Read Online Everafter (Kissed by an Angel) by Elizabeth Chandler - Free Book Online Page A

revulsion thick in her throat.
    His laughter was harsh. “All right,” he said. “We can pretend, if you want to, that I don’t know what’s inside you, and that you haven’t guessed what’s inside me. But never forget: I know you, Ivy, your secret dreams, your secret fears—I know the most hidden part of your soul.”
    Ivy crossed her arms in front of her, feeling exposed, her spirit as well as her body. “Just leave Luke out of this,” she said. “This is between you and me, Gregory.”
    His fake smile disappeared. For a moment the eyes thatIvy gazed into were as empty as the sockets in a graveyard skull. She felt as if she was peering into hell.
    “Till we meet again,” Gregory said, then turned and left.
    “IN CHASE!” TRISTAN REPEATED INTO THE PHONE. “IVY, are you okay?” He had been pacing for the last half hour, knowing that something was wrong. It wasn’t like Ivy to be late and not call. “Where are you—I’ll meet you.”
    “No, really, I’m fine. I’m just outside the cottage. Can you survive on the supplies you have?”
    Tristan glanced at the pile of candy wrappers on the table next to the recliner. “Sure. One of the kids left a stash of Snickers and chocolate chip granola bars in the back of his closet.”
    “They didn’t leave anything better in the kitchen cupboards?”
    “You mean anything better than chocolate and nuts?” Tristan sighed loudly into the phone. “I guess I could look.”
    He heard Ivy laugh. Tristan’s heart had finally stopped pounding with fear. Sitting on the couch, he stared at a muted video of Lacey racing through a house of bizarre-looking squirrels.
    “Gregory doesn’t seem to have any idea that you’re in Luke’s body,” Ivy said to Tristan. “He was telling me about his admiration for murderers. Maybe he thinks I’ve finally developed good taste in guys.”
    Tristan laughed roughly.
    “But you know how he works,” Ivy went on. “He goes after anyone who’s close to me. You’re probably number one on his list. Or maybe, since he thinks you’re a killer, he’s looking for an ally. Anyway, it’s just a matter of time till he finds you.”
    “I look forward to it,” Tristan replied. “I’m tempted to take a long walk on the beach west of the church. That’s where you said his house was, right?”
    “Tristan, no! Don’t even joke about it.”
    Tristan crumpled a candy wrapper into a tight little ball. Hour after hour, day after day, waiting, unable to do anything—
    “Tristan?”
    “I heard you.”
    He had spoken too sharply; her sudden silence told him that.
    Tristan got up, climbed the short flight of steps to the kitchen, and started opening cupboard doors, scanning their contents with a flashlight. “Lots of healthy stuff here,” he said into the phone. “Tuna fish, pasta, cans of soup. So don’t worry.”
    “Good.” She sounded relieved. “Listen, Mom, Andrew, and Philip are coming to the inn tomorrow, just overnight before they head up to Boston. It’s going to make things a little complicated.”
    “I understand. I want you to stay safe and hang out with Philip.”
    “I love you, Tristan.” Her voice quavered.
    “I love you, Ivy. Always.”
    After hanging up, Tristan opened a can of tuna, ate a forkful, then put it in the fridge. Carrying his flashlight into the living room, he shone it on a quaintly illustrated map that hung above a chest. Tracing its roads with the narrow beam of his light, he located the old church, the public beach where Mike Steadman had been struck dead, and the private beach west of it, where Gregory now resided.
    It was close enough to walk.

Seven
    “DRAW THAT,” PHILIP INSTRUCTED WILL. “IVY WEARING sea tinsel.”
    Beth glanced up and smiled. “I like that description.”
    Ivy fingered the pile of dark, papery sea grass that Philip had artfully arranged on her head. “I assume I’m the bad guy in this story.”
    “Yup,” Will said, his pencil moving swiftly. “But I’ll change