The Reaping (The Reapers Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

faced him, and pulled my earbuds from my ears, expecting to see a very drunk stranger or an acquaintance looking for whatever female company came his way. I was ready to start running again after a firm, “No, thank you.”
    Instead, I found myself facing Officer Reid. The man’s eyes were red-rimmed and blood-shot, but he spoke clearly when he said, “Whoa, Ice Princess, what’s your hurry? This is Reid’s hangout, so I figure you must be looking for me.”
    My first instinct screamed to run away as fast as I could, but I found, to my surprise, that I wanted answers. “How do you know Landon used to call me that?”
    Reid gave me a twisted, empty smile. “I’ve already explained this to you, Kelsey. Why don’t you come back in with me, and we can discuss it over a beer?”
    “No, thank you, Officer. I want to finish my run. Just tell me why you’re playing this game. Why are you pretending to be Landon?”
    His smile vanished. “I showed you, Kelsey. I showed you in your dream that I am Landon. I have to use this idiot’s body when he is stoned or drunk, and it’s not enough. I want a healthy body so I can live right this time. I want your body.”
    His hands were in tight fists by his sides, his cheeks red from more than the chill air or his intoxication. I knew I should try not to make him angrier, but I just didn’t feel like being nice to the crazy psycho who was screwing with my mind and taking advantage of me. “I don’t remember any dream, and I don’t believe for a second that you’re Landon. As for my body, I don’t feel like sharing, thank you anyway.”
    I was running before the last word was out, back toward my apartment and away from him.
    I heard steps behind me, and he yelled, “I am Landon. You know I’m Landon. I’m still here!”
    I increased my pace and put my ear buds back in. Once I had gone about a block, I turned and looked back, but no one followed me. A bit shaky, my heart beating faster than normal, I kept my pace to a jog until I had calmed down a bit.

 
     
     
CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    By the time I got back to the apartment, the sky had darkened and small snowflakes had begun drifting down. Normally, I would have been happy to see the snow, but I felt numb. I remembered the girl I used to be, before Mom had spread the news of my ghostly abilities to everyone in town, standing in the snow and laughing, catching the flakes on my tongue. But I was not that girl anymore. Somewhere along the way, the beauty and pleasures of life had lost their sparkle.
    That spark of uncontrollable joy lay asleep in me, and it seemed it would never reawaken. As much as I loved living in Colorado and being anonymous, I often felt like I walked on a narrow street with raging white water on either side of me. On one side was the chance everyone in Briarton would learn my secret, and on the other rested the possibility I would be consumed by my own lies. In the beginning, I had been sure that the passage of time would make me less afraid and more comfortable in my new, normal life, but I found I was becoming more afraid, instead. With every day that passed, I had more to lose. Now Reid and/or Landon were threatening to take everything I had worked so hard to get.
    As I finished my run, I felt no more relaxed or grounded than when I’d started. I might be able to believe Reid was playing a sick joke on me but that didn’t explain my dream. It didn’t seem possible the two could be coincidence. Which meant either I was psychic, or Landon was actually squatting in Reid’s body. At the moment, I found the former easier to accept. No ghost had ever been able to enter my dreams before, much less the body of a living person. And I was pretty sure I’d rather be psychic than live in a world where ghosts could jump into and control the living.
    I walked back into the apartment, simultaneously relieved and disappointed to find Angelica wasn’t there. If she had been, I might have confided in her. I needed