Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick Read Free Book Online Page A

a broad red bib. She looked terrible. Hell, she looked dead.
    “Oh my God, what happened ?” Lena asked, aghast. “Who did this?”
    Nathan’s face was granite. “Alex.”

9
    “Alex?” Lena said. “Why?”
    “I don’t have time for this,” Nathan said, and then jerked his head at John. “Give me a hand here. You, Sarah, bring me a propane heater, and let’s get this front room warmed up, fast.”
    “What about Kincaid ?” Lena shouted, but Nathan didn’t slow.
    As Sarah darted past, Lena snagged her arm. “This is nuts. I’m going for the doctor.”
    “No.” Sarah shook free. “You’re not going anywhere.”
    “Why not?” She pushed her way past Ghost and Nathan’s dog.
    Growling, lips curling to reveal teeth, both animals lowered their heads, then danced aside as she flung her armful of supplies onto the kitchen table.
    “Does this make sense? Do you think Alex would do something like that to an old lady?”
    “Maybe,” Sarah huffed, backing out of a kitchen closet with a propane heater.
    “Jess is tough, and you did plenty when you ran.”
    Lena’s face flamed. “That was different. It was a guard, an old guy. ”
    “I can see it, though. I think Alex has the guts to do whatever it takes. Remember, she’s killed Changed.”
    “Those are just stories.”
    Sarah gave Lena a smug little grin. “Not according to Peter.”
    Oh, Sarah would bring up Peter just to rub it in. She wasn’t at all surprised that the idea of Peter with Sarah hurt just as much now as before. She had used Peter, yes. But not everything with him had been a lie, then—or since.
    “Tori, give me a hand here.” Sarah jerked her head at Lena.
    “You, finish the woodstove. I’ll do Jess’s after we set up the heater.”
    Lena opened her mouth to argue, then said, instead, “We’ll need more wood.” Without waiting for a reply, she shrugged into her coat, grabbed up the now-filled ash pail, and hurried out of the house. But instead of heading around back, she set the pail down, ducked her head, and motored over the icy walk for the street. To hell with this. She was going for Kin—
    “Hey!”
    Gasping, Lena tore her gaze from her feet too late and smacked face-first into the boy’s chest so hard that she thumped back onto her tailbone.
    “Whoa! Hey, Lena, you okay?” Greg dropped to one knee as his golden retriever bristled and tried muscling past. “Daisy, back up, sit !”
    “Ow.” Her butt killed. Still, if she could get Greg into the house, she might have a chance. Grabbing his hand, she let him haul her up. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry. What are you doing here?”
    “I brought the flatbed . . . Daisy, stop !” Turning, the boy grabbed his dog’s collar and wrestled the growling animal to a sit. “What’s the matter with you? Sheesh.” To Lena: “I had to hitch up down a ways, what with all the horses out front. Ah . . . is Chris inside? I saw Night.”
    “Yeah, he’s—”
    “Oh crap.” Greg looked unhappy. “He’s going to be pissed I left Alex at the hospice.”
    “Wait, what? When?”
    “Last night. I was supposed to stay until she was done and then take her home, only I was just so beat and she told me to go on. Wouldn’t you know it that the one time I go is when Chris comes back early.”
    “Greg, Alex is gone.”
    “What?” His eyebrows drew together beneath a froth of muddybrown curls. “She can’t be. She’s with Doc.”
    “Not anymore.” Then something else registered. “Greg, how long have you been back? Why were you at the hospice?”
    “Chris and us guys, we split off from Peter at the Wisconsin border a couple days ago and went north. Brought back this kid.”
    So they had found a Spared. It was all Lena could do not to grab Greg by the lapels. “Where?”
    “Some old barn northwest of Oren. He was pretty bad off. His heart stopped while we were still a couple miles outside Rule.”
    She hoped the despair didn’t show on her face. “Is he . . . ?”
    “Dunno.