Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 541(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Her land.
What the fuck ever.
“Stay put, guys,” I warn once again, looking them over. “I’ll be back soon.”
The driveway is long and dark, one long cold shadow when the temperature drops.
I can see my breath in my flashlight beam. It’s not that late, but it’s pitch-black under the tall trees near that brush. I get why she panicked.
Fuck.
I expected trouble in the wake of the kiss, yeah, but not chasing a prowler.
At least the kids seem more excited than scared.
Dan’s having the time of his life playing superhero. The boy’s too young to have a real sense of danger and old enough to think that a few summer karate classes turned him into a lethal machine.
Sophie only panics when she’s alone, and I’m glad as hell there’s plenty of company for her.
A twig snaps under my shoe.
I swing my flashlight over the path, checking for any movements, any rustling on the horizon that can’t be blamed on the trees.
Nothing.
It doesn’t take long to get to the spot where Margot parked and claims she saw the shadow man.
There are tire marks on the ground from where she squealed away and kicked up gravel. Then there’s the brush, where she swore the man was lurking.
I approach warily, my senses on high alert.
If he’s smart, he’s long gone.
Only, she didn’t stick around to find out if he was alone. Or if he came back.
The leaves seem bleached in the light as I circle the brush, reversing direction every few seconds to avoid anyone getting the drop on me.
Nothing and nobody.
Just dead autumn silence.
My lungs heave with tension.
Loud frogs croak in the night. A few thin branches sway in the breeze.
It’s an eerie night even without any mysterious prowlers. I wouldn’t be surprised if a coyote came slinking out of the brush.
As I look closer, my flashlight catches something glinting in the grass.
There are several broken twigs and a patch of flattened grass like someone was camped out here for a while.
And right in the middle, an unlit lantern.
Shit.
Fury knifes through me as I pick it up, examining it in the light.
This isn’t the sort of thing you’d pick up from a store—it looks weirdly homemade or modified. Stained glass, maybe, it’s tinted dark blue to dull the LED light inside.
Whoever did this knows a few tricks.
No trail, no trace of them at all except for this fucking lantern.
How long was he here? And why?
Did Margot startle him when she parked, flushing him out of the trees? If she was this close, he might’ve thought it was just a matter of time until she saw him and bolted.
But who the hell would come snooping around the place this late?
I search the area one more time, but there’s nothing besides this ghostly blue lantern.
I head back to the house and knock.
Margot appears in the doorway a second later. Her eyes widen when she sees the lantern.
“What’s that?” she whispers.
“A present left by our friend. Found it abandoned in the brush.”
Dan and Sophie appear by her side, crowding in to get a good look.
“Whoa!” Dan gasps. “Dad, what is that?”
“Just a lantern some careless idiot threw together. Let’s not get carried away, okay? We could’ve just had a stray camper who decided to crash on this land.”
Yes, I’m playing up the mundane possibilities.
I don’t want them worried sick.
I’m also reasonably confident any imminent danger has passed. The average burglar or rural squatter is more skittish than a deer.
There’s no good reason to come back now that they know this place isn’t vacant, or an easy target.
“So… we’re not in danger?” Sophie asks softly.
“No,” I say emphatically. “And if we were, they’d have to get past me first. Bad day for any clown who tries.”
Sophie smiles as I wink at her and ruffle her hair.
Margot gives a whisper of a smile too. I hate that it feels like a weight off my shoulders.
“You’re lucky you guys have a scary dad,” she tells the kids, still watching me intently.
“Sure are.” I flex my guns like a bombastic wrestler until they laugh.
The corner of her mouth dimples. “And if there was someone creeping around out there, I guess they can’t see much now. Not without the lantern. It’s so dark tonight.”
Sophie pushes her glasses up her nose and looks at Margot with clear relief.
“Why don’t you guys go watch TV? Just to be on the safe side, I think we’ll stay in tonight. It’s too cloudy for much stargazing anyway,” I say.
Dan already has the remote in his hand. I wait until he’s bickering with Sophie about what to watch.
Then I wave Margot closer.
“Hey, you mind heading upstairs with me for a minute?”
Her expression freezes over, but she nods, threading her fingers through her hair. Her phone stays in her hand as she follows me up to my bedroom.
After everything that happened between us earlier, this feels like another mistake in the making, but I force away the thought as I push the door shut, leaving it open a crack to hear what’s going on downstairs.