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  Vincent looked down at me, his expression troubled. He reluctantly let go of my arm. My heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest. Hot tears stung the backs of my eyes, threatening to slip from my eyes. “I gotta go,” I half sobbed and took off across the rock-laden beach.

  thirty four

  I was a good ways into the woods before the darkness closed in on me and I was second guessing my decision to go alone back to my car. The sounds of the forest seemed to amplify around me.

  A branch snapped.

  I froze. My heart pounded. I reached in my pocket, to pull out my zapper. My fingers barely closed around it when something hard slammed into me, knocking me forward onto the ground. The smell of damp earth and wet moldy leaves surrounded me. Dazed, I crawled up on all fours.

  “This is for you own good,” said a familiar voice. He grabbed hold of my arm with a surprisingly amount of strength and jerked me upward.

  “Jason, let me go!” I screamed, trying to pull back. “You’re hurting me!”

  “Sorry Amber, it has to be this way,” he said. “I tried to tell you…but you wouldn’t listen to me and now you’ve left me with no other choice.” He jerked me forward again.

  With my free hand, I reached in my pocket. My fingers closed around my Taser. He jerked my arm again; it felt like he was going to rip it from my shoulder. “Why are you doing this?” I cried out, more from pain then fear at this point.

  “It’s for the best,” he said, his voice strangely high. “You’ll thank me….once I tell you…”

  I switched tactics. “You’re right Jason, I know. I will come with you, just let go of me,” I pleaded. A branch scrapped my side.

  Jason paused for a moment. He turned and his hold loosened. I took advantage and jumped forward. I zapped him in the chest. He gurgled and dropped to the ground.

  In shock, I stared down at him. His body jerked violently. I’d never used my Taser before and had no idea the effect it had on a person. “Sorry Jason,” I said, feeling horrible. I took off running through the trees, and overgrowth. Sticks scrapped me, and briars pulled at my hair but I kept running. I broke through the trees onto the driveway.

  In the distance, I could see a group of people. I lifted my arms, waving, running toward them. “Heelp meee!”

  A hand closed over my mouth and jerked me backward into the woods. I bit the hand and twisted away.

  “You’ll be sorry for that!”

  Fear gripped me so hard I could barely take a breath. I would know that voice anywhere. It wasn’t Jason… it was Kirk. My feet flew out from under me and I hit the ground. A sharp blast of white and pain simultaneously shot through my head. Dazed, I stared up into Kirk’s smiling face.

  “Hey Amber,” Kirk said cheerily. He lifted my feet off the ground and dragged me off into the woods.

  thirty five

  The light of the moon filtered down through the trees. Kirk was humming, dragging me further away.

  I didn’t want to die.

  With the last vestiges of my strength, I kicked out my feet and connected.

  Kirk stumbled and lost his hold. “Why you little…bi…” His words stopped abruptly.

  A low unholy noise came from the shadows.

  “I wasn’t going to do anything,” Kirk cried out, he sounded terrified.

  I turned my head. Feet dangled in the air.

  Kirk screamed and then stopped.

  I was glad.

  He deserved it.

  Waves crashed against the surf lulling me, pulling me further down into the darkness. My eyes closed…and I floated.

  I wasn’t sure how I got into the ocean, for surely that was where I was. I could feel the cool icy hands of the water holding me up and carrying me forward. I forced my eyes open... I wanted to see the stars...

  I saw a face instead… Viktor.

  thirty six

  At some point, I must have passed out because Glinda was staring at me. Her china blue eyes narrowed with revulsion. “Great job, Amber,” she sneered. “You ruined it for us all.” Blood seeped through her bandages, down her neck.

  I jolted awake, breathing hard. I was in my driveway, sitting in my car...alone. Lifting my hand, I rubbed the crick in my neck. Disoriented, I checked the time. It was one in the morning.

  The front door opened from my house and Mom came running out. Her shorty robe flapped open exposing her sexy lingerie’. Ken bounded out the door right behind her, holstering his gun. His hair was sticking up and his shirt, barely buttoned.

  “What the…?”

  Before I had a chance to reach for the handle, she jerked open my door. “Oh thank God!” She threw her arms around me, smashing my face against her chest. “Are you all right?” She petted my head.

  “Mom, I can’t breathe.”

  “Oh…” She leaned back. “Are you all right?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Ken got a call, they told him about the attack.”

  She grabbed my chin. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

  “What?” I pushed her hand off my chin. “No.”

  “Ken, what do you think?” She moved so Ken could see me. “She looks peeked, doesn’t she?”

  Ken leaned down. “Are you all right?” I could tell he was using his official police officer voice.

  “Yes, I’m fine.” That was a lie. My head hurt really bad and so did the rest of me but there was no way I was going to the hospital. Glinda was there and after my weird whatever…I didn’t want to go anywhere near there.

  “We’re going to catch those bastards,” he vowed. Now this was the Ken, I had grown to love in such a short time.

  “Ken, I’m fine,” I almost smiled but the action caused me pain. “Just a little sore,” I said.

  “I had a feeling about those two.” He scrubbed his face, obviously upset. “I don’t care if their father owns half of the town. They are going to pay for this.”

  It took a moment for what he said to register with me. “Wait…what?”

  “Viktor and Vincent, the Roth boys,” he said disgusted. He patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

  I shook my head. “No. No. No.” I couldn’t get the words out I needed to say, they were stuck.

  “Amber…” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly. “Amber, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s the Roth’s…”

  “I know.” He sighed. “Just because their father has money they think they can do what they want.” He took a breath. “They’ve been behind all of the attacks we’ve been investigating.”

  “No, Ken…” I tried to clarify. “It wasn’t them…they didn’t attack me.” I was finally able to say.

  It was his turn to shake his head. “What?” He gaped at me and then he sighed. “I know what you are doing and I am telling you right now, you don’t need to worry about my job…I can …”

  “No, you aren’t listening,” I yelled, not meaning to. “It was Jason and Kirk.”

  Ken did a double take. “Jason Fletcher?”

  “I don’t know his last name, but it was Jason. I think he was messed up on something and Kirk, well he’s just a freak. I think it was his idea.”

  “I don’t understand.” His brows creased. “Have you been doing drugs?”

  “No!” I did yell this time. Ken took a step back and gave my mom a look, like he thought I was lying.

  “Listen to me,” I begged. Every time I spoke pain shot through my head but I didn’t care, I had to make Ken understand.

  “I met Jason and we went to the party but after we got there he got us drinks and…”

  “Oh, so you were drinking,” he said, like it was all now making sense to him.

  “Ken, no, listen to me,” I nearly screamed.

  “Calm down, Amber,” he said, using his police voice again. He turned and said something to my mom. Her face was pale and she gave me a worried look.

  “Come on, Amber,” he said and held out his h
and.

  “WH—ere are we going?” I chattered. The events of the night were catching up to me. I think I was going into shock.

  “Let’s talk inside.”

  “Oh—kay,” I said and climbed from the car.

  It was now after two in the morning and I was still sitting in the kitchen, being interrogated by Ken.

  “Let me get this straight,” Ken, repeated again. “The Roth boys didn’t attack you?” he asked. “It was Jason Fletcher and this boy named Kirk?” He had out his little notebook, and flipped some pages.

  “Yes. No. And yes.” I rubbed my head. Mentally and physically, I was spent. I felt like I was going to get sick or pass out. I wasn’t sure which I preferred at this point. Mom set a cup of coffee down in front of me. I placed my hands around the steaming cup and gave her what I hoped was a thankful smile.

  “All right,” he sighed. He raked his hand through his hair and stood up. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right?” he asked. Non police officer Ken was back, the concern for me clearly etched on his face.

  “Yes,” I sighed and took a sip of coffee hoping it would revive me. It didn’t.

  “Get some sleep and I will talk to you more tomorrow.”

  “Did the police find Jason and Kirk?” I asked.

  “I sent a couple officers to the party to look for them but they weren’t there.” Ken looked at me and I could tell by his expression he wasn’t telling me something. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure they will turn up.”

  “Did they find a connection between them and the other girls that have gone missing or been attacked?”

  “Not yet,” he said. He shut his notebook and put it back in his pocket.

  Frowning, I looked down into my cup. Steam wafted out of the top.

  “Don’t you worry,” Ken said, taking my frown as something else. “I will be here all night so nothing is going to happen to you,” he tried to assure me.

  “Thanks Ken.” I pushed away from the table and stood.

  “Sweetheart…” Mom said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. “Want me to help you to your room?”

  “No, I’m fine,” I said, masking how bad I felt. “I need to take a shower.”

  Ken’s head jerked up. “They didn’t touch you …like that…did they?” His expression turned fierce.

  “Oh God! No,” I groaned. My face flamed with embarrassment. I knew it was a standard question but it just sounded weird coming from my mom’s boyfriend, even if he was a cop.

  He looked relieved. “Get some sleep then.” He reached out and ruffled my hair.

  I winced and covered it with an awkward giggle. “Thanks Ken,” I said and grabbed my cup. “Night Mom,” I said. She held out her arms and I stepped into them. She hugged me tightly, and then pulled back. “You don’t smell right,” she said, and gave me a funny look.

  “Huh?”

  “You usually smell like candy,” she explained.

  “Oh, I ran out of mouthwash,” I said. “I’ll have to get some more.”

  “Yeah,” she mused. “I like the way it smells.”

  “I remember.” We both liked the smell since it reminded us both of when I was little. “Goodnight.” I walked toward the stairs.

  “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she called after me, just like she used to when I was little.

  Too bad, they weren’t the only thing I had to worry about biting me.

  thirty seven

  Light poured in through my open window. I lay awake in bed trying to come to some reasonable explanation about what happed but when an hour passed and I was no closer to an answer, I finally decided to do some checking on my computer. I rolled over and one eye stared at me.

  “E!” I grabbed the bear and held it to my chest. I glanced at the clock. It was already after twelve. I set E, back on my pillow and climbed from bed. I winced in pain. Reaching down, I lifted my shirt. A bright purple slash was on my stomach. I walked over and looked in the mirror. A small cut was on my head but it wasn’t deep. I pushed it.

  “Ow.” I jerked my hand away.

  The night came flooding back. I sat down in my desk chair, trying to absorb it all. Nothing made sense.

  Jason and Kirk were what? Crazy? I could believe that about Kirk, but Jason…he was ….

  A floorboard squeaked. I grappled for something to use as a weapon and turned around. “Who’s there?” I called out, flourishing a pencil like a sword. The far corner of my room was cast in shadows. I took a step forward. “Don’t make me use this…” I warned.

  “I will poke your eyes right out!”

  I heard the creak again and jumped. Of course, that was the only way out of my room unless I wanted to jump three stories and break every bone in my body. Not gonna happen. I rushed forward and then stopped.

  The overstuffed rocking chair I used for reading had my prom gown draped over it. The wind blew the length, and every few seconds the chair would rock, causing the floor to creak.

  The problem was I didn’t remember putting my prom gown there and didn’t I shut and lock my window?

  I turned and once again, the window was open. I shivered.

  Before my imagination went ballistic, I decided to go downstairs and grab a cup of coffee. I walked over and switched on my computer, so it could boot up while I was gone.

  When I got downstairs, Ken was standing behind Mom in the kitchen. His arms were wrapped around her and he was humming a tune. They moved slowly back and forth, dancing.

  It was a private moment and I almost backtracked but the song resonated with me. I stood there trying to remember where I heard it before.

  Ken turned and caught me staring. “Good morning,” he said, smiling cheerily and reluctantly released my mom.

  “Morning,” I called, and walked into the kitchen.

  “How are you feeling sweetheart,” Mom asked her pretty face full of concern.

  “I’m fine,” I told her even though I still ached pretty badly.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried from the kitchen.

  Ken turned toward me. He looked different, almost childlike. He was smiling from ear to ear. “I was hoping to have a minute to talk with you…”

  Right then Mom walked back in and Ken shut down.

  “Did I interrupt something?” she asked looking between us both, curiously.

  “Not at all,” Ken piped up giving me a silencing look.

  I played along. “Nope, Ken was just telling me about the investigation’s progress.” I hoped it would get him to spill the beans.

  Her brow arched. “Really? And what might that be?” she asked looking suspicious.

  “I already told you, Eileen,” he said, giving her a flirty look. Right then I could see what Mom saw in him. He was acting so darn cute. Like a playful puppy.

  Her whole face lit up and she even was blushing. I was so happy for Mom…he really did have a good effect on her.

  Even though it was just the three of us in the kitchen, the room felt crowded. I felt like a third wheel. “Oh wow, I forgot I have to do this thing,” I said making up a lame excuse to cut and run. I grabbed a pop tart and poured another cup of coffee. When Ken gave me a questioning look, I threw out some excuse about doing a paper for English and took off out of the room. I had no idea what Ken wanted to tell me but I was sure he would when he had a chance.

  When I got to my room, my computer was finally up and running. I sat down at my desk and nibbled on my pop tart while checking my blog and some other blogs I liked to stalk. I watched a few booktubers videos with book hauls and an unboxing of an Owlcrate delivery. It’s a pretty cool service if you have an extra thirty bucks to splurge on every month for some swag and a great new book to read. Since I can’t afford it, I cheat, watch the unboxing and then either borrow the book from the library or order a used copy from Amazon. I didn’t care if someone else read it.

  After a few good ideas on what to read next, on a whim, I typed in Red Hots, in the search
engine. Nothing came up really, except for some uses for it, like wedding favors and the main site for the candy. I typed in cinnamon and got more of the same and some recipes. Inflating my cheeks, I blew out a slow stream of air and then typed in Cinnamon and Vampires. A slew of sites popped up, some for Gamers and Larkers, and then I found a site, Gods-and-Monsters that seemed to have a lot of information on Vampire repellants.

  When I was done reading, I had even more unanswered questions swirling in my mind. I wanted to talk to Viktor or even Vincent but I didn’t have their numbers. I did a search for the Roth family hoping to find some stuff out but there wasn’t much except on the history of the town and that their father was a lumber magnate who was a CEO of a real estate investment trust that owned approximately 6.3 million acres. For a town that was almost owned by the man there was surprisingly little information on the family, which was just weird.

  Not having anything else to occupy my time, I checked out the La Push reservation site and came to the tours. There was one at four today. Lucky had said to come by, so I decided to take a shower and check it out for myself…maybe he would have some answers to my many questions. And I reasoned, even if he didn’t it might be fun to go on the tour. At least it would give me something to do to get my mind off everything.

  I even thought about going to visit Glinda in the hospital but the dream I had was still too fresh in my mind. It really freaked me out so I decided to wait and visit her another time.

  After I showered, surprisingly, even after my near death experience the previous night, I felt okay except for a few scrapes and sore spots. I dressed in my comfier clothes, forgoing my Skinny Jeans and opted for my faded faux Boyfriend jeans. Since I didn’t have a boyfriend, they were really faux, but they were definitely comfy. I pulled on my converse and an oversized sweater that belonged to my Dad. Mom had it thrown in the Goodwill box but I rescued it. It was really warm and made me somehow feel close to him when I wore it, which was kind of stupid since he lived on the other side of the country.