Page 7 of Destined for Shadows
“What did he say?”
She took a deep breath. “That he was coming for me.”
“Did you recognize him?” Bartol asked.
That was not a subject she wanted to get into since then she’d have to admit her would-be attacker was supposed to be dead because she’d killed him. No one knew what she’d done except her father who passed away a couple of years ago, and she wasn’t about to admit it to anyone else now.
“Can you smell him?” she asked, avoiding Bartol’s gaze. “With your heightened senses or whatever?”
He grunted. “A nephilim may have a better sense of smell than a human, but we are not werewolves. We can’t track anyone outdoors unless they have a particularly strong odor, which this man does not.” He flashed away from her, reappearing deeper in the woods. For the next ten minutes, Bartol moved from one spot to another until he’d searched the whole area around her house. “I cannot find any trace of him. If he was here, he is long gone now.”
Cori was both relieved and frustrated. She probably didn’t have to worry about the ghost of her ex-husband returning tonight—it had to take a lot of mojo for one to appear at all since they weren’t exactly common—but now she looked like she’d lost her mind. How could he have gotten away like that? How did none of her shots hit him?
“Okay, thanks.” She shifted from foot to foot. “I appreciate your checking.”
Bartol lifted a brow. “What is it you’re not telling me?”
She pasted a blank expression on her face, hiding the terror she felt. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry I disturbed you from…whatever it is you do in the evenings.”
He gave her a skeptical look. “You shot at this man, and you were shaking when I found you. It is notnothing.”
No, it wasn’t. Cori felt as if the proverbial walls were closing in on her. She’d thought she’d put the past behind her, and now it was back and more frightening than ever. It wasn’t Bartol’s problem, though. It was hers, and she’d deal with it on her own.
“Look, I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired,” she said, adjusting the purse strap over her shoulder. “Maybe I imagined the man, or maybe it was a bear or something. It’s gone now, so let’s just drop it.”
Cori began to turn away, but Bartol grabbed her arm. “You’re lying to me.”
She stared at the hand wrapped around her bicep. He’d never touched her—not in anger or for any other reason. She lifted her gaze back to his. “I have a past, and like you, I don’t want to talk about things that happened a long time ago. Can we please drop it?”
He studied her for a long moment. If anyone could understand how much she needed her privacy, it would be him. Still, she couldn’t miss the warring emotions in his eyes. He was reluctant to leave her alone, and yet he didn’t want to push things, either.
“Fine.” He pulled his hand away. “I’ll let it go—for now.”
Without another word, he flashed away. Cori locked up her truck and hurried into her cabin, sliding a bar across the front door for extra protection. Something told her she wouldn’t be sleeping very well tonight.
