Page 6 of Safe in Shadow (Pine Ridge Universe #22)

“ Bubbe ? Tell me I’m not crazy.” Grace scrolled through the “free” section of an online classifieds website, writing to anyone in the area who had decent-looking furniture. It was going to be the mattresses that would kill her.

Or the thing in the shadows. The thing in her dream.

“You call me to ask if you’re crazy? Mameleh , I’m older than the hills,” Mrs. Yerchenko chuckled, her smoke-roughened, raspy voice making Grace homesick.

“You and Nana are sharp as tacks. Were. You’re still my bestie, especially now that—” Thick tears suddenly choked her.

“Aww, Gracie. Sweetie, why do you think you’re crazy?”

“I don’t know. When I’m alone in this place, sometimes I feel like someone is watching me.

And there are places in the house that stay dark, even in the sunshine.

I try arranging the curtains and lamps to see if it helps, but it doesn’t.

I know it’s probably some weird shadow cast by the eaves and nooks and crannies of this old house.

I’m being silly. But...” Grace laughed and tried to shrug off her fear.

Three days alone in the house. Three nights of dreaming that a dark blanket was hovering over her. One incredibly vivid self-pleasure session that left her reeling—and thinking that it felt off.

Like someone or something had taken the self out of self-pleasure.

Each time Grace thought about it, she ended with “That’s crazy talk.” And after saying it again as she woke on the fourth morning alone in Hilltop—she decided maybe it was true.

“Old houses can be spooky, sure. But you’re a smart woman, a brave woman, like your nana!

If you think something is off—something is off.

” Mrs. Yerkchenko gave a sudden gasp that led to a long coughing fit caused by decades of cigarettes.

Even though she’d stopped a few years ago, the cough remained, full of phlegm and rattles.

“Bubbe?” Grace used the nickname with affection—and now worry.

“I’m sorry, I suddenly remembered something! I saw it on the television, a talk show. This contractor, may he rot in jail, put secret cameras into the houses he was working on! He was putting nudie pictures of girls in their bedrooms and bathrooms on one of those adult voyeur sites!”

“Oh, God.”

“Yeah, yeah! And these women started getting suspicious, feeling like they were being watched. You could maybe have had the same thing happen. You had contractors. Roofers and whatnot?”

Grace was already up, running through the house, eyes scanning the ceilings and corners. “I don’t think any of them were ever here alone, and they were from a state grant. Would they do that?”

“They’d have to be sneaky. You should call the police. Have them check.”

Grace paused in her bedroom. The sensation of being watched was so strong that it made her back away from the doorway, lips parted in a silent cry, almost as if she needed to ask permission to enter.

The darkness was deep and heavy, like a fog that sunlight couldn’t penetrate. “I think you’re right.”

“I want a call tonight. I want to know you’re safe and if those little hicktown cops can do anything right.”

“I’ll call,” Grace promised. She hung up and went outside to sit on the freshly swept wraparound porch to call the Pine Ridge Police Department.

NYX WATCHED HER DIAL with growing concern.

He could take the phone from her hand. He could smash it on the wooden boards, make the little plastic and glass box break into a million pieces.

He could take Grace, too, push her against the boards, turn solid, and smash into her—over and over, making her splinter like rotted wood.

The tricky thought assailed him, lured him. She’d like it after a while, Nyx. She had such a good time with you the other morning. You saw every single piece of her. You touched her arm, why not other parts?

Come on. Take her. Taste her. She’ll learn to love it. You could have a pretty little plaything to keep you company. And if you can control her, you can prevent her from fixing the house anymore. You can use her to destroy it. You’ll be free so much sooner.

He didn’t need air, but he was panting and gulping like a horse that had been galloping for miles.

No! I’m not... I’m not a monster.

Not completely.

Nyx went inside and plunged himself into the chilling pool of half-death, half-life under the bed.

If I bring her here...what would happen? Will she see me? Could we talk?

Dark, shadowy things moved underneath him, far below, in yawning chasms made of ether and savaged souls. Things that he was on the brink of becoming.

What would those beasts below do to a pretty, living thing?

Everything I want to do to her—and they won’t stop themselves.

“HELLO. I’M OFFICER Walsh. I took your call a few minutes ago.”

Grace stopped hugging her knees and tried not to feel completely idiotic as the handsome police officer met her at the steps. “Hi. I’m being paranoid, I’m sure, but... Well... I really would feel better if you could check.”

“You feel like someone is in the house with you?” Officer Walsh narrowed his eyes, one hand on his belt.

“Not all the time. But there are shadows that don’t move and dark spots that won’t get brighter.

I know it’s probably just the way the house is built with weird little nooks and crannies, but.

.. I feel like someone is watching me. My friend heard a story about contractors hiding video cameras in the houses they were working on to watch women and film them.

” Grace stopped there. She thought of the other morning, how she’d feverishly fingered herself to a screaming, thigh-shaking orgasm.

Oh, God. If that’s on the internet, I’m going to die. The thought of someone watching her do something so private made her throat fill with bile. I’ve never even given a special someone that much of a show, and now some stranger might be sitting in his office, getting off on my dreams?

Walsh frowned. “Miss Sanderson, thank you for calling us. That’s certainly concerning. Let me have a look.”

Part of Grace was relieved. Part of her was shocked. “You’re taking me seriously?”

“We take all reports of suspicious activity very seriously. Why don’t I look around inside first?

You wait outside, and if I don’t find anything on my initial sweep, I’ll ask you to come in and show me any specific areas where you’ve noticed sounds or sights that seem off.

Also, I’d like you to provide me with the names of the individuals or companies who worked on the house.

If necessary, we’ll follow up with them. ”

Grace nodded and stepped off the porch into a circle of sunlight that surrounded the house, watching as Walsh went in, flashlight in hand. She noticed he stopped just inside and twisted something on his hand as if fiddling with a lucky charm.

Oh, man. Even the cop is nervous.

Staring at the house isn’t going to make anything better.

Go. Go get some light. Some sun. Think about what you could do with the acreage that comes with this place. Maybe a garden? Ooh, a pretty Victorian-inspired garden would be a big draw. Of course, I wouldn’t touch the trees. The fall foliage is a big draw, too.

Grace clenched her hands nervously, squeezing air and releasing it in time with her shallow breaths.

NYX HEARD THE VOICE as he hovered near the surface of the living world.

“Hey, Jakob. I’m at Hilltop. No, everything is fine—sort of.

I’m doing a sweep for any hidden cameras.

The lady who bought the place says she feels like she’s being watched.

There are dark, shadowy spots in the house.

I’m not seeing them currently, but that could be because whatever is in here is messing with her, not me.

You did say at the last Night Watch meeting that this thing wasn’t a threat? ”

Nyx felt rage billow up inside of him. Not a threat, hmm?

He could show the owner of the voice a thing or two. Curse the girl for reinforcing the loose boards and plaster in the house. If she hadn’t meddled, he could have sent a rain of rubble crashing down on this intruder.

If he wasn’t also curious to hear more. Grace noticed him? Noticed his watchful eyes?

She’s scared. I’m hurting her. I need to make sure she leaves once and for all. Or...

The thought was sudden and tempting. He could always try to befriend his plaything. Would she allow that? Was it possible?

The voice was back, along with creaking footsteps.

“A shade? Is he safe?” A pause. “There’s a difference between not harming and harmless , Jakob.

Harmless means it can’t hurt her. Not harming means it hasn’t hurt her.

” A longer pause. “I know you put up wards, but— What? I’ll try.

If that lady walks in while I’m talking to an empty room, she’s going to think the local force is nuts. ”

Nyx hovered, fingers taking form here, shadowy tips on the underside of a smooth black lake as cold as ice.

The wards the old vampire and his warlock friend set up.

They protected the occupants of the house.

He’d agreed to allow it. Did that mean his actions with Grace, his pretty plaything, his sunflower, were welcome to her?

Not his presence, obviously.

“Look, I know you’re here. I know there’s nothing hidden in the walls and ceilings but you. We’ve got a whole bunch of paranormal people a few miles away. Can you cool it with the horror movie shit?”

Nyx almost smiled when the policeman spoke to him in a low, factual voice, a note of weariness in it.

“If you want help, this would be the time to let me know. Speak. Write on the walls. Whatever you want, tell me, and we’ll see if we can help. But we can’t force the human out. You’re going to have to let her be and stick to the woods or move off the property.

It was tempting, so tempting, to shoot through the skin of the portal, ripping the veil between worlds, and slam every window and door at once. How stupid did the policeman think he was? If he could leave the grounds, he would have. And the woods...

Grace is outside. Is she in the woods?

The sudden thought of her ending up as The Stranger’s next trophy, nothing left but a pile of blood-stained clothing in a black plastic bag, sent him spiraling away from the living world. Suspiciously soft claws raked at his foot as he sank into the depths in a panic.

Nyx looked down. Red eyes glowed back up, hovering over wide, white teeth that wouldn’t look out of place on a hungry Great White.

It took all of his strength to fight back up, to resist the aching pull to stop fighting, and to swim farther away from whatever the hell (literally) had grabbed him.

When Nyx broke the surface—it was night.

Time moved differently in the Netherworld. Had he been there for hours? Or days?

“No, the policeman was here today, and he said there were no hidden devices or cameras. He said living alone in a big, empty house with a lot of sad memories could cause a depressive state. I know, super sensitive. He was cute, but he had a wedding ring. Bubbe, stop.”

Nyx slowly, carefully emerged, tired and weak from battling. He sank wearily into his favorite corner and rested, a small blob of darkness in a natural shadow.

Grace sat on the bed, her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear as she typed on her laptop. “He suggested I get out more, pay a visit to town, meet some locals, make friends. Very camp counselor. I told him I’d be out to visit you next weekend.”

Nyx smiled. The police officer had probably sensed his absence from this living realm and taken it for a sign of agreement.

But I need to find the police officer. I could tell him about The Stranger.

Thank goodness. Grace is safe—from everyone but me.

I don’t even understand what that means. Dark instincts urged him to think cruel thoughts, while his remaining humanity protested, fond of his new distraction. Pretty pet.

“Love you. I gotta go. I have a long day tomorrow. I’ll be driving all over the state picking up furniture—I hope. Yes, I’ll be careful. Yes, I know about men on the internet. I promise I’ll check in at lunch and dinner, okay? Okay. Night. Love you.”

Nyx groaned. Soft words. Loving, reassuring words. Not meant for him, of course, but it was odd to hear them. Odd to feel like he had a peephole into a life, a real life—not the rush and bustle of patients in and out, dying men and ever-changing nurses.

Watching Grace made him remember living. Remember something he couldn’t have back, no matter what he did.

He liked it more than he should.