2025-11-25 05:31:00“What do you think he’s doing?” Aislin fiddles with her hooped earring.
“Planning our murder probably,” Laylen jokes tensely.
“I have an idea.” I slip off my shoes and squeeze behind Laylen. I hoist myself into the tree. The branches crackle as I ascend upward. Moving slowly, I reach a thick branch that elongates over the lake. I step on it vigilantly, feeling the sway. With my hands out to the side, I balance to the end. It curves under my weight and my breath falters.
“Gemma, don’t.” Laylen advises from below.
I glance at the castle to make sure Alex is still watching, then I raise my hands above my head. My heart leaps in my throat as I spring on my toes and dive into the lake. Screams ring the air and the icy water stings my skin like pins and needles. I thrash my arms, resurfacing, before losing momentum and sinking for the bottom. Murk
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Chapter 84
Cameron glanced at Paul and Dallas, who both nodded, and then said, “We know how much you love Catherine.”“Don’t make her a saint, John. She isn’t perfect,” Dallas said.“Jeez, that was cold,” Paul muttered.“It’s okay. I know Catherine isn’t perfect. She has her quirks, just like we do. Who isn’t a little compulsive about something?” he said. “It’s just that she worries about being without, and so she has to have two of everything. She has two television sets, identical ones, sitting side by side on the table by her bed. She has one of them on day and night, but she worries it might break, so she makes sure she has a backup. She does the same thing when she’s ordering something from a store or a catalog. Always buys two, but what’s the harm in that?” he asked. “She isn’t hurting anyone,
Chapter 83
The first one was a mercy killing.She was dying a very, very slow death. Each day there was a new indignity, another inch of her once magnificent body destroyed by the debilitating disease. Poor, poor Catherine. Seven years ago she had been a beautiful bride with a trim, hourglass figure men lusted after and women envied, but now her body was fat and grossly bloated, and her once perfect alabaster skin was blotchy and sallow.There were times when her husband, John, didn’t recognize her anymore. He would remember what she used to look like and then see with startling clarity what she had become. Those wonderful sparkling green eyes that had so captivated him when he’d first met her were now glazed and milky from too many painkillers.The monster was taking its time killing her, and for him there wasn’t a moment’s respite.He dreaded going home at night. He always stopped on R
Chapter 80
The place was a pigsty. The dining room table was covered with an old, torn, paint-splattered tarp, and on top were several unopened cans of house paint and a couple of big plastic sacks from the local hardware store with paintbrushes sticking out. A swinging door connected the dining room to the kitchen, exactly like the one in Celeste’s house. Noah pushed the door open and then stepped into the kitchen.The first thing that struck him was the pungent smell. It was strong, acrid . . . familiar. Whatever the stringent combination was, it made his eyes tear and his throat burn. Unlike the other rooms, the kitchen wasn’t cluttered. No, it was immaculate. The counters were bare, spotless, shining . . . like another kitchen he’d been in. Recognition was sudden. He remembered the odor . . . vinegar and ammonia . . . and he remembered exactly where he’d smelled it before. His gaze frantically searched the kitchen. Truth slammed in
Chapter 81
“Known what?”Noah didn’t immediately answer. He was reliving those terrifying moments when he’d crept out onto the balcony and had seen Celeste down below.“I should have figured it out before he had a chance to grab her. And he never should have gotten that chance. Because of my incompetence, Celeste almost lost her life, and Artemis got hit.”Tommy had never seen Noah so shaken. “Stop beating yourself up, and tell me what happened. What should you have known?”Noah rubbed his brow and leaned back against the wall. His gaze was glued to the curtain. He told Tommy everything, and when he was finished, Tommy needed to sit down.“My God, you both could have been killed.” He expelled a long breath and then stood. “You know I’d tell you if I thought you screwed up.”&ldqu
Chapter 82
Ever so slowly she moved her legs up, thinking she could turn and spring upward, grab him by the neck, and then slam his head into the steering wheel. But something was holding her. Her skirt was caught. She was afraid to turn her head and look for fear that he would see.The van suddenly came to a jarring stop. She did drop the safety pin then, but she grabbed it from the floor before she heard the door open. Where was he going? What was he going to do?Oh God, he’s coming for me.She had to be ready. When he tried to get her out of the van, she would have to be ready. Frantic, her hands violently shaking now, she hooked the pin around her middle fingers, just above the knuckles. The metal fastener dug into her skin, tearing it as she hooked it there, anchored so that the long needle was sticking straight out. She cupped her left hand around it, trying to hide it.Don’t let
Chapter 81
The screams from the crowd, frantic to get out of the church, pierced the air. The aisles were crammed with hysterical men and women. Noah had his Sig Sauer in his right hand, and as he pushed forward, knocking people out of his way, he reached behind him under his jacket and pulled out the loaded Glock from his waistband. He leapt onto a pew and opened fire. Running along the tops of the benches, he fired the guns in succession, trying to keep the bastard pinned down.Stark ducked behind the railing. What was happening? The blond-headed priest had pulled out a gun and started shooting at him, and he’d been able to get off only a few shots. He’d seen Father Tom go down, then the other priest, and he was sure he’d hit both of them.Now he had to get Celeste. Stark inched the gun up and got her in his sights. She was down on her knees at the bottom of the altar steps. She was struggling to get up when he fired.
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