Bryce snorted.“What ledge?You sound like your normal self.You’re always calm and level-headed.Don’t forget to call me.”He hung up abruptly, making her chuckle.
They held an ongoing contest over who hung up first without being rude.Maia set down her phone and took a sip of tea, the tension she’d experienced earlier a mere shadow.She checked the time and resolved to write before climbing into bed.
Maia retrieved her laptop and set it up at the kitchen table.The wooden chair wasn’t ideal, but her desk and ergonomically designedchair would arrive tomorrow with the other basic furniture she’d purchased before leaving Auckland.
Minutes later, she was deep in her world of witches and dragons and magic-wielding sorcerers with evil on their minds.The words flowed, but gradually, the discomfort of aching muscles seeped into her consciousness and interfered with her progress.She raised her hands above her head, hoping to unkink enough to finish the chapter.
Muttering in frustration, she stood and prowled the length of the kitchen before noticing the quietness compared to the apartment where she’d lived in Auckland.The tap at the kitchen sink dripped, and the old refrigerator hummed and clacked in a haphazard rhythm.No traffic sounds cut through the countryside.No arguments from the couple next door in their on-and-off relationship.No loud screams of make-up pleasure.
She recalled the weeks spent in this house with her aunt and the frightening timber creaks during the night.The first time she’d heard the sound, she’d rushed to her aunt’s bedroom—a mistake she’d never repeated after the older woman had sternly told her there was no such thing as monsters.She was weak like her parents.If she didn’t use her brain, she’d end up dead like them.Her aunt had held no softness, no compassion as she’d dragged Maia back to bed and told her not to move until morning.
Maia rubbed her arms, hugging herself and recalling those pincer hands bruising her flesh.Aunt Beatrice had been a cruel woman, disappointed in love and life, and she’d allowed that emotion to fester, making herself and everyone around her miserable.As an adult, Maia understood this, but she remembered the terrified child she’d been, missing her parents and thrust into another life.Aunt Beatrice had hated her.In hindsight, she’d been lucky her parents had arranged for her to attend a boarding school.Maia had found friends and made her own family.
A foreign sound came, and she listened closely, frowning.What was that noise?And why was the hair at her nape standing on end?She took two steps toward the door before good sense kicked into gear.Roaming outside wasn’t sensible, given what had happened tonight.
A pained whimper cut through the silence, and Maia stiffened.What the hell?She was moving before the thought even registered.As she approached her front door, she paused again, her hand on the lock.
The cry repeated, and the terror in that sound had her unlocking the door and bursting outside.It was an animal of some type, and Maia couldn’t stand by and do nothing.With her heart pounding, she listened and orientated herself.There!Over to her right in the long grass, near the big totara tree.
Maia took off at a run, her eyes rapidly adjusting to the darkness.The sounds came closer together, and the fear tore at her heart.At the base of the tree—a trap that held a tiny white animal.Blood flecked its fur, and its cries were pitiful.Maia slid to a stop by the trap and crouched.It was a tiny puppy and in a bad way.
“You poor thing,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.Her hands hovered above the puppy as she hesitated, unsure where to start with the complicated trap.“There should be a special place in hell reserved for those who hurt defenseless—” She broke off on sensing someone behind her.
Stupid.So stupid.
She’d done the one thing she’d promised Laura she wouldn’t do.
Maia rose from her crouch and whirled, but it was too late.The blow on her head had her seeing stars, the ripple of pain instantaneous.A powerful strike on her hamstring caused her to fall, and she thumped her skull against the tree trunk.Maia breathed hard, her leg and her head a fiery blaze of pain.Her vision turned black at the edges, overtaking her in a wavelike surge, and she fell into unconsciousness.
Chapter 6
Henryansweredthelatephone call with a scowl.He’d just returned from a long run with his dogs, and sweat coated his body.He plucked his phone off the dresser, about to bark a complaint, but clacked his teeth together on seeing it was Laura, one of the local cops.
“Laura.Something up?”
“It might be nothing, but my spidey senses are tingling, and I’ve learned to trust them.Have you met Maia, who purchased old Mrs.Ramsey’s house?”
“London invited her to dinner tonight,” Henry said while his stomach tied into knots.Had something happened?While he was trying to keep his distance, this was his mate.And no, he wouldn’t claim her, but that didn’t mean he wanted something bad to happen to her.
“She mentioned she’d met London and Gerard.”
“Get to the point,” Henry snapped, too worried to bother with niceties.
“I got a call out earlier.Someone left what looked like bloody footprints on her front path and deck.We discovered tagging at the rear of the house.Jonno couldn’t smell anything off.Several human scent trails, but the real estate agent had prospective buyers through the house, and I don’t know if Maia had servicemen in before she moved.Didn’t ask because I didn’t want to create questions in her mind.I’m heading back tomorrow to take another look in daylight.”
“Why are your spidey senses tingling?”Henry demanded, losing patience.He wanted facts.
“Maia was ready to write this off as a teenage prank.I wasn’t convinced, especially when I saw the tagging at the rear.It felt personal as if someone had a hard-on for Maia.I suggested she contact you and Gerard to ask about additional security.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she would.”
The tightness in Henry’s chest released.
“She doesn’t have close neighbors, and I’d feel better if she had decent security.”
Henry nodded, even though Laura wouldn’t see his agreement.“She mentioned at dinner she’s a professional rugby player and will be away during the season.A security system is wise.”
