Page 2 of Echo (A Monster’s Prey #2)

The rest of the drive went fast now that there was a bit of adrenaline rushing through my veins. I cleared the trees, as a large white wooden, two story home came into view. It was more than I could have hoped for and in perfect condition.

There was even an adorable wrap-around porch that was begging for morning coffee to be inhaled, while watching the sun rise over the view of the mountains. I guess I was the only one to have that thought, since the porch was barren of any furniture.

It was perfect. At least on the outside.

No doubt a house this old needed work, but Aunt Pearl had done her best to preserve her family home.This house had been passed down to the females on that side of my family for generations. The older generation often used that as a conversation piece, considering how rare it was back in those days.

Off in the distance there was a white barn that stood strong and proud as if it knew how it had fed my family for years. The sound of a rooster crowing and clucking echoed off the mountains, as if it wanted to hear the farm’s sounds over and over again.

The familiar scent of sage drifted on the gentle wind when I opened my car door. I recognized the herb planted in rows around the front porch. Another practice that made me think of my grandmother.

There were two other vehicles on each side of me. One pristine black luxury car and the other an older model well loved truck. The person in the luxury car next to me stepped out to meet me before my foot was even out the door.

The woman wore a sensible pantsuit and a bright, friendly smile. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back out of her delicate face.

I recognized her as the distant cousin who called me. She was one of my grandmother’s other sister’s kids; Mary Ellen. “There you are. I hope you didn’t get too lost.”

“Just a little.” I laughed at her kind teasing. Now that I’d seen the property, I was even more excited. This place was perfect.

Another car door slammed, making me jump out of my skin. It’s him.

Her face snapped into something that belonged to a lawyer from the city. “You did not need to be here for this.”

A man I didn’t recognize stomped over to us, kicking dirt in the process. His mouth twisted into a frown. The red rimming his eyes said he hadn’t slept in a hot minute, so I was sure he wasn’t in the mood to fuck around. I was still relieved it wasn’t who I thought it was.

Ranger came to my heel and crouched into a ready position. The man’s mood was sour enough to have everything he’d been trained for on edge.

“This is my mother’s house.” The moment he opened his mouth the scent of liquor radiated from him.

I’d spent giant chunks of my life hanging out in my dad’s bar, and rarely smelt it this strong.

His open flannel shirt showed a crumpled, white T-shirt that had seen better days. “I’m supposed to get this house.”

“Your mother wrote in her will that under no uncertain terms are you to ever have ownership of this farm. We’ve gone over this. Now leave, before Madison reports you for trespassing.”

Before I could open my mouth to refute the possibility of me reporting him for trespassing, he turned his wide, sky blue eyes to me. “It’s my mother’s house. I’ve worked almost every day of my life in this house.”

It was a stab in the gut. I couldn’t imagine being told that some nondescript family member, from three branches away, was being given my mother’s house over me. I’d be a mess too.

“She was a stickler for tradition, you know as well as everyone else. This house goes to a female in the family. Always.”

Guilt swamped my heart, along with defeat. Of course. The universe couldn’t let me win, not even once. “What if–”

“You were specially selected by Pearl. If you choose not to retain ownership, it will be transferred to my daughter. Not him. Do not let him affect the decision to keep the land or not.”

“This is bullshit.” He clenched his shaking fists.

I pressed my lips together. “We can work something out.”

It was a big house. Why couldn’t we coexist? I just needed a safe place to hide for a while.

“Fucking bullshit.” He slammed his fist down onto my car, leaving a massive dent in the hood. I leapt back, ready for him to turn his bad temper on me.

His eyes locked onto me full of venom and hatred, “This isn’t over yet.”

A snarl ripped from Ranger at my feet, but he didn’t move. If this man came at me, he’d be in for an even worse day.

“Yes, it is,” Mary Ellen said in a calm but stern tone that showed she was probably very good at her job. “By the way, if the dog attacks you for attacking Madison on her property, you have no legal foothold in court. Not in this state.”

He stomped back to his truck, muttering and running his hand through his mop of oily brown hair.

Poor guy.

Mary Ellen rolled her eyes, which matched mine and the man’s.

A blue that seemed to run predominantly on my mother’s side of the family.

It was at least something that signaled that I was in the right place and not with a bunch of random people jerking me around.

“Don’t let Eddie get under your skin. He inherited a good chunk of change to buy new land wherever he wants to. He’s not out on his ass.”

“I feel bad,” I confessed.

“It’s still yours.” She held out two sets of keys to me. “This one is to the house. The other set Pearl said you’ll know what it’s for when you find it.”

There it was. The promise of a new life. A better life. As long as I was willing to reach out and take it.

“Thank you.” I grabbed the cold keys from her. They were heavier than I expected, like they were made out of something more substantial than the flimsy metal I was used to.

“You’ll have to settle yourself. I’ve got a plane to catch. Best of luck to you, Madison.” She went back to her car and drove off before I could even ask if she wanted something to eat and drink. Then again, I didn’t even know what was here.

Now that I stood in this front yard alone, nervousness grew in the pit of my stomach. Someone was watching me.

He’s not here. Stop letting him eat at you.

Ranger barked as something flew past my head, squawking right in my ear.

“Fuck.” I ducked my head and found the crow that landed on the roof of my car. Ranger hadn’t released his defensive stance at my heel, glaring into the woods.

“Easy.” I patted his head while walking up the porch steps. Ranger followed, keeping his eyes on the treeline.

Every step up the porch filled me with a sense of relief. Sanctuary, here at last.

I got the key in the door and was surprised to find how much strength it took to get the tumblers to turn. It took both hands to finally hear the snick of the lock flipping.

The black door knob turned smoothly, but I had to put my weight into the door to get it to open. I was willing to bet prison bars weren’t that heavy.

Once it opened, Ranger herded me into the house and didn’t relax until the door was shut. At that point, he laid down in front of it with plop and a huff.

New life, here I come.

Before I turned to get a look at the interior, the scent of sage, rosemary, and thyme hit me full force.

I closed my eyes, letting the familiar scents waft down into my soul, pulling out a memory of my grandma’s house.

It wrapped around me like her embrace, and I could almost feel her cool wrinkly hands holding me, as I cried in her arms, wanting my daddy, because he’d gone on one of his trips.

It was my second home.

I held onto that for a moment longer, not opening my eyes and ruining the illusion.

Grandma died years ago, and her mind had deteriorated long before that.

My last memories were of insane mutterings where she believed she was a young girl being hunted in the woods.

Her ungodly screams filled my nightmares.

It was nice to think of her like this instead.

As the woman who raised me, when my dad went on the road. She’d always say that when Mama died a black flame was born in his heart, and that when the rage roared inside him it was best I be with her.

She always gave him green candles she made with lemon balm when he dropped me off. He always barked at her for being a crazy old bat, but he still always kept one on the nightstand by his bed.

That was the woman I missed.

She was the safety net I so desperately craved.

I guess her sister’s house was the closest thing now.

With one last breath to fill myself with strength, I opened my eyes and faced the room. The living room furniture was ancient, and I found myself terrified to touch anything. It was like being in a museum.

I was willing to bet, based on the god awful floral patterns and sturdy woodwork, that some antique traveling show would love a chance to inspect the room. It surprised me that everything was still here, surely it was worth some money.

That wasn’t as shocking as all the family pictures still hanging on the walls untouched. I’d inherited the house, but surely her son wanted some of these.

One picture in particular caught my eye. It was black and white with three little girls wearing white dresses, standing in front of this very house. Some of the trimming had been updated, probably the paint job, and the porch was new, but it was definitely the same house.

At the edge of the house there was a black blur in the background, where the photographer probably overdeveloped the image or something. Maybe the older

quipment was faulty.

The girls were all tense. I’d swear the edges of their skin blurred as if they were shaking. Their wide eyes were filled with horror, and I could only assume that someone had yelled at them to get them to be still.

A sneaking suspicion made me pull the frame off the wall and open the back. ‘1960- Ruby, Pearl, and Jade.’

Ruby, my grandmother.

I closed the back and hugged the frame to my chest. Eventually, I’d take all these down and get them to Eddie. I was sure he simply didn’t have the heart to disturb his mother’s home.

But I was keeping this one.

My stomach gurgled, so I made my way to the open doorway, hoping to find some food. The back wall was covered with a thick black drape. I opened up the curtain to find a thick, sliding glass door. Once the drape was moved, bright natural light illuminated the kitchen.

The appliances and wallpaper were outdated, but the massive amounts of counter space was to die for. I’d be willing to bet an entire live cow would fit on the island counter.

The glass door had a view of the barn and chicken coop outside, with a little black rock path out to them. The sense that there were eyes lazily rolling over my body came over me.

I frowned and searched for anything that could be causing that, but came up empty. My stomach growling twice as demanding as before, pulled my attention to the off-white fridge. I opened the door and found the entire thing clear. Not a ketchup packet or moldy leftovers in sight. How kind.

I opened the pantry beside the fridge and found it was empty too. Was it too much to hope for a half eaten jar of peanut butter or a can of beans? Indeed it was.

The thought of driving back into the little town an hour away made me groan. Something told me pizza couldn’t be delivered out here.

If I sat down, I wasn’t doing anything other than taking a nap. I had to figure this out while I still had a modicum of energy left.

Maybe there were some snacks in the car that I’d overlooked.

A rice treat and chips sounded like a solid lunch to me.

I went to the front door, and Ranger refused to move. He barked and whimpered.

“I know it’s a new place, but it’s okay,” I soothed him. “I won’t abandon you here.”

It took every ounce of power to get the door open and slide him out of the way. Once open, he jumped up to get between me and the door.

“Sit,” I commanded with enough authority that he listened, but whimpered about it. I closed the door behind me, and he scratched at the door, barking.

There further away from the door I got the louder he became.

“Easy, Ranger,” I called out as I opened the back door of the car. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

I riffled through the plastic bags and empty boxes, looking for anything that would keep me from having to drive anywhere, but I’d cleared out the last of everything on the last leg of the journey.

I’d filled my gas tank, bought as much non-perishables as I could to max out my credit card before I cut it up, emptied out my meager checking account, and fled without a second thought. I didn’t want him to have time to suspect I was up to anything.

But the lack of preparation hurt me.

After the drive, I had eighty-nine dollars and sixty four cents.

Those funds wouldn’t last forever. Especially since from the nearest gas station, in the last town I passed, I’d already blown through half a tank.

I needed a cash flow sooner rather than later. That was the me of tomorrow’s problem though. Hopefully she had solutions I didn’t know about yet.

Making money meant I needed gas, and I needed to plan accordingly. If I could get my hands on a giant bag of beans and rice, I could make it work.

I wished I’d thought about the possibility of the pantry being completely cleared out before going balls deep in the woods. I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to waste money on food for a couple of days while I figured it out.

Plopping into the back seat, I took deep breaths in and out. I’d been doing that the entire ride here to motivate myself for what needed to be done. “Come on, Madison. You made it. Keep moving.”

Would it be so bad to just go lay down and sleep?

Not if you wake up at two in the morning hungry with no twenty-four-hour conveniences nearby.

Okay.

Let’s get it done.

A booming bark of alarm and a giant thump against glass made me jerk my head up. Ranger had ripped down the curtains and gotten behind the blinds. He glared past me, baring his teeth to a threat.

My heart lurched into my throat, making it hard to breathe. Last time he barked like that he broke a window and saved my life.

I jumped to my feet, looking for what he saw. Only to find that huge shadow slipping behind a tree again.

It was that fucking bear again, I’d bet. Or worse, a second bear.

I didn’t even know how one kept bears off of their property.

One problem at a time, Madison. Keep going.