Midnight Exposure (Midnight #1)(72)

“Stay down,” he ordered as he pushed her onto her hands and knees. They crawled into the kitchen and sat down with their backs against the refrigerator while Reed called the police.

Someone had shot at her! Just when she thought she’d been through it all, wham, something new bulldozed into her life to scare the bejesus out of her.

Her lungs expanded in short, fast pants like a bellows. Her ears rang. Dark spots appeared around the edges of her vision. A few seconds later she was breathing into a paper bag Reed was holding over her nose and mouth.

“Slow breaths.” His hand moved in a circle between her shoulder blades.

It took several deep breaths into the bag before Jayne’s head cleared. She pushed it away from her face. “I’m sorry. That was the first time I’ve been shot at.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. Only an idiot wouldn’t be scared.”

Jayne’s stomach was still on the Tilt-A-Whirl, but her head had stopped spinning.

“What now?”

“Now we wait for Doug.” The cordless phone on the floor shrilled and they both jumped.

Reed picked up the handset. “Yeah.” His mouth went flat. “That’s exactly what happened. Yes, I’m sure. In the driveway. No, we didn’t see anybody. No, it’s not like the other times. This one came within a foot of my head.” He caught Jayne’s eye and sighed before he hung up. “Doug’ll be here in twenty.”

“This has happened before?” Jayne lived in the big bad city, and no one had ever shot at her.

“Not like this. We’ve had people hunting too close to the house,” Reed admitted. “But we’ve never had anyone shoot at the house.”

“Oh.” She sighed. Her chest collapsed as reality cut through hope like a serrated knife through a rare rib-eye. “For a second I thought maybe it was a coincidence.”

Reed took her hands. His palms heated her numb flesh as he spoke the words that needed to be said, the ones that clarified the situation to the last remaining shred of denial.

“Looks like your stalker’s changed his mind. He doesn’t want to kidnap you. He wants you dead.”



Jayne crossed her arms over her chest. “I still can’t believe Doug blew off the shooting.”

“He didn’t blow it off,” Reed corrected. “He dug the bullet out of the house. It’s not his fault there wasn’t any other evidence.”

“He could’ve done more.” She turned her head to watch the white landscape roll by the passenger window. They passed a green highway sign that indicated Exit 31 for Greenville was two miles ahead.

“Like?”

“I don’t know. I’m not a cop. But believing you would be a start.”

“The fact is I’ve had poacher problems for years.” A heavy sigh escaped Reed’s broad chest. “Doesn’t really matter. The ground in the woods was frozen solid. No tire tracks or footprints.” He glanced over at her for a second before returning his gaze to the windshield. “I know you’re frustrated, and I can’t stand the guy either. But honestly, there isn’t much else Doug could’ve done. The shooter was long gone before he arrived, and we didn’t see a thing.”

“I know.” Didn’t mean she wasn’t annoyed, though. She did not want to go home with this threat hanging over her head. How would she live? Her brothers would escort her everywhere. She’d escaped her kidnapper only to be a virtual prisoner. Unless this guy abducted someone else and was caught, something she couldn’t wish for with a clear conscience, she was SOL.

She already knew what it was like to have this kind of threat hanging over her head for an extended period. The six months she’d waited to testify had been brutal. She’d been unable to let her guard down for a second. She’d given up her apartment, her independence, and her privacy to move in with Pat. With his wife and three kids, Jayne was lucky to sneak into the bathroom alone.

She couldn’t live like that again. She’d hoped to move out of Pat’s house at some point. Despair ripped through her chest; her anguish was compounded by the thought of leaving Reed. After tonight, who knew if they’d ever see each other again? With the danger and upheaval she’d brought to him and Scott, she had no place in their lives—unless they could find her stalker.

Reed slowed the truck and navigated the exit. Jayne snapped out of her mood before the SUV hit the local road. Self-pity was a waste of time. Her energy was better spent trying to figure out who was after her.

A few miles later, they turned into a strip center. Wiccan Ways occupied the end unit in a row of half a dozen stores. With a brick front and sign scripted in Old English type, it matched all the others in the row and could’ve easily been a gift or clothing shop instead of a shop for freaky Halloweeny stuff.

A digital chime announced their entry. Inside, the store wasn’t as exciting as Jayne had expected. Instead of a smoky haze and chanting, the store was bright. An instrumental flute piece floated softly from overhead speakers. Most of the stock ran to candles, incense, and crystals, lined up on neat displays. The cacophony of scents assaulting her nasal passages reminded her of the candle store in the mall. Bookcases brimmed with volumes on the occult. There was a definite focus on nature, healing, and divination, along with an entire section for almanacs and books on astral projection.