Free Shift - 02 by M. R. Merrick Page A

on a circular rack between some heavy fur coats and ruffled dress shirts. She'll never look here.
    I shuddered as a chill trickled down the back of my neck. I had the strange feeling someone was watching me, and it wasn’t human.
    My eyes moved around the store. People were bustling around racks of clothing. Rayna was trying to pry the leopard print shirt away from Tiki, who was firmly refusing while eyeing the zebra print dress shirt on the rack next to him. I weaved through racks to the front of the shop. Large bay windows let streams of sunlight in, and as I peered through the panes, my nerves clenched.
    The tingle moved back through my spine and I lifted a hand above my eyes, blocking the onslaught of sunlight pouring in.
    My eyes struggled to focus, but as my hand blocked the sun, my eyes opened wide. Riley stood across the street, with the Dark Brothers and a man I didn’t recognize on either side of him. They all peered at me through the rush of traffic driving on the road between us. Panic, anger, and a rush of emotions I couldn’t separate from the rest scorched through me.
    The door slammed open against the front of the building as I pushed through it. I came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the road as more vehicles rushed by.
    A devilish smile played on Riley's lips as I was stranded on the other side. Our eyes locked for only a moment before a string of large trucks and buses passed between us. As the vehicles disappeared, so did they, but the sensation that danced along my skin was still there.
    I searched the sidewalk up and down, scanning each face. Shoulders and elbows shoved into me as I fought through the busy crowd.   A blur of black moved and caught my eye. As the shoulders of people pushed past me, a sharp pain cut through my back. I winced, and my back arched in reaction, absorbing the pain. The blur moved again; this time the pain ripped over my stomach. I keeled over in agony. My eyes darted left and right, looking to each face as it passed me.
    Warmth hit my hands as I held my stomach, and blood seeped through my shirt. Panicked breaths were quick and sharp at the sight of it, and my pulse exploded in my throat.
    Another shoulder bumped me and knocked me to the ground with an inhuman force. I curled up, holding my hands over my stomach as the blood flowed beneath my palms.
    Screaming started as a passing lady pointed and shouted at me. Blood had soaked through my shirt and pooled on the sidewalk beneath me. I ignored the pain and struggled to my feet as the crowd started rushing around me. Panic ensued as more people began to scream.
    “Chase!” A voice yelled, faded behind the screams.
    Every face turned into a cloudy haze. All of them were moving at a speed I knew couldn’t be possible. I turned in circles, desperately searching for Riley.
    “Chase,” the voice yelled again.
    The world around me swirled in a haze and faded to darkness. I shook my head, as though that could stop it, and a flash of light blinded me.
    The air from moving vehicles rushed past me and I was back on the sidewalk. The crowd was gone, and the screaming disappeared with them. I was closer to the edge of the road now, and car horns honked as they drove by in an angry rush.
    “Chase!” Rayna said.
    The pain was gone and my hands searched my body. My stomach and back were untouched, and the blood had disappeared.
    I looked out across the road where Riley had stood, but no one was there. The chill that ran down my spine had faded, Riley was gone, and the Brothers were nowhere to be seen.   No one was here.
    “Chase, I know you can hear me,” Rayna's voice called out.
    I turned around and the expression on her face was angry. She held the blue plaid shirt halfway out the door.
    “Don’t think for a second you're getting away without trying this on.”

Chapter 6
     

    My stomach tightened as I walked into the training room. I didn’t want to be here. Last night was strange enough, but after this afternoon, I