Deep Within The Shadows (The Superstition Series Book 1) by Teresa Reasor Page B

alone so long. Closed off from everyone. When she contacted Caleb after his grandmother had died eighteen months ago, she hadn’t had any thought of starting up a long distance relationship with him. And when he continued to email and skype, she hadn’t had the heart to shut him down.
    He’d been alone, too. His only living relative gone. He’d needed her.
    And now she’d put him in danger.
    Ted, the busboy, ran a steam cleaner over the linoleum floors, making them shine like glass. Sherry sat on one of the stools refilling ketchup bottles and saltshakers. The clatter of dishes being stacked came from the kitchen.
    The purr of an engine vibrated through the thick plate glass windows before Caleb came into sight, and Miranda allowed herself a sigh of relief.
    “Looks like your ride is here.” Sherry rose to unlock the door for her. “I might take your picture on that Harley and post it on Facebook,” she threatened with a tired smile.
    Miranda laughed. “The students were stunned when I told them I was going to ride on it.”
    “I’m glad to see you kicking back with Caleb. You couldn’t ask for a nicer guy.”
    “Yes, he is. Thanks for letting me stay until he got here. There was an issue with my car, and he had to walk to the station to get his motorcycle.”
    “No problem. We wouldn’t have let you stand out on the sidewalk and wait for him in the dark. You hold onto that man real tight.” Shelly opened the door for her.
    Miranda smiled. “I will.” She scanned the restaurant parking lot. Nothing moved. She stepped outside.
    Caleb rolled to a stop at the base of the ramp. Clutching her purse, Miranda hustled down the incline. A gray outline flickered out of the corner of her eye, and she broke into a run.
    “Run, Mandy,” Caleb barked, his attention directed just over her shoulder, his features rigid with anxiety. She had barely swung her leg over the side of the motorcycle and gripped his waist when he spun the motorcycle around.
    She turned to look behind her, and for a second Miranda was face-to-face with the entity. It struck out at her, and she raised a partial energy shield to try to block it. It wasn’t enough. An icy spear of pain lanced through her shoulder and arm, and she cried out. Caleb gunned the motorcycle and shot out of the parking lot.
    Miranda’s right arm hung useless at her side, but she clung to Caleb’s waist with the other and pressed close against his back. The faster Caleb drove, the more rapidly the overhead streetlights flickered past like out-of-control strobe lights. Nausea struck her, and she swallowed and closed her eyes against it.

Chapter 7

    J uliet jerked when she heard the soft pad and squeak of footsteps out in the hall. Every nerve in her body seemed to be stuck on high alert. She clung to the blanket a nurse had given her and clenched her teeth against their need to chatter. The hospital bed’s metal headboard pressed against the back of her head, and she yanked at the pillow behind her. As the adrenaline started to drain from her system, exhaustion took its place, and every bump and scrape she’d sustained during the attack grated along her nerve endings. She hated to think how bad the injuries must have been before she channeled the energy to help heal Samuel during those five minutes before the EMTs arrived.
    Never again would she walk home alone after work. She’d almost cost Samuel Newton his life. He’d sustained major bruising to one whole side of his body, and it would take weeks for him to recover. Just imagining it turned her stomach, and knowing she had once again been the cause of someone’s pain, this time because of sheer stubbornness, made it worse.
    She was such a fuckup! Always causing trouble. Always responsible for people getting hurt. She and Miranda had never been the same since…She flinched away from the memory. They had lost each other that night.
    She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the wall behind her. A vision