This Haunted World Book One: The Venetian: A Chilling New Supernatural Thriller by Shani Struthers Read Free Book Online Page B

over, but even she was surprised at how quickly it struck this time. Rather than fight it, she indulged it. She seemed to need to feel this way. She had everything, except what she wanted most. And Rob’s solution was to travel, he thought that would appease that ‘want’, so much stronger in her than him, or at least it seemed that way, it would plaster over an otherwise suppurating wound. It was a pitiful solution, a weak solution; the solution that she’d come up with not even countenanced. Whose fault was it anyway, their failure to conceive? The blame had to lie somewhere. Was it hers or was it his? It couldn’t be hers, it couldn’t. There was that time, just before she’d met Rob, when she’d been with someone else, a time when her period was late – and she was never late, she ran like clockwork – when she’d thought, as young as she was, eighteen, that she was pregnant, and if she was, that she’d keep it, cherish it, she’d find a way. But then the blood had come, much heavier than usual and much more painful, her stomach cramping in protest. A miscarriage? She suspected it. If so, she was definitely not the one to blame. He was. It was his fault, all of it – this whole sorry mess.
    “ Scusa! ”
    A man rushing by bumped into her, unbalancing her slightly. Straightening, she glared after him. Bloody rude lot!
    Moving forward, she continued scanning the crowds, one half wanting Rob to disappear forever, the other half willing him to materialise. Her anger was beginning to scare her.
    Rob, where are you?
    He couldn’t have gone far. Why would he have done? He wouldn’t leave her. And these people, they were all dark shapes, all anonymous, and there were so many of them, such a contrast to the area they’d been in earlier. They seemed to meld into one, unmasked but still indefinable – a mass of people, rather than separate beings. And then there was one that was entirely separate – a flash of white. Her head jerked towards it. In amongst the crowd, perfectly still, was a woman, a veil covering her head and a dress to match, long and full. A strange vision but, as the rain continued to fall, what was strangest of all were her eyes – sightless eyes – staring at her, stealing her breath, holding her captive again.
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
    “What are you staring at?”
    Louise spun round, aware she was still holding her breath and that her chest felt like it was going to burst. It was Rob. The air rushing from her lungs, she fell against him.
    “What is it, Lou? What’s the matter?”
    He was solid, real, so unlike what she’d just seen. She lifted her head and looked into his amused but concerned eyes, tried to tell him what had happened, opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t. Of course she couldn’t! She’d sound insane if she did. Oh, Rob, there you are. Whilst you were gone, whilst you were hiding from me, I saw her. Yeah, that’s right, the one I was telling you about, the one in the painting in the hotel lobby, in the photographer’s picture on the net, the veiled lady, the woman in white, whatever you want to call her, I saw her, over there, in the distance, standing boldly amongst everyday people, but focused on me, just me. I half expected her to lift her finger, to point at me, like some kind of grim reaper only in white, not black. She was dressed in white.
    She gasped again, pushed herself slightly away from Rob and, with her fist, thumped him on the chest. “Where the bloody hell did you go? I looked for you everywhere!”
    “I was looking at the watches.”
    “What watches? Where?”
    “There,” he said, pointing to a shop close by. “What’s the matter, aren’t I allowed to leave your side for a few seconds?”
    “Seconds?” It had seemed much longer than that. She pursed her lips, still indignant. “You should have told me where you were going.”
    “You were looking at the masks, I was on my way back. I didn’t think you’d notice.”
    Oh she’d