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“I don’t think this is where I belong,” I said instead. “I’m going home, and that will be the end of it. Bishop can take care of his own business. From what I hear, that’s what he does best.”
“I think you’re making a mistake,” Elaine said. “I think you should stick around and see where this goes.”
A part of me wanted that. I really cared about Bishop, and the thought of leaving him behind made me feel like shit. I just couldn’t deal with all the things I didn’t know. Turk was not really missing. Colter sent someone to check up on me. Bishop’s deals and Turk’s apparent claim on me. I hated not being in the know, like I was left out of the loop too much.
“This is my last day,” I told Elaine. “I just want you to know that I really appreciate you and everything you did to help me settle in. I want to keep in touch with you, if that’s okay.”
Elaine’s eyes filled with tears, and she got up to hug me.
“Of course, that’s okay.” She held onto me tightly. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
My eyes stung with tears, too. I wished I didn’t have to leave, either. It just hadn’t worked out that way.
The rest of the day was hard. I finished my shift, said goodbye to the people I’d gotten to know, and finally, I left the clinic for the last time. I drove to the house where all my bags had been packed.
I just had to go to the airport, and that would be it.
When I arrived at the house, I sat in the car and looked up at the place I’d called home for the past weeks. I was so eager to leave, but it hurt so much at the same time.
Finally, I got out of my car and walked across the porch to the front door. When I opened it, a shiver ran down my spine.
Something wasn’t right.
I stepped inside and strained my ears, listening for a sound before I moved farther into the house.
Nothing.
I switched on the lights as far as I went. The house was dark and growing darker, and I wanted to drive the darkness away.
None of the lights helped. It was like the darkness was inside, plunging the house into the depths of the night. When I looked outside, the day was still bright. The sun had set, but night hadn’t come yet.
The darkness wasn’t only inside my house.
Oh, no.
Dark magic meant vampires or demons.
The floorboards behind me creaked, and I spun around.
Turk waved hello.
“Hey, Rory,” he said with a smile. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Where have you been? A lot of people have been looking for you.”
Turk didn’t respond.
“What are you doing here?” I asked with a frown.
Turk shrugged. “I’m taking what’s mine.”
He lifted his hand and grabbed me around the neck. I fought back, trying to get him to let go, but his grip was stronger than it should have been, and the darkness only got thicker and thicker. It felt like it was inside of me now, and my vision went black around the edges before it disappeared completely.
“Turk,” I gasped in a hoarse voice, clutching and scratching at the vise grip around my neck. “Let me go!”
He didn’t, and a moment later, the darkness was all I knew.
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