I scrub a hand over my face.Summer walked out.She left me there with a hard-on.She needs to be the one who comes to me now.
I cross my legs at the ankles, staring up at the ceiling as crickets chirp from outside.I’ve always loved how peaceful it can be at night on our land.The only sound being nature.I’ve never been able to sleep anywhere else.There’s always too much noise.But for the first time in my life, the silence does nothing to ease the tension inside of me.
My ears perk up when I hear a crunching noise from outside, almost like an empty water bottle being squeezed in a hand.I slowly sit up when I hear it again.
I’m on my feet when I hear furniture outside being knocked around, snatching up the bat one of the sisters kindly left out before they went to bed.
I grab the torch out of the bag Mum packed for me.I step out, feet bare, with only a pair of shorts on, and shine the light across the garden.Nothing stands out, so I make my way down the stairs, stepping on the gravel and weeds.I grimace when I stand on a slug, but continue on, moving the torch light as I go.I walk further out, shining the light on the back of the car, when I see movement.It’s small, like a leg being moved out of the way.
“Come out!”I snap, following the sound.
“Reid?”
My heart races at the sound of her voice.“Summer, get back inside.Now,” I order when she takes a step down.
“What’s happening?I heard a bang.”
I slowly step around the car, expecting to see a person crouched down, but instead, red eyes glow at me.“Fuck!”I cautiously take a step back as a moderate-pitched growl slips through the sharp, pointed teeth of the monster in front of me.
Its long claw clicks on the gravel and my vision begins to blur.I turn, running before that fucker can get its teeth in me.Summer fills my vision, and I drop the torch to swing her up in my arms as the screeching follows.
“What are you doing?”she yells.
“Saving your fucking life,” I snap as I race up the stairs.
The beast is gaining on us quick.I drop Summer to her feet and twist, slamming the door closed on the monster following us.
“Was that a...”she breathes out.
