Page 122 of Ruthless Secrets
Chapter Twenty-Nine
CLARA
If I close my eyes,for a moment I can pretend that Marco is sitting next to me on the couch. His musky cologne in the air, his deep chuckle echoing in my ears, the weight of his hand on my thigh…
It’s all I can do to keep from breaking.
We should have had so much more time together, and now I’m not even sure if I’ll ever see him again.
The burner phone has been deathly silent, and I no longer see that as a good sign. Something must have happened, and I might go crazy from not knowing.
I force my eyes open and glance down at my daughter.
Zoe snores softly in my arms, having fallen straight back to sleep after her feed.
Holly is cuddled up beside me, her eyelids heavy as she fights to stay awake also. They both look so peaceful, both so unaware that their fathers might never come home.
The cabin is quiet. Even the sound of the trees rustling outside has subsided, so all I can focus on is the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
I can’t be expected to sit around here for much longer, not when Marco could be in trouble. Not that I would be much help to him but surely, there is something I could do. Anything is better thanthis.
I’m tempted to carry the girls back to their cots and maybe pick up a book to try and distract myself when there’s a noise.
I freeze, my breath catching in my throat as I strain my ears.
The soft rustling outside is subtle, almost easy to dismiss as nothing more than the wind shifting through the trees.
It’s likely I imagined it in my sleep-deprived state, but then it happens again. The distinctive crunch of gravel beneath a shoe.
“Oh, my god,” I breathe.
Someone is out there.
My heart hammers in my chest as I glance down at Zoe and Holly, both now fully asleep in my arms.
I can’t panic, not when their lives are depending on me.
Right now, I need to alert Lila and Rosa, and then we can come up with a plan.
I carefully scoop both girls into my arms and carry them back through to the bedroom as quietly as I can.
Every creak of the wooden floor beneath my bare feet feels deafening as I move quickly toward Lila’s bed.
She’s fast asleep, her hands resting protectively on her abdomen.
I think of the baby growing inside her, and bile rises in my throat.
This can’t be how it ends.
"Lila," I whisper urgently. “Lila.”
She stirs, squinting up at me as she comes to. But the second she sees the look on my face, she sits bolt upright inbed, her dark hair falling around her shoulders as she glances anxiously at Holly. “What is it?”
“Somebody is outside.”
Lila frowns as she looks over at the small window.
“Are Marco and Andre back?”
