Page 63 of Whispers of the Lake

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

There was only one thing I could do.

Hide.

The only problem? There was nowhere in the garage to hide. If I hid in his truck or Eve’s car, he’d probably spot me. So instead, I dashed back into his house, closed the door, and hustled to the pantry.

It wasn’t a very large space, but there was just enough room between the shelves and the door for me to fit. I had to suck in to close the door completely. The shelves dug into my back, but I held steady as I heard a door open. I prayed he wasn’t the kind to look for a snack as soon as he got home.

Those same heavy footsteps thudded through the house after the door slammed. A deep sigh filled the quiet. I settled my breathing as best I could, then took out my phone to switch it to silent. My hands shook so badly while doing it, I was glad it hadn’t slipped out of my hands and dropped on the floor.

The footsteps started up again and were lighter this time. I assumed the person was barefoot now. The fridge opened. I heard a loud pop, like a can opening. Loud gulping. Then silence.

“What the fuck?” a deep voice growled. It was definitely James.

His feet thundered through the house, and it sounded like he’d slid the patio doors open. It was now or never. If I could make a run for it now, I might be able to sneak out through the front door.

I cracked the pantry door open and looked to the left. He wasn’t there. Pushing it open wider, I looked toward the kitchen and saw the top of James’s head on the other side of the kitchen window.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” James hissed.

I stepped out and bolted for the front door. My hands shook violently as I fumbled with the locks.

“Hey!” he shouted.

I swung the door open, ran out as fast as I could, and didn’t stop until I made it to my car. I yanked the door open, climbed in, started the ignition, and reversed out of the cul-de-sac just as James came storming out of his house. He glared right at my car, despite my headlights flashing forward. He may not have seen my face, but he knew exactly who I was. I swear the menacing scowl on his face was constructed by the devil himself.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Ihad a feeling James was going to reach out to Alex and Damian after seeing me. Call it a hunch, but it would likely be the case. He realized I was on to him. He knew I was searching for answers and only those men had them. Now was the time to send his warnings and get his ducks in a row.

I drove quickly, making sure to get a good distance away from James’s neighborhood before stopping in the lot of a closed grocery story and sending the photos I had to Kennedy. Afterward, I typed in the address for Twilight Oaks in Maps. Once I had it, I put the car in gear and drove in that direction. My phone went in and out of service to the point of frustration. There was an email from Nico with an attached document that I couldn’t open because the server kept failing. The photos I sent to Kennedy failed.

I should’ve gone straight to the diner and used the Wi-Fi. Instead, I wanted to get more proof that James and the Reed brothers were hiding something. There was only one person harmless enough to feed me more details. It was now or never. I took the rocky, winding path that led to Twilight Oaks but didn’t park at the house. I decided to park along the main path, wedged between a line of trees just out of sight.

It was about a minute walk to reach the Reeds’ house from there. I collected my gun and attached the holster to my waistband, my phone, tossed my hood on again, and marched along the gravel. It wasn’t until I’d neared the house that I asked myself exactly what the fuck I was doing. Why was I breaking into houses and sneaking onto people’s property for a woman who’dbetrayedme? For a friend who likely wouldn’t have been doing the same for me if she suspected my life was in danger.

In all reality, I should’ve stayed in Charlotte and waited until Kennedy contacted me to say she’d found a body or something. Yes, it’d have been horrible to know there was a body at all, but at least I’d have been safe.

Instead, I was doing this—reckless acts that made no sense. All this for answers. All this so I could prove I wasn’t crazy. All this while hoping I would never find a body—that I’d find Eve safe and sound instead, tucked away in some hotel and ruminating over all her stupid life choices.

I walked along the edge of the woods, studying the Reeds’ house. I wasn’t sure which window belonged to Rory’s bedroom. I kept a good distance as I ventured around with quiet steps. A motion light flickered on, but it shone the opposite way, so I took that opportunity to move closer to the house.

The first window I came across revealed their living room. A large body was sprawled out on the couch, one hand on the floor, head thrown back over the arm of it. Damian. I could hear him snoring through the window.

I walked to the right, ducking to keep my head below the windows. The next window revealed a small kitchen with a four-top table. The walls were made of dark paneled wood, the fridge looked a decade old with magnets all over it, and there was an open laptop on top of the table. Familiar stickers decorated the back of the laptop.

I stifled a breath.

Eve’s other laptop.

Someone passed by the window, marching so hard their steps sounded like thunder. I ducked. A door creaked open then slammed shut. Footsteps thudded along the pavement on the front side of the house. I kept my back glued to the side, hidden in the shadows. Then I peered over just a bit to see Alex opening the door of his truck and leaning in, searching for something.

While he was occupied, I made a dash for the back of the house. Two windows were here. One window was closed and curtained so I couldn’t see a thing, but another window was partly open at the bottom, revealing just a sliver of a bedroom. This room was painted teal, the bedspread gray, white, and pink. A pink rug covered the center of the carpeted floor. And sitting on top of the bed with her legs crossed and a sketchbook on her lap was Rory.

It took everything in me not to bang on her window and call her name. Doing that would’ve scared the shit out of her. She’d have made too much noise and alarmed her brothers. I couldn’t have that. I lowered a bit and took in the size of her bedroom. Her door was on the right, closed and hopefully locked.

Drawing in a breath, I took out my phone and tapped the icon for the flashlight. Then I lifted it, waving the light at the window like a small beacon. I noticed Rory’s pencil pause, then she lifted her head with her thin brows drawn together. I gave the window a gentle tap with my finger.

---