Dark Forest (Secret Blood, Book 1) Read Free

her keys out of her pocket.
    He stepped to the side to let her open the door. “Guys like him are dangerous. He’ll say whatever he needs to in order to get what he wants.”
    She opened the door. “I am not clueless.”
    He followed her down the short hallway, and then up the stairs. “I didn’t think you were.”
    Rose looked over her shoulder at him before she shook her head and focused on getting to the top of the third floor walkup. The wooden beams in the basement were crumbling, but she’d loved the horribleness of this place. It was too hot in the summer, and too cold in the winter, and the doors never closed right, but it had been the only place available when she’d gotten home from college. She opened the door, and walked into the apartment, empty except for the last two suitcases sitting by the door. “That’s it.”
    “You know Grams set us up for me to help you,” Aiden said as he easily hefted both bags.
    Rose gave a soft laugh. “Probably, but it would be more difficult if you weren’t always lurking in the shadows.”
    “I don’t…” He stopped and made that suspicious growling sound. “It’s a small town. People are falling all over each other.”
    “So you’re…” She decided not to ask. “Let’s just get the bags in the car.”
    “Great idea,” Aiden said gruffly.
    Rose headed down first to open the door for him. She put the key to the apartment into her mailbox for Old Man Riters to pick up and walked to her car where Grams waited. “I guess that’s it,” she said to Grams. “It will probably be another ten years before there’s another place to rent in this town.”
    Grams patted her shoulder. “It’s all right. You’ll always have a room with me.”
    “Thank you, Grams.” She took a step toward the trunk. “Aiden, if you could just put the bags in the trunk, it would be great.”
    Aiden loaded her bags into the trunk. Their bodies brushed when he straightened. The air sparked between them. Aiden stepped back. Rose turned her head. “Okay. Grams. Get in.” She made the small chirping, nervous noise she often made when Aiden was too close, and then ushered Grams to the passenger side of the car. After making sure she was buckled in, she nearly ran into Aiden on her return trip to the other side of the car. She stared at her feet. “Thank you for your help. See you around.”
    “I’ll meet you there,” Aiden said. “Grams has a backed-up sink.”
    Rose muttered a curse under her breath. She left him to walk to where he’d parked his truck while she approached the driver’s door. She liked Aiden. He was this quiet, overly sweet man whose face always softened when he looked at her. The one problem with it was the description could make him the perfect boyfriend or a classic serial killer. She got into the car, put the key into the ignition, and…nothing. She tried turning it over again, but nothing happened. The engine didn’t even crank. She white-knuckled the steering wheel as she reined in her temper. After two deep breaths, she looked at Grams. “It won’t start.”
    “Obvious, dear.” The old woman stretched up and turned in her seat. “Aiden hasn’t pulled out yet. Maybe he can look at it.”
    Rose scowled at her. If Grams knew anything about cars, Rose would bet money the old woman disabled it as part of the nefarious plot to get her and Aiden to hook up. “I’ll be right back.”
    She got out of the car and popped the hood. Her stomach clenched. “Aiden! Aiden!”
    He was standing next to her in a heartbeat. “What’s going…oh, hell.” He leaned down to inspect the battery cables.
    They’d been cut. Rose pulled her red hoodie tighter around her as if it could protect her from whoever cut the cables. “Call Sheriff Jones?”
    “Yes.” He did growl. There was no mistaking the sound. “Get Grams out of the car. I’ll move my truck.”
    Rose stared at him. How had he heard her in the truck, which was stopped in the middle of traffic, and