Shadow Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 1) by Becky Moynihan (great reads TXT) 📕

whimpered. She wrung her hands and looked off into the distance as if considering going after her friend.

“Don’t, Hailey,” I said firmly. “It flung me through the air like I was nothing. We need help.”

Her gaze snapped to mine. “And how did you escape, exactly?” she said, her tone almost accusatory.

I blinked, wholly unprepared to answer that question. What could I say? A dark, mysterious stranger who might actually be my stalker rescued me? “I . . . I don’t—”

She waved my words away. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair. It’s just . . .” Her voice grew smaller, like a child’s. “Peyton’s my best friend.”

My heart sank. This was all my fault. My desire for friendship and connection had endangered others. I should have listened to Aunt Tess. Even Reid. If I hadn’t gone on this trip, none of this would have happened. Peyton would be sporting her new bikini at this very moment, safe and sound in the hot tub with her friends.

I wanted a normal life so badly, but maybe I wasn’t a normal person.

Maybe there was something in my DNA that attracted danger.

And maybe, just maybe, a part of me was starting to understand my aunt’s paranoia. Life was fragile, and I needed to start taking that truth more seriously.

We sat in tense silence until, about fifteen minutes later, a black and white SUV with “Knox County Sheriff” stamped across its side rolled up the drive. A burly blond man emerged from the vehicle—I assumed Isla’s dad. As he approached, it was obvious why Hailey thought he was scary. He’d immediately pinned me in place with a piercing look, his stare and stride unwavering. The resoluteness of his expression was unnerving, to the say the least.

“You did the right thing by calling me,” he said, briefly assessing his daughter before fixing his steely blue-gray eyes on me again. “I presume you’re McKenna Belmont. Where did you see Peyton last?”

I gulped, then pointed toward the side trail. “About a mile down that trail. She has her phone with her.”

He nodded curtly. “None of you move from this spot while we check things out. Let’s go, Lancaster,” he called to the brown-skinned woman with a severe bun who was exiting the vehicle’s passenger side. Probably his deputy. They both unholstered their weapons and took off.

We didn’t budge from the front steps for hours. The full moon was directly overhead when shoes finally crunched against the gravel. We shot upright and Isla ran to meet her dad and the deputy. Hailey helped me up, my injuries barking in protest as we moved to join them. When I caught sight of the sheriff’s dour expression, cold dread filled me.

“Daddy?” Isla said weakly.

“We found signs of a scuffle and this,” he said, holding up a plastic bag with a cracked cell phone inside. Peyton’s phone.

Isla gasped, but he ignored the sound and fixed a hard stare on me.

“You sure it was an animal that attacked you two?”

“I-I, yes. I’m pretty sure. It growled and ran on all fours,” I stammered, uncomfortable with the impromptu interrogation.

“And there was nothing else? Just the animal?”

Crap! I couldn’t mention the man who’d rescued me. If I did, he’d probably tell my aunt. And if that happened, she’d freak. My small taste of normalcy would be over and Rosewood would soon be a distant memory. Still, I should tell him. Maybe the man was dangerous and had kidnapped Peyton. I opened my mouth to explain, but what came out was, “That’s all I saw.”

I was a terrible, terrible person.

Sheriff Andrews stared at me a moment more, and I could have sworn he knew I wasn’t being honest. But he merely nodded, saying, “There’s too much land for us to cover. We’ll round up a search party and sweep this whole area at the crack of dawn. I suggest you girls head on home. There’s nothing we can do right now.”

Hailey burst into tears. Isla pulled her into a tight hug, whispering words of comfort. And I . . .

I stood silently by, guilt gnawing a hole through my chest.

6

I went through the motions of cleaning the kitchen window, but my mind was focused on anything but.

I worried that Isla and Hailey would never speak to me again if they knew the whole story. I worried that Sheriff Andrews would figure out I lied and call me in for questioning. I worried that they’d find Peyton’s mauled body in the woods.

But most of all, I worried that last night’s omission was only the beginning, that I would say or do just about anything to protect myself, even at the expense of others. That my selfish need to have a normal life would turn me into someone I hated.

A liar. A deceiver. A fake.

All the things I loathed were now staring me in the face.

I should call the sheriff and confess. I had tried to several times over the past twelve hours, but made excuses each time. Like how I didn’t know for certain who had rescued me. Or maybe I’d imagined him completely. And telling people about him wouldn’t solve anything. I wouldn’t even know how to describe what happened without sounding like a crazy person.

But I couldn’t deny the truth. I was allowing fear to dictate my actions. I was a coward, plain and simple.

I swiped at the window, smearing my guilt-ridden reflection.

Isla had asked us to stay the night at her place, but I’d opted to return home. The guilt was eating me alive, and I couldn’t face their questions and suspicion right now. She and Hailey had both joined the search party at dawn, but my sore body prevented me from doing so—or so I told myself.

Aunt Tess thought I’d come home early from Isla’s house because of a wicked headache. Just one more lie. The sheriff hadn’t called her, but if Peyton turned up dead, no amount of lying would protect me from another move.

If Peyton was dead, I wouldn’t want to stay