Carolina Rain Read Online Free Page A

past Alex and Chloe and sprinted toward the open storm door where the big man had disappeared with Jen Williams. He had to be Michael Garity. He’d lost weight, was wearing a wig or had grown his hair, but the height was right and the purpose unmistakable .
    H ow did he get past everyone? There were at least thirty agents looking for him.
    She ducked inside, feeling the others at her back, her throwing star drawn and her eyes searching for the son of a bitch that had killed her Manny and then had the balls to take his daughter . . . right in front of her no less.
    Sophie burst through another interior door and wondered briefly how she would stop herself from killing Garity if given even the remotest of opportunities.
    Looking to her left, she waited. Three passageways staggered down the dimly lit hallway . The first doorway was on the left about halfway down. A t the end of the hall was an open corridor that probably led to the basement and , to the right, a stairway ascended to the main service room of the funeral parlor.
    Both seemed to beckon her with an invitation to enter, to find out if life or death lurked. She cl e nched her star , then pulled her weapon, one in each hand, then moved forward with the resolve that had protected her in the past.
    “I think not, you bitches,” she whispered.
    Taking another step, Sophie hesitated again, listening for something that would help make the next decision. She slowed her world down and used all of her senses just like Manny had taught her. There was no screaming, no disruption or commotion coming from the main floor up the stairs , so Garity hadn’t gone in that direction . There was n o noise behind the first door either and her intuition told her Garity and Jen weren’t there. That left one option : the basement.
    Cocking her head, she realized another truth; she should have heard footsteps behind her, as in , where in hell were Josh, Dean, and the others? S he felt suddenly alone, almost abandoned, having no control over anything coming down the pike , and that made her skin crawl. Fear had never been a companion, but it had its hand on her shoulder now .
    She glanced behind her again. Nothing. Sophie regripped the star and tightened the hand on her gun even more . Listening intently, she still heard nothing except the thumping of her heart in her chest and ears.
    “What the hell is going on?” she whispered.
    Just then, the light in the short hallway pulsed and dimmed, causing the shadows to rise up like so many unholy monsters. She shook it off as imagination but , in her heart , she knew that the hall was darkening and the terrors were gathering strength.
    The moan from behind the first door brought her to full attention as she snapped her head back in that direction, her fear escalating, her heart pumping faster. Shaking off the emotion that would damn her, maybe even kill her if she didn’t control it, she moved closer to the door, placing her ear against it gently.
    She couldn’t tell if the maker of the moan was Jen , but who else could it be? Or was it a trap that Garity hoped she’d fall into? And , for the second time, she wondered , where in hell Josh and the others were ?
    Some things in life never changed. She was always surrounded by people but forever alone, especially since Manny was gone. He had gotten her. He ’d understood the why of her. But Garity had taken that away. Good God, she hated him and prayed that he was behind that door so she could slay two demons at once; Garity himself and the next forty to fifty years without Manny. The fear had returned and , this time , she allowed it , knowing that fear would turn to anger, then a roaring rage. Manny would tell her to think and toss the emotion aside, but she didn’t care . She was going to kill Garity, and she was going to enjoy it.
    The heavy hand on her shoulder caused her to jump high and turn with a perfect spin kick. But it landed in thin air. She squinted in the ever - growing dark and