Read Online The Seance by Heather Graham - Free Book Online Page B

over the two steps that led to the ground. She ran until she reached the end of the driveway, and then she finally turned back, gasping, checking to see if he was in pursuit.
    It was difficult to see, though, because it was such a strange night. The fog was still lying low to the ground, while above, shimmering through with an illumination like silver, was the great orb of the full moon.
    Instinct was kicking in. Fog or not, she would see him coming from the front of the house, and he clearly wasn’t in pursuit. But she didn’t have her keys. That was okay; she could just go next door to Tony’s house, and she would be safe.
    In her mind’s eye, she pictured the figure coming after her, catching her, tackling her right before she could reach Tony’s door.
    Then there was a tap on her shoulder.
    She froze.
    Spun around.
    Screamed.
    He was there.
    It was impossible, but he was there. He’d somehow gotten out of the house without her seeing and ended up behind her.
    And he wasn’t a shadow, either. Not only that, she had seen his face before.
    It took her a moment to remember where she had seen it, and when.
    Then she knew.
    She had seen it, plastered all over the newspapers after Beau Kidd had been shot kneeling over the body of his latest victim.
    â€œChristie…”
    Did he say her name, or was it the breeze? Or was she only deep in some horrible nightmare where the dew-damp grass beneath her bare toes was ridiculously real and the face of the man before her was bizarrely vivid?
    â€œChristie…”
    The world seemed to be fading, getting lost in the fog.
    â€œPlease…help me.”
    She had never passed out before in her life, but she did then, dropping flat onto soft, wet earth, seeing nothing but stygian darkness.

4
    â€œH ey.”
    Christina became aware of the deep, rich voice at the same time as she felt the chilling discomfort of the ground beneath her.
    The sun was rising, she realized, feeling completely disoriented.
    â€œChristie?”
    She blinked. The sun created a haze as it burned off the last of the fog, so she blinked again, turning her head slightly to make out someone standing above her. For a moment she felt a resurgence of fear. But the sunlight was bright, and when she blinked a third time, her vision cleared and she finally saw who was standing there.
    Jed Braden.
    He hunkered down by her side.
    â€œAre you all right?” His tone was anxious, harsh.
    She realized that she was lying on her lawn and frowned.
    â€œAre you hurt?” he demanded anxiously, his hands on her shoulders, his face close, his features tense.
    â€œNo, I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”
    She saw relief fill his face.
    â€œFine? Really?”
    â€œAbsolutely. I swear it.”
    â€œThank God you’re alive,” he murmured.
    She struggled to rise up on her elbows. “I guess I…fell asleep.”
    â€œYou’re joking, right?” he said. His voice hardened to a sharper edge. “You told me you were smart, remember? You said you didn’t do stupid things.”
    She stared at him. She must have had a nightmare. She couldn’t possibly have seen the ghost of Beau Kidd. There in the light of day, the idea was just too ridiculous. But she really was lying on the grass, so she really had run out of the house. And she had run because someone had been there. Hadn’t he?
    She blurted the words without thinking. “There was someone in my house.”
    Jed stared at her, slowly arching a brow. “Someone was in your house?” He sounded both concerned and doubtful.
    â€œYes.”
    Anxiety tightened his features. “So someone broke in and chased you out, then…forced you to sleep on the ground?”
    She stared at him. “I’m telling you, there was a man at the foot of my bed.”
    â€œBut you’re also telling me you weren’t attacked, right?”
    â€œNo. He was