“The chief is keeping me out of the loop as much as possible, but from what I’ve been able to find out, he has you under surveillance.”
“I figured as much.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s not exactly being subtle about it. There’s not much I can do about that except wait for them to get bored.”
“It’s more than that, though. He’s having the woods by your house searched.”
“Have they found Brody yet?” She chewed her lip in worry.
“No.” Jake shook his head. “And given how long he’s been missing, it doesn’t look good. After what happened to Adam, they are concentrating on the area where his body was found.”
Olivia fell silent, her eyes troubled.
“What?” Jake asked. “What is it, Olive? What are you not telling me?”
She hesitated. “There’s something in the woods.”
“What do you mean... something?”
“I’m not sure yet.” She shook her head. “Jake, I’ve never been afraid of the woods. I played there countless times as a kid.”
“I know.” He ran his thumb over his lip thoughtfully. “We all did.”
“But, it’s different now,” she breathed out.
“Different how?”
“I can’t explain it, but I can feel a presence, an awareness, and it almost feels like…” Her voice trailed off.
“Like what?”
When she turned to look at him, her eyes were dark, and her voice carried with it a hint of warning. “Like it’s waking up.”
13
Olivia woke with a start, breathing heavily, her heart racing. As the dream began to fall away, a restless unease remained making the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end. Untangling her limbs from the twisted sheets, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and winced as her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. She pulled her heavy hair back from her neck, and a clammy bead of sweat rolled lazily down her spine.
Dragging in a shaky breath, she reached out toward her nightstand, her trembling fingers grasped for the glass of water, but as she brought it to her parched lips, she realized the glass was empty. Her throat was rough and dry, and her tongue felt as if it was stuck to the roof of her mouth.
The blinking red numbers on the clock by her bed read 2 a.m., and she groaned knowing she wasn’t getting back to sleep any time soon. Grabbing the empty glass, she headed out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. Once she’d put the kettle on the stove to boil, she absently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and dropped a teabag into her favorite mug.
If there was one thing Olivia hated, it was waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep; it messed with her concentration all the next day. There were finishing touches she still needed to add to her project before it could be sent to her publisher. Her deadline loomed and at this rate it would take a miracle to get it all finished on time. She despised running behind, it burned her ass. She’d always prided herself on her professionalism and her ability to keep to tight deadlines, but now she just felt drained and frustrated. Deep in thought, she crossed the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
Reaching for the milk, she paused when she heard a noise outside. Allowing the refrigerator door to swing shut behind her, she listened intently. When the faint noise came again, she headed out of the kitchen and moved quietly down the hallway toward the door. A quick glance through the peephole revealed nothing. Taking a deep breath, she slowly unlocked the door.
Somewhere inside her, a little voice told her it was a dumb idea. After all, there was a killer on the loose, not to mention something dark and unknown lurking in the woods. But she couldn’t help herself, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep if she didn’t check. Besides, she had powerful protective wards encircling the house. Even now she could feel them pulsing with her power. Nothing was getting over that line, of that, she was sure.
Stepping out into the freezing night air and onto the wooden porch, she cursed lightly, wishing she’d put some shoes on. Casting her eyes around, she couldn’t see anything out of place. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as she heard the creak and groan of the wood again. This time she could have sworn it was accompanied by a shallow scratching sound. Creeping silently forward, she edged past the porch swing as it creaked lightly in the breeze, then headed toward the end of the porch.
A shadow shifted in the corner, and she leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing in the darkness. Suddenly, a small, furry creature shot out from under the bush that had grown through the wooden railing. Jolting in shock, she stumbled back against the side of the house and laughed breathlessly.
Damn squirrel. She chuckled nervously. Pushing herself back to her feet, she leaned against the rail as she slowed her breathing and tried to calm her erratic heartbeat. The cold wind wrapped around her body, tugging at her nightdress and robe, blowing her long hair back over her shoulder.
Wrapping her arm around a post, she glanced toward the woods watching the dark tree line and her heart hurt. The woods had always been hers; she’d run wild there as a child, always closely followed by Louisa and Jake. It had been a place of magic and wonder, and no matter how deep they went, they’d always known they were safe.
That feeling was gone now.
She could feel an oppressive weight nudging at the edges of her consciousness. She wouldn’t venture out into the woods on her own right now.
It wasn’t safe.
