The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) by Pembroke Sinclair Page A

him. After all, she really couldn’t blame him for not interfering in Wes’s business. She would’ve hated it if her mom butted in to her life. Randy was just trying to let his son do what he needed to do. It was unfair for her to be upset with him. She sighed. It wasn’t worth worrying about at the moment.
    Leaning to her right, she plugged her phone into the charger before getting up to brush her teeth. It was quarter to nine—early—but she was tired. She contemplated watching TV with her mom, but pushed the thought out of her head. She’d fall asleep on the couch. Might as well just head straight to bed. She thought about reading a book, but her eyes probably wouldn’t stay open long enough. No. It was best to give in and close her eyes. When she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she headed back to her room. Mom was coming upstairs at the same time.
    “I was wondering where you were. You wanna watch TV with me?”
    Katie shook her head. “No. I want to go to bed.”
    Mom wrapped Katie in a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Of course. You’ve been through a lot. You need to get some rest.” She released Katie so she could head into her room. “Randy tells me you’ve offered to go with him to pick up Wes tomorrow.”
    Katie leaned against her door and nodded. “Yeah.” She yawned. “Is that all right with you?”
    Mom brushed her fingers across Katie’s cheek. “That’s absolutely fine. I’ll call the school in the morning and let them know you won’t be there. But you’re responsible for making up any work you miss.”
    Katie sighed. “I know. I will.”
    Mom kissed her on the forehead. “All right. Good night. I’ll see you in the morning. Love you.”
    “Night. Love you too.”
    Katie closed her door and headed for her bed. She slid under the covers, the coolness inviting on her bare feet. She settled onto her pillow, the softness cradling her head, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
    A throbbing pain pulsed through Katie’s arm, pulling her out of her slumber. She raised her head wearily, trying to figure out what was going on. Why did her arm hurt? She blinked a few times to wake up further. At some point, she had rolled onto her injury. She pulled it out from under her and flopped onto her back. That wasn’t how she wanted to get woken up. She fidgeted for a while, trying to find a comfortable position, but the pain in her limb wouldn’t stop. She glanced at the clock: 3:33. Maybe she should get up and take some more ibuprofen. The thought of getting out of bed made her groan. Her arm may have been throbbing, but her bed was so warm, so comfortable, she didn’t really want to leave. Maybe if she closed her eyes and thought about something else, the pain would go away. She squeezed her eyelids shut and attempted to let her mind drift into unconsciousness.
    “You never answered my text.”
    The whisper sounded in Katie’s ear, causing her heart to stop beating for a moment and her breath to catch in her throat. She shot up, ready to leap out of bed to the door, her eyes wide with fear. She clutched her covers, ready to pull them over her head, like they would form a barrier between her and whoever was in her room. A dark figure sat next to her on the bed. Her eyes drifted toward the door. She wouldn’t make it before the person grabbed her, but if she screamed, her mom could be at her aid in a few seconds.
    “I’m not going to hurt you.” The voice was louder and familiar.
    Katie leaned over and grabbed her phone. She would have turned on the light, but she knew it would be too bright, temporarily blinding her. At that moment, the last thing she wanted to do was lose sight of who was in her room. Using the light from her screen, she illuminated the figure. The blue hue cast weird shadows across Josh’s face, making his features seem pointy and prominent. Shadows extended from the corner of his eyes onto his forehead, looking almost like eyebrows set at an