Stalking the Others Read Online Free PDF Page A

lulling me into a groggy stupor.
    By the time we reached Jack’s hideout, a spacious house in the exclusive community that made up City Island, I was too hungry to sleep and desperately hoping they would let me raid the fridge once we got inside.
    “I need to make some calls,” Jack said as he pulled into the garage next to another car, a beaten up Jeep that looked out of place next to the sleek lines of the Suburban. “Nikki will show you to a room and find you some clothes. After you shower, you remember where the kitchen is? Come down and we’ll discuss who it is you’re looking for over dinner.”
    I followed Nikki up the stairs (God, not more of those!) to a guest room that was warm, furnished, and showed signs of prior habitation. Somebody had left a stack of magazines touting the joys of hunting, big guns, and barely clothed biker babes on an end table next to a window with a fabulous view of the bay.
    “Sorry,” Nikki said, not sounding sorry at all. “Bo must have left these up here. Make yourself at home. I’ll see if I have anything in my closet that would fit you, but there should be some men’s sweats in the drawers that you can wear until we can get you some of your own clothes. Towels are in the cabinet across from the sink. See you in a few.”
    She shut the door behind her without bothering to wait for me to respond. From the looks of things, the upcoming month spent in close quarters with Nikki was going to be full of sunshine and rainbows.
    With a great deal of groaning and pain, I shed my jacket, my weapons, and the body armor that clung in a way reminiscent of leather to bare skin. Once I managed the contortionist acts necessary to get the clingy material off, I gingerly settled the pile of dirty clothing on the dresser and tucked the weapons, extra ammo, and Amber Kiss perfume into an empty dresser drawer.
    The shower was one of the most heavenly experiences of my life. The pipes rattled a bit, and the water took an age to get hot, but it was a real shower. The warmth of the water sucked the aches right out of my muscles, and I used the crappy bar soap to scour the filth that had collected from my hands and face. I didn’t stop scrubbing until the water spiraling down the drain was clear instead of a dingy gray.
    By the time I finished, I was feeling relatively human again. With my hair lying in a damp tail down my back and the grossly oversized sweats rolled up over my wrists and ankles, I plodded downstairs to join Jack and Nikki again. The scent of steaks and veggies wafting out of the kitchen made me feel a little less awkward about wandering around a strange house in someone else’s borrowed clothes.
    I wasn’t expecting the grumpy siblings to have invited company, and paused with a hand on the door as a few voices drifted out into the hall.
    “... and I don’t see how you can assume the leech didn’t plant her. You have an obsession with this woman, an unhealthy one, and I guarantee you she’ll bring trouble to our door just like she did last time.”
    I didn’t recognize the voice, which was male and edged with aggression. Another unfamiliar voice chimed in.
    “I agree. We cannot trust that she is what she says. Why don’t we kill her now and get it out of the way?”
    I backed up a step, pressing a hand to my mouth. Jack spoke up next, and I wasn’t quite certain if I was thankful that it was in my defense.
    “We don’t know for sure that she’s been infected, and we have literally dozens of better uses we can put her to while she’s still alive. I never said we should trust her, only that we should go along with her little scheme for now, because it might present a better opportunity for us later.”
    A yelp was forced out of me as someone shoved me through the swinging door, sending me stumbling into the room to meet the startled, distrustful eyes of half a dozen hunters. Nikki strolled in behind me, dusting her hands off, and I shot her a dirty look she soon returned