Till Death(95)

Hope sparked. “Miranda—”

A roar blasted through the room, and my head jerked up. Jason was on his feet, arm and knife raised in the air. He raced toward me. My heart felt like it stopped in my chest as I lifted the skillet, fully preparing to bash his skull into the rest of the wall. I swung, but Jason sidestepped at the last second, and I hit air.

I cried out as pain shot up my arm and into my shoulder. The skillet slipped from my fingers, clanging off the floor. Before I could react, another burst of pain exploded alongside my head. My legs gave out once more and I hit the floor. For a horrifying moment, I thought he’d stabbed me in the head, but it had been his fist.

Jason grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked me onto my feet. “You think we’re done? That I’m going to go down that easy? Oh, fuck no.” He circled an arm around my neck and started walking. “I’m not going to die here and neither are you.”

Dazed, I stumbled over my own feet as he half dragged, half carried me toward the back door. Instinct screamed at me to fight back, but I was having a hard time getting the message from my brain to my limbs.

Shoving open the back door, he veered to the left, toward the staff staircase. I tried to grab the frame of the door, but he pulled me through. All it took was seconds. Seconds. That was it, and we were in front of the cellar door.

The scent of earth and dampness invaded my senses as he forced me into the main cellar. I grabbed at his arm, my nails digging into his shirt as he continued in the darkness and through another door—the wine cellar. The light was on, and I suddenly thought of what James had said about the light being on down here.

I struggled in his hold. “What are you—?”

“I didn’t say you could talk.” Reaching around me, he shoved aside a rack of wine. The bottles rattled as the entrance to the unused part of the cellar came into view. “Ever been down here?” he said.

I didn’t get a chance to respond.

Jason shoved me into the dark room. I fell forward, blindly throwing out my hands. I went down, my palms smacking off the dirt-packed floor. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness.

“You haven’t.” He walked around me, confident in where he was stepping. “No one comes into this part. Probably should’ve. Too late now.”

My breath caught as a light came on suddenly, flooding the space with dull yellow light. I sucked in dusty, dank air and shrank back as my gaze flew over the damp bricks and the floor.

There was a crumpled body lying in the corner, lying on his side. I recognized the old, worn flannel shirt. “James!” I cried out.

Jason blocked me, standing between us. “Don’t even think about moving.”

“Is he . . . is he dead?” The words tumbled out as I stared around Jason’s legs. I didn’t see him move.

“I don’t know. Took the knock to the head like a champ,” Jason replied without an ounce of compassion. “I like the guy, but he came down here this morning, poking around. My fault. Should’ve turned that damn light off. If he isn’t dead, he’ll be dead soon enough.”

My God . . .

Praying that James was okay and that he would somehow survive this, I looked around the room. Rope hung from the old metal hooks embedded deep into the stone. Some of it was frayed. Pieces had rust-colored splotches. Scratches dug deep into sections of the stone, as if an animal . . . or a person had attempted to claw their way out.

And they had.

Oh God, someone had been down here, and they’d scratched at the stone in desperation. What appeared to be chips of fingernails were broken off in the marks, and the ground had stains, dark and muddy-looking stains. Stuck to the wall, above the horrifying marks, were items. A floral scarf. A badge. A woman’s blouse—

“Like what I’ve done with the place?” Jason asked.

I saw it—saw it all—and it reminded me of another time when the light had finally come on, and I saw the horror around me, the horror I’d been held captive in. This wasn’t just a cellar. This was a tomb.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

Jason had been holding them here, those poor women, killing them in the cellar under the Scarlet Wench.





Chapter 29




I almost couldn’t process what I was seeing as I rose to my knees and it had nothing to do with the blows to the head.

“You have Miranda to thank for me knowing about this part of the cellar,” Jason said, standing in front of me. “And yourself. Do you remember telling me about the tunnels when we were in college?”

Pressing my lips together, I didn’t answer.

“You guys were talking about how creepy the cellar was,” he continued. “Not sure if you realize this or not, but those bricks came down in the cemetery ages ago. I took them down before we took you.”

I jerked.

“I used to come in here when you were sleeping, walk around the inn. You had no idea. Every once in a while, I visited, even after you left town. I guess it made me feel like I was still close to you.” He knelt, and I lifted my chin. Blood trickled down the side of his face. “I had complete access to this place. Made copies of the keys just in case someone closed up the entrance. Could’ve done anything this whole entire time.”

My stomach turned. There was a good chance I was going to be sick, knowing that he’d been in this house when my mom was here, alone and completely unaware.