Witch Fire Read Free Page A

scooped out a wad of one-dollar bills, and stuffed them into the pink pig cookie jar on her counter. She was that much closer to night school now. It felt good to have a goal. It gave her life purpose.
    Standing in the middle of her kitchen, she smiled. Be it ever so humble. Her apartment consisted of one tiny bedroom, an infinitesimal bathroom, a miniscule kitchen with no dishwasher, and a teeny-weeny living room. The place was dark and decorated with mismatched secondhand furniture.
    It was a dump.
    But it was her dump. Her smile widened. For once in her life she had a place that was all hers. It might not be much, but it was freedom.
    The message light on the recorder blinked at her. She walked over and hit play.
    â€œMira,” came Ben’s voice. “I want my stereo. I’ve told you a hundred times, that’s my—” She hit Delete. The bastard had cheated on her nonstop during their marriage. When she’d found out, she’d been forced to have a checkup for STDs. STDs! She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling that familiar mixture of betrayal and shame.
    She was keeping the damn stereo.
    Mira had met Ben in college. He’d been nearly finished with his law degree, and once he’d graduated, they’d married. Ben had somehow convinced her to quit pursuing her degree in psychology to try and get pregnant. He was making enough money to support them both and he’d professed to really want children. He’d landed a job at a local law firm and, while they hadn’t been well off, they’d been able to make ends meet in those early years.
    Luckily, she’d never managed to conceive. Mira did want kids, but not while Ben had been off trying to make babies with half the female population of Minnesota. Once she’d discovered Ben’s numerous affairs and all his lies, she’d confronted him and demanded a divorce that very same day.
    She had been heartbroken, but any remaining love she’d had for Ben had evaporated in the ensuing divorce proceedings. Ben had fought her every step of the way. Mira was still paying legal fees, but she’d managed to get some spousal maintenance out of him, at least for the time it took her to finish up her psychology degree.
    Anger rose up in her for a moment, so severe it nearly choked her. Ben had lied to her continuously. She’d given him years of her life, her trust, and her love, and he’d treated the feelings she had for him like trash. Treated her like trash.
    She’d been so stupid to quit school and rely on him financially. At the time, she’d been so in love with him she could never have imagined Ben would be unfaithful. She thought her life would be like the lives of her friends. Even if she didn’t have a career, she’d have kids, a great marriage, be happy.
    Obviously, such things weren’t meant for her.
    He’d taken the house in Eden Prairie. She hadn’t wanted it. She’d wanted her own place, free of memories and flush with the promise of a fresh start. Besides the temporary spousal support, she’d taken very little from her old residence in a bid to create a new life for herself.
    Tears burned her eyes, and she blinked them away. Wallowing in self-pity was the least productive thing she could do. Anyway, she’d been free of Ben and his lies for six months and every day her life got better.
    Mira glanced around her apartment a little less certainly than she had a moment before.
    Right?
    She chased away the flicker of doubt with a shake of her head and hit the button to play the next message. The creepy sound of a man breathing filled the apartment. No words, no voice, just the strangely threatening sound of breathing.
    Mira shuddered. After feeling like being watched, she really didn’t need prank calls like that. She hit Delete and stepped away from the recorder, feeling every hair on her body rise. Normally, she’d laugh it off, but not tonight. Tonight it made