by Elle James
The twins nodded in unison.
“Got it,” Jared said. He took a deep breath and let it out, and then started up the hill.
Joe followed.
Dix fell into step behind them, holding Leigha’s hand and balancing her other hand on her gun. Brewer brought up the rear.
The trip up the trail took longer and was more strenuous than the descent. Still in good shape from all of her training as an MMA fighter, Dix didn’t even get winded.
The twins were slow, but steady, arriving at the cave entrance as the sun slipped behind a heavy bank of fog rolling into the cape.
After the two men eased around the corner of the cave entrance, Leigha pulled Dix to a stop and pointed to the fog creeping toward shore. “Bennet calls that the Devil’s Shroud.” She glanced up at Dix. “What’s a shroud?”
“It’s like a blanket or sheet they pull over dead people,” Dix answered, her gaze on the fog closing in on them. She shivered and turned away. The sooner they returned to the house, the better. Her hand on the gun, she slipped into the tunnel.
Jared and Joe stood at the entrance staring out at what should have been a view of the bay.
“That’s some wicked fog,” Jared said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it move as fast or blanket everything so thickly,” Joe added, his voice low, his eyes wide. “I hope Dave made it back to the marina before it got too bad.”
“Yeah,” Jared agreed.
Brewer ran ahead, disappearing into the dark tunnel. Dix put Leigha in the lead with the flashlight, positioning herself between the child and the two men. She didn’t like being in front of them, but she wasn’t going to hand them the flashlight.
She let Leigha get a few steps of a head start. Then she turned toward Jared and Joe and said in a low tone, “Just so you know, I’m a trained fighter. I can kill people with my hands. Try anything against me or that little girl and I won’t hesitate to kill.” She stared into their eyes in the limited light from the cave entrance. “Understand?”
The twins nodded.
Jared grinned. “What kind of fighting? Tae Kwon Do? Jujitsu? Boxing?”
“Army Ranger and MMA.”
Joe smiled. “Bro, you don’t want to mess with her. She means business.”
Jared nodded. “We’re not going to hurt you or the girl. We’re just happy you were here to get us out of the water. I’ve never been more scared of drowning in my life.” He nodded toward Leigha. “But we better get moving before we lose sight of the only one here who has a flashlight.”
Dix gave them a hard stare.
Jared and Joe both raised their hands.
“Seriously,” Joe said. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
Only slightly convinced they were telling the truth, Dix turned and hurried after Leigha, who’d reached a corner in the tunnel. As soon as she turned, the light became so dim Dix could barely see the walls and floor. She put her hand out and lightly skimmed the cool stone surface, moving as fast as she could to catch up to the girl.
Footsteps and muttered oaths behind her indicated the twins were doing their best to keep up.
When she turned the corner, she could see the light ahead.
“Leigha, wait up,” she called, tired of tripping over rocks.
The little girl stopped and shone the light back into her eyes.
Dix held her hand up in front of her face. “Other way, sweetie. Turn the light the other way. You’re blinding me.”
“Sorry.” Leigha pointed the light at the floor.
The two men behind Dix caught up and they continued, entering the cavern with the stream.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” one of the men said from behind.
“No, but the girl does,” Dix reassured him.
“Seriously?” the guy said.
Dix chuckled and stepped over the stream.
Leigha entered the tunnel Dix recognized as the one she’d come through earlier. Before long they came to the door to the hidden corridor inside the house. Leigha flipped a light switch and left the flashlight in a small hole from the dirt wall.
“Now we’re talking,” Jared said.
A few minutes later they ducked through the door in the fireplace and emerged into the formal sitting room.
Jared and Joe grinned and laughed out loud.
“I would never have guessed we’d come out in a place like this,” Joe said.
“I thought we’d end up in an ancient torture chamber.” Jared stared around the room. “Where are we?”
“Stratford House,” a deep voice said from across the room.
Dix spun toward the sound and her body heated at the sight of Andrew standing with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her. “Please explain yourself, Miss Reeves.”
Chapter 13
Andrew had left that morning for Portland to meet with his attorney and accountant. But the farther away he got from Stratford House, Leigha and Dix, the more his chest tightened and his hands gripped the steering wheel. He’d had the overwhelming urge to turn around and go back.
Someone had attacked him on the cliff. Dix might be a trained soldier and a former MMA fighter, but she was smaller than most men. She could be overpowered. Then she and Leigha would be in danger. And he’d be too far away to help.
An hour and a half out of Cape Churn, he’d made a U-turn in the middle of the highway and exceeded every speed limit to return to Stratford House.
“I’ve been all over this house from top to bottom looking for the two of you. I even called Sheriff Taggert. He’s on his way out here now.” He drew in a deep breath and demanded, “Where have you been? And what are these two men doing in my house?”
Leigha came out from behind Dix and faced her father. “It was my fault. I wanted to show Dix where I like to play. It took longer than I thought it would.”
Dix placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Leigha. You don’t have to defend me.” She lifted her chin and stared at him. “We were playing outside when these two men got into a bit of trouble.” She turned toward them. “You remember them from last night?”
Jared held out his hand. “Mr. Stratford, we’re sorry to drop in on you like this.”
Andrew recognized Jared and Joe from the café the previous evening, but he wasn’t in the mood to be nice. He ignored the outstretched hand. “I thought I told you I didn’t like people to just show up at my house.”
“Sir,” Joe said, “we were diving in the bay off the nearby shoreline when we got caught up in kelp.”
“It was all we could do to get to shore,” Jared finished. “Our dive boat captain helped us ashore and then went back to his boat. He had to get to the marina before the fog set in.”
Joe ran a hand through his hair, standing it on end. “Miss Reeves brought us up to the house to use the phone. As soon as we can call for a taxi, we’ll be out of your hair.”
“No one’s going anywhere,” Andrew said. “A taxi won’t be able to get here and back to town before the fog gets too thick. You’ll have to wait until it clears.”
“That’s fine. We can wait out on the road,” Jared offered, inching toward the door.
Dix frowned at the twins. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re exhausted and probably on the verge of hypothermia. We can get some dry clothes for you and you’ll stay here until the fog clears.” She faced Andrew, her mouth set in a thin line, her chin high, as if daring him to kick her out with the guys.
Andrew loved the fire in her green eyes and the way she stood with her feet slightly spread, her fists bunched tightly. Ready for a fight.
Now that he knew Dix and Leigha were all right, his heartbeat was well on its way to returning to normal, but he wasn’t letting Dix off easy. He narrowed his eye
s and glared at her. She needed to fear his ire so that she didn’t run off to God knew where with his daughter. She’d scared several years off his life. “Don’t run off again without telling anyone where you’re going,” he said, his tone low, as intense as he could get it. He didn’t want to be that scared ever again. “Understood?”
She glared back at him, giving him as much guff as he gave her. Then her mouth loosened into those full lush lips he’d kissed the night before and she nodded. “Understood. I’m sorry we upset you. It won’t happen again.” She ran her hand over the top of Leigha’s hair. “Right, Leigha? You won’t disappear without telling someone where you’re going, will you?”
Leigha glanced up at Dix and then turned her gaze to her father. “No, I won’t.” She raised a hand, curled her fingers and extended the last finger and took a step toward him. “Pinkie swear.”
Andrew stared at her hand, not sure what she was talking about.
“You heard her,” Dix said. “Pinkie swear.” Her lips twitched at the corners.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Dix dipped her head sharply toward Leigha. “Go on.”
Leigha and Dix obviously knew what a pinkie swear was, but Andrew didn’t have a clue. Not to be shamed by the bodyguard, Andrew dropped to his haunches. “Show me.”
Leigha took his uninjured hand, curled his fingers into a fist and then pulled out the last one. Then she hooked her pinkie with his and smiled. “I pinkie swear that I will always tell someone where I’m going before I leave.”
“That’s it?” He glanced up at Dix.
Her lips had spread into a full-blown grin. “You’ve officially been graced with a pinkie swear. Leigha knows she can’t break that promise.”
Leigha nodded. “I won’t.”
“Okay, then.” Andrew straightened and ruffled Leigha’s hair. “Now, go tell Mrs. Purdy you’re okay and you would like to have two beds made up in the west wing for our guests.”
As his daughter started to pass him, Andrew scooped her up and hugged her tightly. “Don’t scare me like that again.” He held her away from him and stared into her face. “I was very worried.”
Leigha caught his face between her palms and kissed him on the forehead, like he’d done putting her to bed. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” He set her on her feet and brushed the hair out of her face.
Leigha skipped out of the sitting room with Brewer keeping pace, leaving Dix, Jared and Joe for him to contend with.
Andrew waved a hand. “Dix, you can go.”
Her brows dipped. She opened her mouth but snapped it shut instead and left the room.
A chuckle rose up his throat but he swallowed it back. He’d hear about that later. Frankly, he looked forward to it. But now he had a couple of men in his house for what appeared to be overnight. Once the Devil’s Shroud moved in, it wouldn’t recede until the following morning.
His eyes narrowed and he glared at Jared and Joe. “What are you really doing in my house?”
Both young men started talking at once.
Andrew held up his hand. “Jared.”
Jared nodded. “We were searching for the ship Peg and Percy Malone scuttled when they arrived in Cape Churn. We thought we saw it when we got caught up in the kelp.”
“And you thought it would be okay to waltz into my house and make yourself at home?”
“No, sir,” Joe said. “We would have gone back out to the dive boat, but we’d used up all of our scuba air and just didn’t have the strength to swim back out. Dave told us to stay on shore. We were lucky enough to find Miss Reeves and your daughter on the beach.”
“On the beach?” Andrew stared at the men as if they’d grown horns. “What beach?” In all the years he’d visited Stratford House, he’d never known there to be a beach on the property. The cliffs were too rugged to climb down.
The twins exchanged glances.
Joe faced Andrew. “There was a little bit of a beach at the base of the cliffs and a trail leading up to a cave. Tunnels in the cave led to the house and this room.” He shrugged. “You should ask your daughter. She led the way.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A dull ache started in his temples and radiated through his head and down into his shoulders. The drive toward Portland and his subsequent confrontation with Dix and these men had taken their toll. “You two can stay, but don’t touch anything or go anywhere you’re not invited. And if you so much as harm a single hair on my daughter’s head, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
Jared and Joe backed up a step, raising their hands. “We really don’t mind standing out by the road until the fog clears, Mr. Stratford.”
Joe elbowed his brother. “Speak for yourself.” He faced Andrew. “You don’t have to worry, Mr. Stratford. We won’t hurt your daughter. She’s a smart little girl. I can’t believe she led us through those tunnels and cave. What makes it more amazing is that she can’t be more than seven years old.”
“Six,” Andrew said, his anger spiking at what the men were telling him. It meant Dix had allowed his daughter to wander around dangerous caves, cliffs and beaches while he’d been away. He would have a few choice words for Miss Reeves.
* * *
Dix followed Leigha to the kitchen, where Mrs. Purdy was pulling a roast out of the oven. “Thank goodness you two showed up when you did. I’ll just call Sheriff Taggert and tell him it was a false alarm.”
The older woman lifted a phone out of a receiver on the wall and dialed the sheriff’s office. “Gabe? Good. I’m glad it’s you. Could you put a call out to Sheriff Taggert that Miss Reeves and Mr. Stratford’s daughter are home and safe? No, they weren’t lost, just out exploring. Thank you, Gabe. How are Kayla and the baby? That’s nice. Glad to hear it.”
Mrs. Purdy hung up and turned to Dix. “I’m just finishing dinner preparations and need to get to town before the fog’s too thick to see the road. Leigha can show you to the west wing. I have a couple of bedrooms I keep aired out in case we have guests. We just need to put sheets on the beds. Do you two mind helping?”
“Not at all,” Dix said. The woman had her hands full with pots on the stove and bread baking in the oven. “Where can I find sheets?”
“In the linen closet at the end of the hallway. Leigha will show you, won’t you, darlin’?” Mrs. Purdy smiled at Leigha. “She knows where everything is in the house. I’ll finish up here and be on my way.”
Dix had to agree with the housekeeper on that statement. Leigha had shown her places Dix hadn’t dreamed existed. She wondered if there were other secret passages that led in and out of the house. If so, there might be more entries and exits that could be used by bad guys hoping to pay a surprise visit to the Stratfords. While she had Leigha alone upstairs, she’d ask the child if she knew about other secrets.
Leigha, with Brewer, once again in the lead, took Dix up to the second floor of the huge house and turned right instead of left to their wing of bedchambers.
“Bennet said he used to sneak into the house when the owners were sleeping and smoke cigars in the study downstairs.” Leigha glanced back at Dix. “What’s a cigar?”
“It’s like a big, fat brown cigarette, only it smells a lot worse.” The child had no limit to her curiosity. “Leigha, are there other secret tunnels or corridors in the house?”
Leigha shrugged and opened a cabinet door. “I don’t know.” The little girl’s face reddened. “Here are the sheets.”
Dix took out two sets of sheets and followed Leigha to the bedrooms Mrs. Purdy had designated. Inside, the rooms were spacious with rich, mahogany furnishings and light, airy curtains and comforters.
Dix suspected Leigha knew more than she wanted to admit about other secrets in the huge old mansion. “Will you show me the others tomorrow?”
Leigha t
ook one end of the sheet and dragged it across the mattress. “Okay.”
Dix played down her enthusiasm. “Thank you, Leigha.”
To protect the family, Dix needed to know everything about Stratford House and its surroundings. She might even take a trip to the local library to see if they had any history on the place that could warrant someone wanting to get rid of the Stratfords. Secret passages leading to caves and the sea had to have had some basis in smuggling.
Between the two of them, Dix and Leigha made the beds in the rooms and put fresh towels in the bathroom across the hallway.
Andrew joined them in the hallway, carrying a stack of clothing.
Dix leaned to look behind him and raised her brows.
“Mrs. Purdy is filling them full of hot cocoa to warm them up.”
“The beds are made. I’ll sleep with Leigha tonight.”
Leigha smiled and clapped her hands. “Yay! We can have a slumber party. I’ve never had a slumber party.”
Dix’s heart squeezed in her chest. The little girl should have friends to play with instead of the imaginary one. She shivered. Or ghost.
Never having believed in anything she couldn’t see for herself, Dix refused to start now. Leigha had a wonderful imagination and a sense of adventure. Why not an imaginary friend? Maybe if she had real friends, she wouldn’t need to make up a friend named Bennet.
When the house settled in for the night, Dix would have a heart-to-heart with Andrew. He needed to know about the hidden passageway in order to close it off to keep others from entering the house.
Dix held out her hands for the stack of clothing.
As he handed the items to her, Andrew caught her gaze. “We need to talk.”
A thrill of excitement slipped through her veins. “Yes. We do.” Had nothing else happened that day, she might have thought they would talk about what they’d shared in his bed the night before. With the twins in the house and she and Leigha having been missing for a couple of hours, Dix was almost certain he had a more serious conversation in mind.
