i f2cd308009a8236d by Guinevere Read Free Book Online Page A

been the
    beginnings of desire, and I felt intense satisfaction. But it was gruelling having to sit there with her so close, so alluring and so easily overcome. I waited as long as I could, and then I left. She will never know how much it cost me, to walk out of that door and leave her
    untouched.

    Rebecca
    Mark sat with that kitten for ages, feeding it milk with a teaspoon, and stroking its little
    head. It seemed incredible that a teenage boy who seemed to be so disconnected and
    disinterested in pretty much everything around him could be so fascinated with something
    as simple as a kitten. It was a charming little thing, though, purring and rubbing its head
    against Mark’s fingers. I could definitely understand the attraction.
    Mum seemed a bit more dazed than usual for the rest of the evening. Whether it was
    due to suddenly having a cat in the house, or the unexpected visit from our neighbour-to-
    be, she didn’t say.
    Joe went back to watching football on television. I sat next to him, gazing at the moving
    figures flickering across the screen, but without actually watching the game. I don’t like
    football, but I didn’t want to be left alone with my thoughts tonight. I tried to ignore the
    intrusive images of Angus the almost-stranger, but I was only half successful. And when his
    face shimmered across my imagination like a dark prophecy, it made me feel deeply uneasy,
    and disturbingly intrigued.

    Angus
    I drove for an hour in silence, pondering my extreme reaction to Rebecca Harding. It
    was hard to rationalise something like that. I felt tremendously guilty about contemplating
    killing her family. They seemed to be very likeable people, especially Mark. It was much
    easier to think now that I was out of the clutches of that heady aroma. That kind of desire
    was crippling, and the possibility that I would always feel that way around her worried me. I
    was used to being more or less invincible.
    I turned my thoughts reluctantly to tonight’s mission. I had two people to take care of,
    to reprogram. I wondered whether I would be able to somehow engineer it that they too
    would be abandoned, their pelvises shattered. Probably not. It would raise too many
    logistical problems. It was going to be difficult enough to snatch two adults from a house
    with another occupant, even if the third occupant was eighty-two and hard of hearing.
    I gave up thinking about it. There were too many variables. Nothing was set in stone.
    Tonight was about reconnaissance firstly, and if the opportunity arose to take them, then I
    would do it. I turned the CD player on. The familiar introductory rhythm of Spaceman filled
    the car. I liked the Killers. I remembered that Mark had said that Rebecca liked them too.
    Irony, my constant companion.

    Rebecca
    I couldn’t sleep at first, I lay tossing and turning, twisting the sheets around my burning
    limbs. And when I finally drifted to sleep, I dreamed of Angus - huge, vivid, terrifying
    dreams, and I woke that morning to the screeching of my alarm clock. I felt drained and
    listless, but I dragged myself out of bed and downstairs to say goodbye to my mother before
    she hurried out of the door. She was flitting around the kitchen searching for her mobile
    phone, but she stopped as soon as she saw me.
    “Rebecca!” she looked concerned. “Are you OK?”
    “I don’t feel very well, Mum,” I admitted reluctantly. I didn’t want her to fret.
    Surprisingly, she didn’t.
    “Well, baby, I think you should stay home today. You’re probably exhausted from going
    back to school so early after the accident. Go on, back to bed, and I’ll call Mr Parker and let him know you won’t be in today.”
    I was a bit taken aback. Mum always seemed so indecisive, but then I remembered how
    cool and calm she had been during the occasional emergency that had befallen our family.
    Mum only panicked when there was no real reason to do so. Even when I had been knocked
    down by that idiot, she had been