Savannah Sacrifice Read Free Page A

Ever since she’d graduated from high school, she’d spent her days getting ready for this trip. The last thing she would do was go back the second she arrived.
    “Are you going to tell me what exactly you are talking about?”
    “If I do, you promise you won’t tell a soul?”
    There was a short pause on the other end of the line. “You aren’t here to kill anyone, are you?”
    She laughed. “No, that’s your job. Remember?”
    “Funny,” he said, his voice steely. “Get ready. We’re heading out at ten. I already got our plane tickets.”
    “I’m not going anywhere. And if you promise to not tell anyone my secret, maybe you can stay. I could use a little help—I can always use a hand with my laundry.”
    “You’re hilarious,” Jasper said drily. “I’ll be over in a minute.” The phone cut off and she sat it back down on the wooden nightstand.
    She slipped on her clothes, feeling her future hanging in the balance. If he decided to help her, he couldn’t assume that she owed him anything. If he helped, it had to be on his accord and regardless of the dangers. More than likely, getting the books would be easy. All she had to do was get down to the bank with the paperwork she had brought and everything would be taken care of—as long as they didn’t look too deeply into the paperwork’s authenticity.
    Starling dug in her purse and pulled out the key ring she had looked at a thousand times. The safe deposit box’s key slipped to the front of the ring, and she read the words inscribed on its brass surface: Do not duplicate. First National Bank, Savannah, GA .
    Grabbing her smartphone, she tapped in the first letters and her regular search popped up. Maybe this time it would find something new, something she had missed. She hit enter. Lines of purple websites flipped onto the screen, each one reading: Bank Officers Indicted for Multimillion Dollar Fraud .
    Clicking on the top find, she read through the page. At the bottom: Unclaimed safe deposit boxes will be held by the acquiring institution, The Savannah Bank . She clicked through until she found the directions to the bank from the hotel.
    A sense of hope crept through her, but inadequacy and doubt followed close on hope’s heels. The only thing left she hadn’t tried was prayer.
    She bowed her head.
    My Goddess, Epione, please help me find success. I just need something, something to help me get rid of the guilt I feel and the spirits who threaten me.
    There was a knock. Starling made her way over and opened the door. Jasper leaned against the side of the wall, his arms crossed over his chest like he’d been waiting for ten minutes rather than a few seconds. She couldn’t help but notice a little splash of shaving cream at the corner of his freshly shaven jaw. She wanted to reach up and wipe away the bit of froth, but instead she did nothing. It was nice to see that even he, the shadow, was imperfect.
    “So what are you up to?” he asked, barely moving a muscle. “Why would you run away from home to a place like Savannah?” He paused for a second. “This city is a spirit hotspot. Is that why you chose to come here?”
    “If I had my way, I wouldn’t have anything to do with spirits, in their hotspot or out of it.” She grabbed her purse and phone and walked out of the room. “I came here because the spirits told me I had to. They’ve threatened that if I don’t get some books from a safe deposit box, they will keep coming after me.”
    “Why didn’t you tell someone you were being threatened?”
    Now there was a suggestion from someone who clearly had no contact with the spiritual world. “For starters, do you really think it would make anything better? No one can help me, so why should I complain? And what would I have told Harper or Chance? To get everything ready for this trip, I had to steal the safe deposit box keys from Harper. Then I had to forge the will and everything else the bank is going to need to get to the box. I