Page 196 of Under the Bed

She wasn’t there.

Shiloh was.

She followed us out, stood in the doorway. Backlit by the blaring lights from inside the house.

Pink pajama set. Wide blue eyes. Hand reaching out to me.

Please, she mouthed.Please, don’t go.

Then her dad grabbed her forearm and threw her back inside.

Fucker. I would’ve killed him if it wasn’t for the goddamn cops.

“You and me. Forever,” she vows.

Our hands squeeze one another at the same time.

“Forever.”

She rings the doorbell.

Footsteps echo on the black-and-white marble floor.

Trick-or-trick, motherfuckers.

32

SHILOH

My gut twists. My heart is weighed down to the floor.

The hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

I haven’t visited my father in months. Since the day I blackmailed him into signing the contract that’d enable me to live here unbothered. Close to Kaleb.

In a way, Dad won that day. I blew my cover. Showed him that after years of manipulation, Kaleb still mattered to me the most.

His days of fucking us over are over.

Footsteps approach the door. I know, without seeing the person, that it isn’t Dad.

Ronan Talbot is a snake, head to toe. You wouldn’t hear him coming. His staff, you wouldn’t hear them, either. My father fired people for much less than making noise as they walked.

The closer the man inside my dad’s home gets, I realize I’m right.

While my father is tall, imposing, and lean, this person isshort. Pudgy.

“Dr. Reynolds.” Kaleb bristles. He shoves me behind him, never letting go of my hand. “Fucker.”

“He’s alone?” This wasn’t a part of the plan. I was sure I scared Kaleb’s psychiatrist back into hiding. I peek around him, squinting my eyes to see through the frosted glass in the door. “Where’s your mom? Where’s Dad?”

Deep down, I already know the answer. My dad and his mom are either dead or badly injured.

I’m surprised by how that fact doesn’t bother me.

They’ve earned it, both of them.

What scares me is having Dr. Reynolds here instead.

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