The New Husband(106)

Blood thrummed in Nina’s ears as her vision went black. Fear added weight to her body, pulling her down, down into nothingness. Again that smell, musty and rancid, wafted from Glen’s prison, powerful enough to make her eyes water and sharpen her focus. She came to, snapping into herself.

She fixed her gaze on Glen. The despair in his eyes filled her with profound sorrow. Glen inched forward, the rattle of his chain making Nina cringe.

Get out! Get out! Get out!

The voice in her head was back, screaming to her this time.

Nina emerged from her fog and began to crawl toward Glen, her body trembling. She entered the room partway, reaching for the chain, pulling uselessly on his restraints.

Glen pursed his lips, still blinking, working hard to speak the words that were starting to form.

“He has the key,” he managed, his eyes traveling to the heavy-duty lock securing the ankle restraint to his body. “The chain is welded to the base. You can’t break it.”

Nina saw such pain in Glen’s eyes. Was that for all he had done or for what Simon would do to them? Daisy was elated, her tail wagging like wipers in a rainstorm. The room may have been soundproof, but it couldn’t block out Daisy’s incredible sense of smell.

“I’m so sorry,” Glen said, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

Nina was checking the key ring for one that might unlock Glen’s restraint, but put them away to take his hand in hers. His skin was raw and brittle. Their eyes met, and when he didn’t look away, when his eyes never left her face, she took in his grief and his sorrow and knew with certainty he’d been down here since his disappearance. He’d been living in the room behind the stairs for nearly two years.

“Oh, Glen, no, no, I’m the one who’s sorry.” Nina’s voice broke as tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”

“How long have you been in the house?” Glen sounded like he’d just come out of a dream. “The room is soundproof. I can’t hear a thing in here.”

“Not long,” Nina said, forgetting for a moment the time she had spent in the bedroom.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Glen said. “He’ll know.”

“No, I turned off the alarm, and Simon’s at school. We’re safe.”

The hairs rising on her arms didn’t agree.

“There’s … there’s a backup system.” Glen croaked out the words, his voice hoarse, weak as an old man’s. “It’s hooked up to his phone. If anyone comes inside the house when he’s not here, he’ll know it. Get out. Get out now and call for help.”

Panic rose in her. Prisoner or not, Glen was the one thinking more clearly, and if he had known how long she’d spent reading the diary, he’d have yelled at her to run. A plan formed in her mind: she’d flee, get outside, and drive a safe distance away before calling the police.

“I’ll go for help,” Nina said, walking backward, unable to avert her eyes from Glen.

The numb shock was beginning to abate, her brain firing now. The place had two alarms, not one. Simon was at school, a fifteen-minute drive away. But she’d been in his house twice as long. He had to know she was here—who else would it be?—so why wasn’t he here? What was he doing? Was Maggie in danger? Had he taken her? Did he plan on striking some kind of deal—her love … for her daughter’s life? Is that why Connor had called?

Nina was reaching for her phone when she heard something skid across the floor like a hockey puck.

Peering down, she settled her eyes on what had caught her peripheral vision. It took a moment to realize the object by her feet was a leather diary.

Oh, God, no.

And the lights went out.





CHAPTER 61


She was plunged into total darkness, a black void surrounding her. A noise now near her. Movement, a quick shuffling, barring the only way out, shoes scraping against the floor. Nina went completely still, her fight-or-flight response battling for a decision. What to do? There was nowhere to run. She couldn’t see, but she heard his voice coming from the nothingness surrounding her—two words, pure ice.

“Hello, Nina.”

“Leave her alone,” Glen cried out, his desperate plea coming from Nina’s right, while Simon’s fast footsteps approached from her left. He knew this space, how to maneuver in it, even without light.

Nina went for her phone to call for help; it was the only clear thought she had. But it took a moment to get it out of her jacket pocket, then more time to get her fingers in the right places to make the call.

Simon was on her. The light from the phone’s display had helped him track his quarry. He grabbed Nina by the shirt and drove her into his body. At the same instant, he raked the phone from her grasp, causing her to drop it to the floor with a loud clatter. Still holding her by the buttons of her blouse, his foot went up, then down onto the phone with his heavy shoe, over, and over, until it was pulverized glass and plastic.

Darkness again.

With a grunt, Simon dragged Nina away from Glen, out of the hidden room, and over to a nearby wall. His hand soon found a switch and with a flick returned them to the light.

Nina needed a moment for her vision to adjust. When it did, she saw he was dressed for work. Everything about him looked normal, even the placid expression on his face. But those eyes, those black eyes were as empty as this house.