Halton Cray (Shadows of the World Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

recognised him! He’s a bit–’ She
hesitated and recoiled slightly in her seat.
    ‘A bit what?’
    ‘Well, no offence, Alex, but he’s pretty fit. He
used to date a model.’
    ‘Jees, thanks, Stace!’
    ‘Sorry, but you know what I mean.’ She looked me
up and down. ‘Mark goes out with a certain type of girl. How did you meet
anyway?’
    I wasn’t telling Stacey about the online dating agency
I’d joined for the 30-day free trial.
    ‘How do you know him?’ I countered.
    ‘Oh, through Ben, my ex.’ She made that nauseated
face again. ‘Darren sort of knows him as well. I always thought Mark was really
nice. How come you didn’t get on?’
    ‘Stacey, seriously, I haven’t a clue. He seemed
very nice to me too when we dated the first few times. That night however he
was someone else.’ I threw my hands up. ‘I don’t know what changed.’
    I was eager to get off this topic.
    ‘So you’ve not heard anything from him?’
    ‘Not a word, which is okay with me.’
    A waiter appeared with a tray of drinks, selecting
ours from amongst them before memorising our food order. Luckily, this
distraction was enough to get the subject of Mark left behind.
    After paying our bill, we headed for the car park.
Stacey was restless to meet Darren the minute he finished work. Noticing that
the mist carried a strange spicy smell, we both turned our noses to the air,
sniffing in vain. It was tantalising, though neither of us could decide what it
was.
    ‘I’m parked over there.’ She pointed. ‘I’ll see
you next Saturday for our first day together!’
    I waved her off as she got into her silver Fiat
Punto. I climbed in the jeep and sat there a moment nonplussed. What had
happened today? Because in one sense I felt like I’d just been duped.
    I put the gear lever to reverse while checking my
mirrors and easing off the brake. Being an automatic, it crept back before I
accelerated. In my mirror, I caught a glimpse of a dark figure too close to the
rear. I stomped on the brake, but felt it bump hard against whomever was there.
    ‘Damn!’ I pulled up the handbrake, opening my
door. ‘I’m sorry!’ I exclaimed, clambering out. ‘Are you alright?’
    I approached the rear to find a smartly dressed man
getting up from the ground. He brushed himself down so energetically I couldn’t
imagine he was injured. Still, I asked again –
    ‘Are you hurt?’
    ‘I’ll be fine in a moment,’ he replied hoarsely. He
stopped and looked at me. His eyes were large and ebon black, the pupils fully
dilated in the fog, to a point where it was difficult to see the whites of
them.
    I took a step forward to see him better.
    He stared confoundedly.
    ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’ I asked.
    ‘No thanks to you,’ he said at length.
    I half expected this reaction, and determined not
to rise to it.
    ‘If you’re injured, I can drive you to a hospital
to get checked over.’
    ‘What! Get in a vehicle with you?’ He raised one
eyebrow. ‘That sounds like a death wish. Are you plotting to finish the job?
You’ll have to run me down again, right here’ – he pointed – ‘in broad daylight!’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ I insisted. ‘Look, I checked my
mirror but didn’t see–’
    ‘Too busy doing your lipstick?’ he shot unexpectedly,
before taking a moment to examine my face. ‘Or were you just daydreaming?’
    I gazed at him incredulously for the chauvinism,
finding that the mist buried his features whenever I focused. It kept him
blurry in my perception. I could see that his athletic build towered over my
small frame. He was about six-feet tall and considerably broad chested.
    Unappeased, I told him, ‘Perhaps you should take
more care walking out in front of cars.’
    He smiled mischievously. ‘Perhaps you should
resume driving lessons and begin by learning the structure of a vehicle. That
there is the rear’ – he pointed and was sardonic – ‘at the other end is the
front.’
    I refused to let him antagonise me into