Till Death(57)

Someone had gone in there and entered the house. You couldn’t pay me a million bucks to go down there. The amount of spiders alone gave me nightmares.

But Derek had been right. That wall was down, and the first thing I was doing when I got back was finding some boards, nails, and a hammer. The cellar door was going to get boarded up.

I backed out of the mausoleum, stopping abruptly when I heard a snapping sound behind me. A cold chill snaked down my spine and the hair along my neck rose. I turned sharply, hand tightening on the flashlight. I half expected to find someone standing behind me, but there was no one there.

Twigs snapped to my left. I twisted toward the sound, but I still saw nothing through the bare low-hanging branches. My gaze darted around the cemetery, beyond the stone wall, and across the yard that led to one of the nearby homes. Nothing moved, but tiny bumps spread across my skin.

Anyone could be out here.

Anyone.

Unnerved, I turned off the flashlight and hightailed my behind out of the cemetery. Once inside the house, I closed the door and locked it behind me.

After placing the flashlight on the counter, I shrugged off my jacket and my gaze coasted over the corkboard. I draped my jacket over the hook and started to leave when I whipped back so fast my head started pounding.

I ignored the pain as I walked toward the corkboard, scanning it more closely. There were the extra room keys, labeled clearly. Another was an extra set to the inn doors. Another set for the carriage house. There were Mom’s truck keys, and then the next spot was empty.

But it wasn’t supposed to be.

Angela’s house key was missing.

*

She’d come so close, so incredibly close to my secret, so close I could almost reach out and touch her.

And she had no idea.

I wanted to laugh.

I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck and watch the life seep out of her eyes.

Even right now she had no idea I was there, watching her lock the door behind her, like that could help her. A smile curved up the corners of my lips. I could gain access to her anytime I wanted. I always could. Close up the tunnels outside. Lock the doors. I could get in.

Because I’ve always been here.

I bit my lip as she walked over to the corkboard by the door. Her brows pinched together as she studied it. Right now, I could take her.

No one would ever know what happened to her.

Like it should’ve been the first time.

But I could take her.

I’d almost done so when she lay unconscious, could’ve easily taken her, but that would’ve been too easy and this would’ve been over too quickly.

And I wasn’t ready for that.

Because I still wanted to play.





Chapter 17




Snatching my cellphone off the counter where it was charging, I immediately called Cole.

Luckily he answered on the third ring with an amused “Babe, I’m standing here naked and dripping. You miss me already?”

Naked and dripping?

“Sasha?”

Okay. That effectively distracted me for a couple of seconds. I blinked away the fantastic image of him. “Angela’s house key is missing.”

“What?” All amusement was gone from his tone.

“Her house key is missing.” I walked to the pocket door and peered out into the dining room, making sure it was still empty. “She kept an extra key to her house here, and I know I saw it yesterday morning before the whole stair incident.”

“Shit. You sure?”

“Positive,” I said, turning from the door. “That key was there and now it’s not. I haven’t asked my mom if she did something with it, but I doubt she did.”

“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ll be over in about an hour. Do me a favor and don’t touch anything in that room from here on out, okay? Make sure no one else does.”

“All right.”

“I’m going to get on the phone with some people. One of them is the detective working on Angela’s case. He may show up before me. You good with that?”

“Of course.” I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.

“Perfect.” There was a pause, and I sort of wondered if he was still naked. Not the best thing to focus on, but I couldn’t help myself. “That’s very good of you to remember.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Hanging up, I laid my cell on the table and left to find Mom. She was upstairs in the laundry room, and when I told her what I discovered, she was more than a little unnerved, but relieved that Cole was sending someone over. In her mind, he had it handled.

“The man you saw was in here to get Angela’s key?” She stated it even though I hadn’t. “You sure it wasn’t Ethan?”

“I’m pretty positive it wasn’t him, but if it were, do you think he would’ve just left me to lie there?”

She shook her head as she placed a flat sheet on the bench. “I didn’t know that boy well, but that doesn’t sound like him.”

“Plus, wouldn’t he have a key?”

“You’d think.” She folded one end of the linen over.

I thought about what Cole had said, that Ethan and Angela had a fight that day. “How was Angela and Ethan’s relationship?”