Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

on his jeans, his eyes searching every inch of the floor. Moonlight pouring through the sliding glass door provided enough light for him to search every corner of the room. With his training ingrained in him, Matt chose not to turn on the light and give their position away to the enemy. He might have dismissed the phone cal as hysteria or a nightmare, but he had been around the Drake sisters long enough now to see the strange things Jonas sometimes spoke of and to know to take them seriously.
    “I’l cal you later, El e,” Kate said, her eyes mirroring her fright. “Thank you for the warning.” She placed the receiver in its cradle and looked up at Matt. “She’s never wrong, Matthew. Do you have a basement? Maybe whatever it is has found a way to get in through the basement.”
    He shook his head. “There is no actual basement. I did take the space beneath the deck and create storage rooms and a lab to develop photographs.” Their eyes met in sudden silence.
    Kate slid out of bed and caught up his shirt, the nearest article of clothing she could wrap herself in. “Do you have mistletoe in the house, Matthew?”
    “No, but it grows in several of the trees outside near the deck. I’ve stood on my deck to knock it out of the branches a few times.”
    Quickly buttoning the shirt, she fol owed him on bare feet. He didn’t like her exposed to danger, but at least he could keep an eye on her if she were with him. He reached back to take her hand. She looked smal and vulnerable in his too-large shirt with her hair tousled from their lovemaking. He bent his head and kissed her, a brief hard kiss of reassurance. Kate’s public image was always neat and elegant. He liked that Kate very much. He loved the one with him now. His sexy, passionate, private Kate, with her hair mussed and her delicate skin red from his five o’clock shadow. Nothing was going to harm her. Nothing.
    Kate felt her heart beating wildly in her chest. She tightened her fingers around Matt’s hand. Matt slid open the glass door leading outside. The wind rushed in, bringing a cold chil and the scent of the salty air. The roar of the ocean was loud, whereas before the wal s of the house had muffled it.
    She glanced nervously out toward the open sea, afraid of seeing the gray fog, but the ocean’s surface was clear.
    “Kate.” Matt said her name as a warning.
    Kate froze and dropped her gaze to the sand below them. It was wet from the continual pounding of the waves, rol ing up onto the beach and receding according to the tide. There was a clear trail of boot prints, coming out of the ocean, and marks alongside them that indicated something heavy had been dragged. Kelp lay in tangles along the path toward the stairs leading up to Matthew’s home. There was a heavy dark stain, much like oil in several spots in the sand. Kate wanted a closer look and stepped out onto the deck.
    Matt pul ed her back and thrust her behind him. “It doesn’t feel right to me.” He had long ago learned to rely on his survival instincts when something wasn’t right. “Stay in the house, Kate.”
    “The fog isn’t out there anymore,” she pointed out, but she stayed behind him, holding tight to his hand. “Should we cal Jonas?”
    Matt sighed. “I imagine El e cal ed him. Don’t al your sisters cal him when something supernatural happens? I don’t think the poor man’s had a night’s sleep since Sarah came home.”
    “Supernatural? I never thought of it like that. We’ve always had certain gifts. We were born with them, and using them seems as natural as breathing. Some people cal us witches, and others just think we’re able to use magic, but it’s different. More. And less. I wish I could explain it.” Kate frowned up at him. “It’s natural to us.”
    Matt pushed her hair from her face, his fingers lingering in the silky strands. He tucked her hair behind her ear, the gesture tender. “You don’t have to explain it. I’m a believer, Kate.” He paused and drew in a deep breath. “Something’s wrong. We’re not going out on the deck. Come through the house with me.” Matt silently slid the glass door closed, lifting his gaze to the night sky, where patches of dark, ominous clouds floated lazily.
    Deliberately he didn’t turn on any lights as he led her through the house. He paused long enough to slip a leather sheath around his calf. Kate’s eyes widened as he shoved a long knife down into it. “Do you think that’s