Never Die Alone (A Bentz/Montoya Novel Book 8) by Lisa Jackson Read Free Book Online

can’t remember all the details. Anyway, Allacia she gets mad at her date and takes off. I didn’t want to leave my date, but I chased after my sister and she slipped out of sight. Disappeared. Bam. I couldn’t find her. Then it all mixed up and I was in college, but I kept seeing her. She was like texting me all the time, asking me to meet her and I’d go, but she’d never show. In between the dreams I’d wake up, calm down, then go back to sleep and dream about her all over again. Y’know, it’s kinda freaky. Like somethin’s happening.”
    Tanisha believed that in the universe of twins, there was an invisible aura connecting them. She thought that a traumatic event experienced by one twin could also be felt by the other. Tanisha also claimed to be sensitive to the pain of other twins she had met. Brianna found Tanisha’s beliefs to be more than a little extreme, but hey, hadn’t she, too, had a weird nightmare about her own twin tonight?
    “What do you think is happening?” asked Brianna.
    “Separation,” Tanisha said decisively.
    “To whom?”
    “I’m not sure. Just close twins.”
    “Someone you know?”
    “No . . . well, maybe. Someone I know of. Look, I know you think I’m a little out there with all this twin stuff, but trust me, it’s true. I can’t tell you what’s going on with twins in Berlin or Moscow or Capetown, or even here in New Orleans if I don’t know them or of them, but if I do, I just feel some strange vibe.”
    “If they’re separated.”
    “Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, it’s not like I can read their thoughts or any strange stuff like that. And complete strangers? Forget it. But if there’s some thread linking me to them, no matter how thin, I’m tellin’ you, I get this weird feeling, kinda like a spider crawling up your bare back, y’know? And then I can’t sleep and I end up calling you in the middle of the damned night.”
    “It’s fine,” Brianna assured her as St. Ives began batting on the door wanting to go wandering in the night. “Anytime.” She considered admitting that she, too, had dreamt about her own sister, but decided against it. She dreamed so often about Arianna, Brianna didn’t think tonight’s dream was significant.
    “Thanks. I guess I just had to get it off my chest, and I’m not sure I want to share it with the group tomorrow.”
    “That’s what group is for.”
    “I know, I know, but . . . well, maybe. Depends on who’s there, I guess, and the whole discussion.” With a sigh, she said, “Look, I’d better go. I have an early wakeup call in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She groaned. “Well, technically later today.” She hung up, leaving Brianna telling herself that her dream had nothing to do with Tanisha’s.
    Twins thought about each other often, and even if one moved away or died or disappeared, the remaining twin could be consumed with memories, dreams, even the need to converse with the missing person. Not all twins were close, but Brianna believed that all twins had a deep connection, one that went beyond the simple genetic link of biological siblings. “Or maybe you’re just kidding yourself,” she said aloud as she threw off the covers and walked to the door. She opened it a crack and let the cat slip through.
    A gust of summer wind blew into the room, ruffling the curtains and carrying the sweet scent of magnolia. Brianna stepped outside and watched St. Ives slither through the bushes lining the enclosed patio with its uneven stone floor and broken fountain. The breeze stirred leaves in the magnolia tree and she heard a distant siren piercing the night, far beyond the walls of her private garden. She shivered as she scanned the perimeter of the small, enclosed veranda. There weren’t many hiding spots, no little nooks and crannies where someone could hide, and still she felt a prickle of dread, her skin pimpling.
    No one’s out here. Get over yourself. There’s no maniac in the shadows, no killer on the