Solstice by P.J. Hoover

Author:P.J. Hoover [Hoover, P.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-04-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Threat

I run out of the Botanical Haven, past the greenhouses, and into the trees, pushing deeper and deeper until I can’t see anything but a forest of bark around me and branches high overhead. Even then, I keep running, trying to put as much distance as I can between myself and the craziness of my life. Chloe is totally freaking me out. My mom and Reese know each other. And Tanni claims I’m responsible for Randy Conner’s death.

I stop when I see a Spanish Oak in front of me; one of its long branches twists so low to the ground I can rest against it. It’s only then that I catch my breath, letting the hot, clear air around me replace the smell of Reese. He’s like a drug. I want to run toward him even though I know I should run away. I let the heat of the world soak into me to erase him from my thoughts.

“Shayne,” I whisper, praying that wherever Tanni sent him, he can hear. In seconds, he’s there next to me.

“I was afraid Tanni killed you,” I say.

“Fate can’t kill me that easily,” he says.

We stand there staring at each other, neither of us moving. I feel like I’ve betrayed him. I feel like I’ve been with Reese. But I haven’t. I’d run away from the Botanical Haven before I got too close.

I take a small step, and this is all it takes. Shayne pulls me to him, and I bury my head in his neck. I can feel him breathing in my hair.

“Reese came to visit,” I say.

Shayne stiffens. “When?”

I shudder amid the warmth of the world around me. Reese and my mom. Have they started after me yet? Will they even follow? “It’s like they know each other,” I say. “How can that be?”

Shayne rubs my back but doesn’t answer, and then he tenses up, and I know why. I smell Reese. He’s followed me from the Botanical Haven.

“Look how precious.” Reese’s voice sizzles in the air. Taunting.

Shayne lets go though I desperately want to cling to him. “Go away,” he says.

Reese puts his hand to his chest is mock surprise. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Go away now,” Shayne says. “I don’t want you anywhere near Piper.”

Reese looks at me and catches my eyes, locking them in place. “Piper doesn’t seem to mind.”

As soon as he says it, his smell amplifies. I fight, with every muscle I have, to stay rooted in place. I lean back on the Spanish Oak and pray it will grow limbs and hold me so I don’t go to him. But like it has some power over me, his scent draws me forward.

Shayne turns to me, and I want to die when I see the hurt in his eyes. He’s watching the struggle inside me. I don’t want to be anywhere near Reese; I want to be with Shayne.

I want to be with them both.

Shayne opens his mouth, his beautiful lips pulled back in a snarl around his teeth.

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