Midnight Mate: A Paranormal Romance Standalone by Heather Hildenbrand

Author:Heather Hildenbrand [Hildenbrand, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-26T05:00:00+00:00

12

Cat

It was cold for early September. And East was late. I’d gone from standing outside the clinic, now closed and locked, to leaning against the windowsill at my back. Texts and calls had gone unanswered. I was about ready to give up this whole business and march home. Rudy wouldn’t leave me locked out if he knew I’d been stood up . . . probably.

On a final huff, I pushed to my feet and headed for my apartment.

Of course, this was how my day would end.

Between the ominous roses and the spilled coffee, this was just icing on the cake. While I walked, my mood spiraled right into misery.

Losing my parents had been hard. Cleaning up their financial mess had sucked even harder. Giving up my childhood home in order to make the lease payments on the clinic had been a tough decision. Rudy’s offer to let me move in had saved me.

It was the only reason I let him boss me into tonight’s date. Or at least that’s what I’d told myself.

And now, East was ghosting me.

Ugh. I really needed to stop picking unavailable men.

Head down, I made a sharp right into the alley, intent on cutting through and eliminating my walk through downtown. The last thing I needed was to spot a patient or a friend and be stuck chit-chatting for twenty more minutes.

I needed wine and pajamas and quiet. In any order.

Easton Raines could go screw himself. Or anyone else for that matter because it damn sure wouldn’t be me.

Up ahead, something moved.

I slowed my steps, sucking in a sharp breath as I squinted into the darkness. My senses prickled with an ominous sort of anticipation. Part of me wanted to retreat to the safety of the main road, but pure human stubbornness rooted me. If I ran every time Midnight Falls felt weird, I’d never leave the house again.

I waited, but there was only silence. Stillness. I was alone and obviously paranoid.

Hitching my bag higher on my shoulder, I picked up the pace again.

Another sound.

This one a soft swish of air. Something was moving in the alley.

I spun a full circle, angry at being frightened over what was probably a feral cat.

“Who’s there?”

A brush of a hand on my arm.

I yelped and whirled, praying for a raccoon. Or a squirrel. Hell, I’d take that feral cat right about now.

Instead, it was a man. And not even close to the one I wanted to see.

“What the hell, Travis. You scared the shit out of me.” I sucked in a couple of deep breaths, willing my heart not to explode.

“I had to make sure you weren’t being followed.”

“I am being followed,” I said. “By you.”

“Cat.” He closed the distance between us so fast that I nearly toppled.

His arm shot out, circling my waist with enough rough force to nearly send me sprawling.

I slapped his hand away and stepped back, but he followed. Fear speared through me. I didn’t stop until my back hit the brick wall behind me. He kept coming, boxing me in.

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