The Shadow Men Read Online Free Page A

The warmth as he soaped her down. Her look of surprise when she’d found him hard again so soon …
    Her name wasn’t in his contacts list. That was weird. And then he frowned, because he couldn’t remember her mobile number. He’d never had to; whenever he called or texted her, the number was already entered in his phone.
    “Fuck it.” He stood and stretched, and all the while his eyes were darting left and right and something felt wrong .
    “Hello?” he called, because the silence was becoming oppressive. But no one replied. He hadn’t expected them to, because if they had come home earlier and found him asleep, Holly would have leapt on him, bouncing on his chest until he woke so that she could tell him about her day, the shops they’d visited, what she’d had for lunch, and the jokes Uncle Jonathan had told.
    He began to stride from the room, blinked, then froze.
    There was a picture missing from the wall beside the flat-screen TV. His and Jenny’s wedding photograph—unobtrusive, yet one of his favorite images of them together. They’d spent almost a thousand dollars on an official wedding photographer, but this snap had come from Jonathan’s camera, capturing more of their love and happiness than any amount of posing could ever find.
    And now it was gone.
    “Okay,” Jim said. “Okay.” He glanced around the room. The TV looked different—same size, same sleek black shape, but …
    It was a different make.
    “That’s just—”
    Just before he’d fallen asleep, he’d noticed Marv the Moose sitting on the floor in front of the TV. Night, Marv , he’d said, smiling because it made him think of how Holly cuddled the thing the same way every single night, snug under her left arm with its face pointing up at hers. But now Marv had vanished as well.
    “Okay,” he said again, then snapped his phone open again and scanned down for Jonathan’s number. He called, and as the ringing tone whispered in his ear he shoved aside his unsettling thoughts. He was still tired and confused from his afternoon sleep, his legs hadn’t woken properly yet, and maybe he’d dreamed something weird again—something that still impressed upon him without him being able to remember anything.
    “Hey,” Jonathan said when he answered. “How’s it hangin’?”
    “Less than nine inches,” Jim said.
    “What?”
    “Nothing. Are Jenny and Holly still with you?”
    “Who?”
    “Jenny. Holly. They must be still with you, because they didn’t take our car. I was just wondering when they’d be home.”
    Jonathan was silent for a few seconds. Jim heard his agent breathing softly, and he listened for Holly’s conspiratorial giggle as she watched her uncle Jonathan playing a joke on Daddy.
    “Say that again. What are you talking about?” Jonathan asked.
    “Jenny and Holly. Where are they?”
    “Who the hell are Jenny and Holly?”
    “Jonathan, stop screwing around. I was going to get takeout tonight, and I need to know when they’re coming home so that—”
    “Have you been drinking?” Jonathan asked.
    “No.” Jim frowned, looking around for an empty glass or bottle. Have I? No, that was last night, because I always get horny the morning after a drink and … He remembered sex in the shower, and the taste of Jenny on his tongue.
    “So who are Jenny and Holly? Did you have one of your weird dreams again?”
    “Okay, that’s enough. I’m tired and cranky and—”
    “ You’re cranky? The love of my life has left me, my liver’s about to call it quits, and you’re cranky?”
    “Jonathan?”
    “Yes, dude ?”
    “What are you doing?”
    “Jim … this is just weird. I mean … you know what I’m going through here.” He fell silent again for another few seconds, his breathing not as light as before. “Jim, you’re not on drugs, are you?”
    “No! You know I’ve never …” Jim closed his eyes and trailed off, rubbing at his head and trying to contain his anger. Then he opened his eyes