One More Day Read Online Free Page A

matter what I did, none of it made a difference. Unlike what had actually happened, though, in the dream I wasn’t able to use Toxxin to knock him out, and he just kept strangling me, until I felt my body give up on me. And when it was over, when I was gone and he’d left my body there, I was able to watch and see that life went on without me, as if I’d never been there at all and nobody noticed that I was gone.
    I hadn’t been able to fall back asleep afterward. I guessed maybe it was a guilty conscience thing after my talk with Jenson. Whatever it was, I didn’t want to go through it again.
    I was about to turn toward downtown when Jenson clicked onto my comm.
    “Daystar, what’s your location?”
    “I’m near Wayne State. Why?”
    “Can you go over by Campus Martius? We’re getting calls about a disturbance over there and everyone else is already out on calls. It’s like everyone decided to go nuts in one night.”
    “I’ll head over there now.”
    I swerved toward the New Center area. Campus Martius Park eventually came into view, the ice skating rink lit up for evening skaters. Soon, the Christmas tree lighting would happen, and the whole park would be full of twinkling lights. For now though, things looked quiet and calm, and a few skaters took advantage of the ice and the cool weather. I was about to contact Jenson and tell her nothing was going on when I saw a dark shadow moving toward one of the side streets off of Woodward. I came in for a landing, ending up behind a parking garage. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. The second anyone noticed me, I’d be all over social media. I hated that shit.
    I walked down the street, taking the same direction the dark shadow I’d noticed had taken. The pavement was slick and oily, and napkins and other debris from the nearby food places stuck to the concrete. The street lights flickered overhead, casting a blue-white glow onto the buildings and parking meters nearby. The only sounds were the roar of traffic from the street and the plinking sound of the heavy raindrops falling on metal awnings and trash dumpsters as icy rain began to fall. I searched for a good ten more minutes without seeing anything. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or annoyed.
    I pressed my comm. “Daystar checking in. I’m going to do one more sweep of the area but so far things look okay here. Once I’m done, I’m going for a fly,” I said, glancing up at the sky.
    “In this weather?” Jenson asked over the comm, and I smiled.
    “Are you going to ask me if I brought my umbrella?”
    “Of course not. Your suit is waterproof.”
    “Well, there you go. Don’t wait up. I need to clear my head,” I said, flashing back to my nightmares about Maddoc and my lingering annoyance with Connor.
    “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
    “I’m going silent now, okay?” I asked, knowing she’d worry.
    I heard Jenson sigh over the comm. “Okay. Be careful,” she said in a resigned tone.
    “Aren’t I always?” I asked in mock seriousness, and I heard her laugh before I turned off my comm. I didn’t want anyone squawking in my ear. All I wanted was the sky and to feel like I was still the same old me. When I flew, I wasn’t too slow. I wasn’t clumsy. I wasn’t less than I used to be, before Maddoc. No, when I flew, it was like everything was as it should be.
    I finished checking the alley and was about to lift off when I saw something shift in the shadows. My body tensed, the immediate adrenaline that came with seeing something unknown in the dark rushing through me.
    “Easy. I’m not here for an ass-kicking,” the shape said as he stepped out of the shadows. I tried not to let on how my stomach flipped, how my face heated beneath my mask when I realized who it was, even though I was still kind of pissed at him. That rough voice, that hint of a Scottish brogue. Broad shoulders, a massive body clad head to toe in black.
    “So, you’re back,” I said softly to