Midnight Ice by Diane Vallere

Author:Diane Vallere [Vallere, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-939197-43-6
Publisher: Polyester Press

* * *

I awoke in the middle of the night. The room was a cocoon of darkness and the only sound was that of pacing over my head. Someone above me was very much awake. The clock read three-thirty. There were too many hours between now and dawn for me to consider anything other than staying put safely under the covers.

I thought about what Jack had said earlier. He checked out the people I thought I’d seen, and Brad hadn’t been one of them. Was it possible I was so desperate to believe he’d follow me that I was seeing him in places where he wasn’t? And if so, how long until the memory of him faded and I could go on with my life, life as Madison Night, single forty-something? I’d heard statistics about single women in their forties, statistics more in favor of lightning striking than finding a relationship. I didn’t want a relationship anymore. I’d figure out a way to get everything I wanted out of life and I’d do it all for me. Who knows? When I figured out where I wanted to live, maybe I’d even get a dog.

The footsteps over my head continued in a random cycle. I pictured someone crossing the room, stopping to look out the window, then crossing back. That’s it, I realized. Whatever it is they’re looking for out their window, maybe I’ll see it, too. I pushed the covers back and eased myself onto the floor, then quietly hobbled to the curtains and the magnificent view I’d been ignoring.

Earlier, before I’d considered that there was a threat to my presence, I’d stood on the balcony and stared at the view. The dark blue water had crashed against the rocky Monterey cliffs in the distance while the sun cast shimmering highlights over the beach, the sand, the horizon, and the ocean. But now, in the middle of the night, I saw none of that. What I saw was a flickering light, flashing at equally repeated intervals, from the sidewalk half a block from the hotel. Flash-Flash-Flash. Pause. Flash Flash Flash. Pause. I strained my eyes to make out the figure with the light, but I couldn’t. Aside from the light, there was nothing decipherable about the scene.

The phone jangled a tortured ring. I jumped. My heart pounded in my chest and adrenaline shot through my arms and legs. I stared at the machine on the table between the beds. Jack had given instructions not to allow any calls into my room. Was this a call for me that had been screened?

I gripped the long curtains and stared at the phone, wishing for a sign. After twelve rings, the phone stopped. I crawled across the bed, closer to the windows, and sat next to the phone, waiting. When it started ringing a second time, I was equally scared. I picked up the receiver after one ring and held it to my head, not saying a word.

“You saw the signal. Now it’s time for us to see the pretty lady,” said a low voice.

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