The Shadow Stealer (Silver Moon Saga Book 3) by Melissa Giorgio Page B
Authors: Melissa Giorgio
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three months.
The cab rolled to a stop. I stood on the pavement, staring up at an unfamiliar apartment building. “Where are we?” My voice was low, a soft whisper, and I was surprised Rafe even heard me over the sound of traffic.
He was also staring up at the building, and he let out a sigh before answering me. “This is where I used to live. With my parents.”
My mouth parted open in surprise. I knew Rafe had lived in the city up until a few years ago, when he and Evan had moved upstate to be closer to Alexandra, but I didn’t expect him to still rent an apartment. I thought, like Evan, he had cut all his ties to the past.
You know what? I didn’t care. I was so weary, and this was closer than home. I understood why Rafe had brought me here. He didn’t think I could survive the trip home.
I think he’s right.
When it became clear I wasn’t going to answer, he gently tugged me forward, into the building. In the lobby we waited for an elevator, riding it to the third floor. We passed doors on both sides of the carpeted hallway before pausing in front of apartment 306. Rafe pulled out his car keys and shuffled through them before finding the key he wanted. Even in my foggy, dream-like state, I still felt a pang of sadness for him. After all this time, he still carries the key.
To Rafe, this would always be home.
He hesitated slightly before turning the key and unlocking the door. Stepping inside, he held the door open for everyone else. It opened into a small living room with a couch, TV, and a coffee table. That surprised me. I had expected an apartment sparsely furnished, and instead it looked like a place just waiting for its occupants to come home. It was dusty, however, reminding me that no one had lived here for a long, long time.
Rafe was saying something to Evan and Alexandra behind me. I shook my head, my hearing muffled, as if I’d plunged my head underwater. I was trying so desperately to hold onto my sanity, but each second took me closer and closer to losing it all.
To fully understanding what Charles had said.
To realizing she was gone.
Permanently.
Mom was dead.
The floor lurched dangerously underneath me, and I was falling before I even realized it. My knees collided with the wood floor with a hollow thump, but I didn’t register any pain. I heard Rafe shout my name, as if from a distance, and then everything went black.
Chapter Fourteen
My eyes fluttered open. I was stretched out across a small bed in an unfamiliar room, underneath the room’s only window. Light from a streetlamp outside cast the room in a gray pallor, and I could make out faded posters of baseball players hanging on the walls. Sitting up, I winced as my knees throbbed dully. Rafe was sitting in a desk chair next to the bed. For a moment I thought he was asleep, but then he leaned toward me, whispering, “Hey.”
“Hey.” I undid my ponytail and ran my hands through my messy bedhead. “Where—” I paused, looking at the posters again. “Is this your room?”
“Yep.” Rafe nodded. “How’d you guess?”
His voice was light, teasing, and at that moment I was so grateful for that, so grateful to him for trying to distract me from the pain and memories of the day that I had to choke back tears before answering. “Mmm, I think the posters gave it away.”
“Don’t forget these.” Rafe turned on a small lamp on his bedside table and pointed to a shelf across from the bed. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, and when they did, I saw that the shelf was crammed with baseball trophies.
I pulled my knees up to my chin, wrapping my arms around them. “Is it hard, being here?”
“A little,” Rafe admitted. “Even though I use the money my parents left me to pay the rent every month, I haven’t been back in years—didn’t think I’d ever be back, in fact, but this afternoon…”
“I didn’t leave you much choice.” I gingerly rested my head against my knees, which I must have
The cab rolled to a stop. I stood on the pavement, staring up at an unfamiliar apartment building. “Where are we?” My voice was low, a soft whisper, and I was surprised Rafe even heard me over the sound of traffic.
He was also staring up at the building, and he let out a sigh before answering me. “This is where I used to live. With my parents.”
My mouth parted open in surprise. I knew Rafe had lived in the city up until a few years ago, when he and Evan had moved upstate to be closer to Alexandra, but I didn’t expect him to still rent an apartment. I thought, like Evan, he had cut all his ties to the past.
You know what? I didn’t care. I was so weary, and this was closer than home. I understood why Rafe had brought me here. He didn’t think I could survive the trip home.
I think he’s right.
When it became clear I wasn’t going to answer, he gently tugged me forward, into the building. In the lobby we waited for an elevator, riding it to the third floor. We passed doors on both sides of the carpeted hallway before pausing in front of apartment 306. Rafe pulled out his car keys and shuffled through them before finding the key he wanted. Even in my foggy, dream-like state, I still felt a pang of sadness for him. After all this time, he still carries the key.
To Rafe, this would always be home.
He hesitated slightly before turning the key and unlocking the door. Stepping inside, he held the door open for everyone else. It opened into a small living room with a couch, TV, and a coffee table. That surprised me. I had expected an apartment sparsely furnished, and instead it looked like a place just waiting for its occupants to come home. It was dusty, however, reminding me that no one had lived here for a long, long time.
Rafe was saying something to Evan and Alexandra behind me. I shook my head, my hearing muffled, as if I’d plunged my head underwater. I was trying so desperately to hold onto my sanity, but each second took me closer and closer to losing it all.
To fully understanding what Charles had said.
To realizing she was gone.
Permanently.
Mom was dead.
The floor lurched dangerously underneath me, and I was falling before I even realized it. My knees collided with the wood floor with a hollow thump, but I didn’t register any pain. I heard Rafe shout my name, as if from a distance, and then everything went black.
Chapter Fourteen
My eyes fluttered open. I was stretched out across a small bed in an unfamiliar room, underneath the room’s only window. Light from a streetlamp outside cast the room in a gray pallor, and I could make out faded posters of baseball players hanging on the walls. Sitting up, I winced as my knees throbbed dully. Rafe was sitting in a desk chair next to the bed. For a moment I thought he was asleep, but then he leaned toward me, whispering, “Hey.”
“Hey.” I undid my ponytail and ran my hands through my messy bedhead. “Where—” I paused, looking at the posters again. “Is this your room?”
“Yep.” Rafe nodded. “How’d you guess?”
His voice was light, teasing, and at that moment I was so grateful for that, so grateful to him for trying to distract me from the pain and memories of the day that I had to choke back tears before answering. “Mmm, I think the posters gave it away.”
“Don’t forget these.” Rafe turned on a small lamp on his bedside table and pointed to a shelf across from the bed. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light, and when they did, I saw that the shelf was crammed with baseball trophies.
I pulled my knees up to my chin, wrapping my arms around them. “Is it hard, being here?”
“A little,” Rafe admitted. “Even though I use the money my parents left me to pay the rent every month, I haven’t been back in years—didn’t think I’d ever be back, in fact, but this afternoon…”
“I didn’t leave you much choice.” I gingerly rested my head against my knees, which I must have
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