Stalked by Death (Touch of Death) by Kelly Hashway Read Free Book Online

was exactly like it was before Chase had gotten here. The only problem was that once we left this room, Chase would be there, and what would happen the next time he touched me?
    I tried not to think about it while we walked to the dining room. Arianna smiled at me when she saw Alex holding my hand. I smiled back at her and mouthed the words, “Thank you.” She had helped me realize how I felt about Alex. I was still confused about Chase and why he affected me the way he did, but at least I had a handle on Alex.
    We took our seats and dug right into the meatball subs Arianna had made us. I even had a side of mac and cheese with Alex. Chase still hadn’t shown up for lunch, but I pretended not to notice. Finally, I heard footsteps and looked up, expecting to see Chase, but instead I saw the corpse. The one I’d left in my bathroom with instructions not to leave unless I told him to.
    Leticia screamed and everyone else pushed their chairs back away from the table, ready to spring into action if the zombie tried to attack us.
    “That’s the guy from the cemetery,” Leticia said. “The one Jodi raised and brought to her room.”
    “I didn’t bring him to my room,” I said. “At least not on purpose.”
    Tony stared at me. “What’s he doing back here?”
    “I don’t know.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I didn’t know why the zombie had left my bathroom. I hadn’t called him.
    Chase walked into the room. “What did I miss?” His gaze fell on the zombie, and he stopped. “Do you guys always invite the dead to eat with you? ‘Cause it’s a little gross, don’t you think?”
    I shook my head. “No one invited him. He just showed up.”
    Alex stared at me. He knew I was hiding something.
    Tony walked over to the zombie but kept a safe distance. His face fell completely still and focused. He was calling on the power in his blood to control the corpse. “Who brought you here?”
    The zombie looked past Tony at me. “Her.”
    All eyes were on me. No way could I hide this anymore. “Okay, okay.” I put my hands up in defense. “I sort of summoned him this morning…in a dream.”
    A chorus of “What?” rang through the room.
    “I didn’t know I’d done it. I had this dream and—”
    “About what?” Randy asked.
    “I can’t remember.” I played dumb. I couldn’t admit I’d been dreaming about Chase. “I only remember I was dreaming, and then someone was knocking on my door. I forgot to set my alarm, and when I saw what time it was, I figured it was Alex knocking, trying to wake me up.” I paused, but everyone was silent, waiting for me to continue. “It wasn’t Alex. It was him.” I turned toward the corpse. “I didn’t know I’d summoned him.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Alex asked. “I came to get you when you were late for breakfast. Why didn’t you tell me then? And what did you do with the guy? He wasn’t in your room when I got there.”
    “I told him to hide in the bathroom.” My voice was barely a whisper.
    Alex threw his head back and ran his fingers through his hair.
    “I was freaked out. You have to understand that. I’m raising souls in my sleep now. Do you know how dangerous that can be for us?”
    “Exactly, Jodi,” Alex said. “That’s why you should have told me.”
    “Lay off,” Chase said. “She panicked. Big deal.”
    I looked at Chase, thankful for his support. I felt like I was up against a firing squad, so it was nice to have one person on my side.
    Alex was seething at this point. He slammed his hand down, knocking over his meatball sub. “Don’t try to play the hero here. You have no idea what you’re talking about or what Jodi has been going through.”
    “Alex, I think Chase was only trying to help everyone calm down.” Tony put a hand on Chase’s shoulder.
    I lightly touched Alex’s arm. “I was going to tell you.”
    “When?”
    I shrugged. “I sort of forgot he was in my bathroom. I haven’t been to my room all day, and