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  CURRENT

  By: Rian Harper

  Copyright © 2018 by Rian Harper

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Terms and Conditions:

  The purchaser of this book is subject to the condition that he/she shall in no way resell it, nor any part of it, nor make copies of it to distribute freely.

  All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer:

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

  Cover design by: Rebecacovers

  Cover photo courtesy of: depositphotos.com

  Prologue

  The poison was taking effect. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was writhe silently in agony as I lie there dying. The fire was engulfing me. As the minutes passed, the flames inched closer to my heart, weakening every beat. My lungs felt like they were full of air, but I couldn’t exhale. All I could see now was a red haze. I wanted so badly to picture her face one last time, but I couldn’t. Nothing but pain of death occupied my thoughts. The last thing I remember before slipping into the blackness of death was the sound of my final heartbeat as it pounded in my ears. Then…silence.

  Chapter 1

  Moving In

  I rolled over and looked at the clock-2:00 a.m. The insomnia that had overtaken me lately was very unwelcome. I just couldn't get my thoughts straight. There was so much I had to do before my new clients came into town. The house I was supposed to show them was not quite ready. The previous owners left the home nearly derelict, and the investor that purchased the property was taking his sweet time finishing the renovations. There was a mountain of paperwork that was sitting on my desk at the office from two previous houses I closed on last week. It seemed like the workload was never ending. I kept telling myself that this much work was a good thing. I was not yet convinced, though.

  Since I was awake, I decided to profile my new clients. Maybe there were some other properties in the home's surrounding area that they might be interested in seeing. They were a middle-aged couple looking to relocate to Burlington. What brought them to the great state of Connecticut, I wasn't sure of. Maybe it was the serenity the town of only a few thousand had to offer. The rolling hills and babbling rivers were soothing to a person wanting to escape a life of mayhem. Regardless of their reason for moving, they were coming tomorrow and I wasn't ready. I looked back at the clock-2:30 a.m. I needed sleep. I breathed deeply and finally dozed off.

  I was awakened by my smart phone blaring the Cranberries. It was 6:00 a.m., and I was not ready to get up. I had a lot to prepare for the day, so the desire to sleep in had to be sacrificed. I rolled out of bed and stumbled toward my kitchen to pour myself some iced latte I made the day prior. I practically inhaled the latte, not tasting it until the glass was empty. Caffeine doesn't work fast enough for me. I set the glass on the granite counter top and sauntered to the bathroom. Hopefully the shower would help wake me up. The hot water and steam seemed to do the trick. I was awake now.

  I scanned my immense wardrobe and picked out a pair of khaki pin-striped trousers and a light green button-up shirt to wear. For a guy, I certainly had a lot of clothes. Clothes were an obsession of mine. It was a good thing for my bank account that we didn't have good clothes stores in town. I changed the sport band on my smart watch to a light brown leather band that was more professional-looking. I checked the time after I fastened the band-6:50 a.m. I filled a to-go cup with a second round of latte, grabbed my keys, phone, sunglasses, and flew out the door.

  It was a short drive to my real estate office. The town was so small, I was the only realtor. People moved in and out frequently though, so I kept busy, or at least busy enough. I worked for a company based out of Hartford, which paid rent on my office every month.

  I scrolled through my playlists that appeared after my phone connected to my new SUV I leased just two weeks prior. I chose a rock playlist and started on my way. I was still exploring the ins and outs of the vehicle. I loved it. The lot had a choice of several colors, but the one I settled on was plain white. I pulled up to my office after only ten minutes. It was a small space in a shopping center, just the right size for one lonely realtor.

  I barely got in the door when my phone started buzzing. I looked at the caller ID with a puzzled expression wondering who could be calling me so early in the morning. I couldn’t identify the number, but answered anyway.

  "Sterling Realty, Burlington office, this is Nate Hudson." - I could have probably sounded more enthusiastic.

  "Hi Nate, this is Debbie Hall."-My pushy client slotted for this afternoon. Perfect.

  I tried to sound like I was excited to hear from her.

  "Good morning Mrs. Hall. Are you ready to see the property this afternoon?"

  "I was actually calling to reschedule." I almost sighed audibly, but caught myself just in time to limit my sense of relief to an inward rejoicing.

  "My husband had to go on a last-minute business trip overseas and we will not be able to make it this afternoon. He will be away for two weeks. Maybe we can reschedule for the seventh?"

  "Let me check my calendar to see what times I have available." I scrolled through the calendar on my phone and noticed I had nothing to do that day.

  "How does two in the afternoon sound Mrs. Hall?"

  "That sounds just fine. I'll see you then unless there is another change of plans. Have a good day Nate."

  "You too Mrs. Hall."

  This was such good news. Hopefully the contractor working on the house the Halls were interested in would be finished when they were ready to come by in two weeks. I was not looking forward to seeing Mrs. Hall's reaction to the shambled state the house was currently in. It probably would have cost me the sale. Their rescheduling also afforded me the time to finish the paperwork that had piled up.

  I promptly entered the appointment into my calendar on my phone so that I wouldn't forget it later. I looked at the clock on the display when I was finished-7:10 a.m. I suddenly became aware of how much sleep I wasn’t able to get the previous night and yawned. The paperwork I needed to finish was neatly stacked on the corner of my mahogany desk. I took the stack and started filing through it, filling in information, checking boxes, and signing where I needed to.

  After what seemed like the entire morning passing by, I looked down at my watch-9:15 a.m. I wasn't nearly finished with the paperwork. Still, I decided it was time to take a small break. I rubbed my finger across the mouse pad on my laptop to wake it up. As soon as the wireless Internet connected, I went to CNN.com to check the news for the day. Nothing much interesting was going on. As I was reading an article on a recent space exploration mission, I could hear very loud banging coming from the vacant space beside my office. I stopped what I was doing and walked outside to peak in the windows. Inside I saw a construction crew of five men. Three of them were clearing debris from the previous occupants, and the other two were building what looked like a shelving unit of sorts. Just as I was about to turn and head back to my office, I heard her voice for the first time.

  "Hi. You're Nathaniel, right?"

  I turned around and froze when I saw her. I had never seen anyone so strikingly beautiful in my life. Her loosely curled dark brown hair shaped her oval face perfectly. Her eyes were intensely electric blue. She seemed to glow, like she was plugged into an electrical outlet. She was magnificent. I finally floated back down to reality and realized she was still talking to me.

  "Hello? You are Nathaniel aren't yo
u?"

  "Uh...yeah. Call me Nate." That was all I could manage to say at the moment.

  "I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you." She reached out to shake my hand. I clumsily took my hand out of my pocket and tentatively reached forward to grab hers. When we touched, it felt like a static shock, only it rippled through my chest and down into my arms and legs, eventually ending as tingling sensations in the tip of every finger and toe.

  "Wow." I whispered.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Oh, nothing. We must have some static electricity around us. You didn't feel the shock just then?"

  "No. I'm sorry. I didn't."

  "Must just be me, then." Great. I was making things up now. I felt like a flaming moron. It took another minute for me to conjure something to say next.

  "So, how do you know my name? I don't think we've met before."

  "Oh. Kenny told me who you were." Kenny was the guy who owns the shopping center in which my office was located. I nodded with understanding. "My brother, Everett, and I are opening up a retro electronics store. This is our shop." She gestured toward the vacant space we were standing in front of with construction workers toiling away in it.

  "Oh, so I'll be seeing a lot of you now that we are corporate neighbors." Corporate neighbors? I'm such a dork. I knew I could do better than that. "How long have you been in town? I usually meet everybody moving in." Considering my profession.

  "We moved in about two weeks ago. We're renting an apartment until we get some money saved up." That explained it. I didn't deal with renters.

  "Well, I should probably get back to work. I'll see you around?" I was wondering if she would catch the hopefulness in my voice.

  "I'll be up here pretty regularly checking on the store's progress. When Everett comes up here, I'll have him pop over and introduce himself."

  "Sounds good."

  I quickly returned to my office and resumed my paperwork. As hard as I tried to concentrate, I couldn't. All I could do was think about Emma.

  I looked at my watch-9:30 a.m. The morning was creeping by so slowly. I was getting hungry, so I decided to go to the diner down the street for a quick breakfast. I walked outside and noticed that Emma was still in the store. Was it too soon to invite her to breakfast with me? What kind of message was I going to be sending her if I asked? I didn't want to scare her off. Maybe she'll think I was rude for not inviting her if she happens down to the diner and sees me there. I was so conflicted. I decided to go for it anyway and ask her to breakfast. What harm could it really do?

  I turned toward her store and started walking. Just as I was reaching for the door I saw someone approaching out of the corner of my eye. I glanced in that direction and saw a man, slightly taller than my six-foot-one stature walking straight toward me. He was bulky and muscular with broad shoulders like a linebacker. His bright blue eyes contrasted his tan skin and dark brown hair. A feel of uneasiness flooded through me as he drew nearer. There was something about the look in his eyes that made me flinch. It was a look of anger mixed with urgency. I couldn't help but wonder if he was coming for me, as there was no one else in sight. Although we were nearly the same height, my lean physique was quite inferior. I was sure he would overpower me if I were his target. He was only a few steps away when he spoke.

  "Excuse me." He sounded highly impatient. He brushed passed me in a rush, nearly knocking me over. He entered Emma's shop without hesitation. Who was this guy? Then it dawned on me. This must be Everett.

  I looked through the glass as he entered and made a bee-line for Emma. His gestures were vehement as he spoke with her. Everett's look of urgency seemed to clone itself on her face. I couldn't help but be curious. When Everett stopped talking, Emma looked away and caught sight of me. Uh-oh. I was unconsciously being nosy. She started walking toward the door. It was too late for me to walk away now. She opened the door looking perturbed.

  "Can I help you?" I was taken aback at the rudeness in her voice.

  "I-I was just going to see if you would-uh like to join me for breakfast at th-the diner."

  "Are you asking me out?"

  "No!" I probably sounded a little too emphatic. "I thought s-since you were new in town that maybe..."

  "Wait." She cut me off. "While I appreciate the thought, I'm very busy at the moment."

  "Of course. I didn't mean to be presumptuous. Sorry." I turned to walk away and felt a hand tug at my arm.

  "Look, I'm sorry. I just have a lot of deal with right now. Don't take it personally."

  "Sure. See you around." All emotion left my voice when I spoke. I was beyond embarrassed.

  I walked away down the street toward the diner with my head down, looking at the ground, hurrying away from the awkward conversation that just ended. I guess it was my fault that I was rebuffed. I should have waited to invite her to do something with me. She completely got the wrong impression. I was not trying to ask her out; although, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to go on a date with her. She was so gorgeous. Luck didn't seem to favor me, though. Hopefully I hadn't scared her off. I decided I would wait a couple of days before trying to talk to her again. I would just stay in my office and mind my own business unless she approached me first. However, somehow I doubted she would be the one to initiate any sort of conversation.

  As I approached the diner, I heard a rumbling thunder in the distance. As OCD as I was, I never remembered to check the weather reports. I looked up at the sky and saw that it was completely overcast. I was hoping the rain would hold off until I finished breakfast and walked back to my office.

  I opened the door to the diner and walked in. It was small with only enough seating for about forty people, including the long bar that stretched across nearly the entire space. Only a few people were in the diner. They were concentrated on a sitcom that was on the flat-screen TV in the corner. I kept my head down and sat at a booth at the far-end of the room. I reached for the menu to take a look at it. It was just a motion. I knew I'd order the same as always—two scrambled eggs, a piece of turkey sausage, and a slice of toast. Still, I never failed to always look at the menu. The waitress came over shortly after I sat down.

  "What can I get you to drink, Nate?"

  "Water with lemon, please Nancy."

  "Will you be having the usual, or are you going to venture into new territory?"

  "I suppose the usual. Thanks, Nancy." She took my menu and walked away.

  I took out my phone and looked at the time-9:45. I opened the Internet browser and started surfing as I waited for my food. I decided it would be prudent if I checked the weather for the next couple of days. It was going to be overcast with a ninety-percent chance of rain for the next three days. This was just great. There is nothing like a few dreary days to go along with the depressing, sleepless funk that I was in. As I sat, brooding about the dismal days that ensued, a breaking news story came across the television. It caught my attention because it interrupted the sitcom with a high-pitched, unnecessarily long beep that couldn't be ignored. The local news anchor started talking:

  "We interrupt the regularly scheduled programming to bring you this breaking news. This morning just before 6 a.m., the body of a young woman was found in the park near the local high school. Officials say that she was apparently attacked and killed while jogging on the trails by a large animal. The local police are working closely with forensics teams from Hartford Police Department to identify the woman and what is responsible for the attack. Until further information is available, we urge everyone in town to stay indoors at night, and be cautious of your surroundings during the day." The broadcast ended abruptly and the sitcom resumed.

  A low murmur spread through the diner occupants. Nothing like this ever happened in the small town of Burlington. Scandals of this magnitude were usually centered in Hartford. There was the occasional robbery, but other than that, Burlington stayed fairly peaceful.

  I sat there wondering what type of animal it could have been. The culprit was most likely a black be
ar. They often wandered into the city limits to forage amongst the garbage, but attacks were never heard of. It was hard to imagine the bears attacking unless they were cornered or rabid. Maybe it was a wolf. I had heard stories of monstrous-sized wolves in Connecticut. Wolves that would make regular dogs look like puppies. That would be a frightening thing to encounter. I couldn't imagine the horror that poor girl felt at the sight of such a beast. Whatever stole the life of that innocent girl was irrelevant. The fact remained that it was still out there. I was hopeful that the authorities would track the creature down quickly and euthanize it. A town having a reputation for gruesome animal attacks was hardly conducive to good business, especially in the realty field.

  I turned my attention back to my phone and fished through the Internet until the waitress arrived with my breakfast.

  "Thanks, Nancy."

  "No problem, Nate. Give a shout if you need anything."

  I glanced out of the window and saw that the sky was now a very dark grey. The clouds were heavy with water, and I knew the bottom would drop out any minute. I rushed through my breakfast and left cash on the table. I gestured towards Nancy as I walked out the door, and she nodded back. It just started drizzling as I stepped out onto the pavement. As I walked with my head down, I could see the bone-white concrete sidewalk become riddled with hundreds of dark wet spots. I picked up my pace to a brisk walk, hoping to avoid getting completely drenched. It was only a few hundred yards to my office door. I felt each raindrop pelt my skin through my shirt. The droplets were ice cold and piercing. I started jogging as the rain came down even harder. I reached the door to my office just as the deluge came down.

  I turned my left wrist over to check the time on my watch-10:15 a.m. I sat down at my desk and resumed my paperwork. Concentrating was difficult. She was there the entire time, in the back of my mind, relentlessly reminding me of her beauty. As the day progressed, it became more and more difficult convincing myself that my feelings were absurd, nothing more than infatuation. One thing was certain, however...I couldn’t stop thinking about her.