“Okay.”
He stood and took the stairwell to the basement. She placed their cups in the sink, then thought better of it. She should probably wash them because there was no telling when she would get to come back.
She washed the cups and thought she needed to gather the trash so that it wouldn't start smelling while she was away. What are you doing? There is no trash to gather, you haven't been here much. You are postponing the inevitable. Get up there and get it over with.
Taking the stairs slowly, anxiety rose in her chest. At the top of the stairs, she saw her father's room and kept her eyes on it as she took shaky steps. She crossed the threshold and stared at the surroundings. Inhaling deeply, the room smelled of his cologne with a hint of dust. Farther into the room, she ran her hand along his dresser. It was covered with various little jars. She lifted the lid on one and it contained nothing but quarters. The next jar contained dimes and the next nickels.
Her search of the drawers didn’t reveal anything other than her father’s clothes. Crossing the room, she took a moment to gaze out the window. Her parents’ room looked out over the garden her mother had kept for many years. Her father had kept it up after her passing. Now it was overrun with weeds. Another thing to add to the to-do list.
She turned to the closet. His favorite shirts were hanging in prominent spots. The farther back in the clothes she went the further back in time she went. She found a shirt she distinctly remembered him wearing in a photo when she was nine. She, of course, had been wearing a matching shirt. Her shirt was long gone by now.
There were boxes on an overhead shelf. She pulled them down and took them to his bed. His reading glasses laying atop his Bible on the nightstand. She touched them, hoping for one last connection. The ache in her chest was unending—a piece of her heart was missing, and she would never get it back. Tears slid down her cheeks.
She’d become a weepy mess lately.
Footsteps behind her alerted her to Cody's presence. She didn't turn around right away, instead, she wiped the tears from her eyes and busied herself looking in the boxes. She didn’t want him to see her crying. Again. She cleared her throat, hoping her voice would sound normal.
“Did you find anything?”
There was no answer, just the sound of his feet shuffling into the room.
Before she could turn around and face him, a sharp pain began at the base of her neck, radiating all over her skull. Lights danced in her vision before everything faded to black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After he descended the stairs into the dank basement, Cody heard Maggie moving around upstairs before she settled into complete silence. He hadn't really wanted to search the basement. He didn't think there would be anything down here, but he thought Maggie might need some time alone when she entered her father's room.
The only things down here were boxes of junk. He methodically opened the lid to every one. He found three boxes of old musty clothes, several random car parts, and lots of half-empty bottles of cleaning supplies. Two vacuum cleaners stood abandoned in the corner.
He’d gone through every box down here. Standing in the center of the basement, he turned slowly in a circle, taking in the entire basement, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. Satisfied he hadn’t, he looked at his watch. It had been twenty minutes. That should have given Maggie some time to come to grips with the grief he suspected she would face. It was time to go upstairs and check on her.
He climbed the old rickety basement steps and shut the door behind him. The house was eerily quiet, making the hair on his neck stand on end. There weren't any sounds coming from upstairs. His gut told him something was off, his adrenaline picked up, and he took the stairs two at a time. He called her name as he strode down the hall to Mr. Jones's room.
Maggie lay crumpled on the floor by her father’s bed. Her hair was wild and covering her face. Heart racing, he feared the worse. He knelt beside her and brushed the hair from her face. He felt for a pulse, it was there, strong and steady. Thank you, God.
“Maggie? Can you hear me?” Why was she laying on the floor? There didn't appear to be anything out of sorts with room. Maybe she had tripped and fallen. Had she fainted?
A small moan escaped her lips.
“Come on, baby. Can you open your eyes?” He caressed her face, trying to bring her back to consciousness. “Maggie, it’s me. Open your eyes.” He continued to smooth his hand across her cheek.
Turning her head in the direction of his touch caused a grimace to spread across her face. Her eyes barely opened and then closed again. His pulse settled slightly as she began responding.
“It's okay, Magpie, I'm right here. Come on, open your eyes.” He spoke softly. Her head turned to follow his voice.
She squinted at him.
“Are you all right?”
She stared at him for a moment, confusion marring her beautiful face. He repeated the question, and she nodded. The nod was followed by another grimace. He helped her to a standing position and led her to a chair by the window.
“Can you tell me what happened?” He brushed hair from her face so he could see her eyes.
“I don’t know. I was about to go through some boxes I pulled from the closet when you came in. I asked if you’d found anything. There was a blinding pain, then I woke up to the sound of your voice.”
Lifting her left hand to her head, the glint of something sparkled in the sunlight. She ran her hand through her hair, down the back of her head, and to her neck. She winced when she touched the base of her head.
“Maggie, when I came up here, you were already on the floor.”
She stood abruptly, wobbling before collapsing into his arms. “I’m so dizzy.”
He waited for her to steady herself against him before easing her back into the chair. “Let me look at your head.” She turned in the chair, and he moved her hair. He instantly went on high alert. She’d been attacked. A deep purple bruise was already starting to form. “You took a hit to the head.”
She turned back and shook her head to move her hair. Pain crossed her face, and she raised her hand back to her forehead. The sparkle caught his eye again, and his breath stopped. He grabbed her hand and pulled it closer. On her ring finger was a very familiar sapphire ring. It looked exactly like the ring he’d bought for her six years ago.
It couldn’t be. His ring had to be safe at home. Maybe she had found this one among her mother’s jewelry. Rings like this weren’t exactly rare.
He was grasping at straws.
“Maggie, where did you get this?” He aimed her hand up so she could see the ring.
Words scribbled on the palm of her hand distracted him from her reaction. Dread filled him. Before he could confirm what it said, she yanked her hand from his and stood, walking around him unsteadily. “I don't know. I've never seen it before. How did it get on my finger?”
“Let me see your hand.”
She held her hand out so he could see the ring, but it wasn't the ring he wanted to see. He turned her palm over and terror gripped him. Eight for a Wish.
“We need to go. Now.” He pulled his gun from its holster and flipped the safety off. Using his free hand, he grabbed hers and pulled her to the doorway. He stood absolutely still, listening for any sound that might be coming from outside the room. Complete silence. He slowly stuck his head around the doorframe, confirming the hallway was empty. He pulled Maggie behind him as he took off toward the stairs.
“Cody, tell me what's going on.” She didn't urge him to stop. Instead, she kept pace with him as he ran down the stairs. He pushed her body against the front door and stood in front of her, forming a wall of protection around her.
“He's been here. For all we know, he’s still here. We need to leave. I’m going to check out front and make sure no one’s out there, then we’re going to run for the truck. I want you to stay as close to me as you can.”
The fear that had frequented her eyes in the last several days was back. He pla
ced a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I'm going to get you out of here safely.”
He leaned to the left and peered out the window, scanning the front yard. Nothing appeared to be out of place, and there weren't any shadows moving in the tree line. He grabbed Maggie’s hand and used it to pull her behind him. He was now the wall between her and anything on the other side of that door. Pulse racing wildly, a drop of sweat rolled down his back as he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, pulling Maggie even closer, her body melding with his. There's no going back. One. Two. Three.
He took off running for the truck with Maggie on his heels. There were no gunshots. No one surged from the shrubs. He opened the driver’s side door and pushed Maggie in ahead of him. She scooted across the seat as he climbed in and started the truck.
“Get down, just in case.” He motioned for her to crouch low. If their guy was still out there, he didn't want her in the line of fire. He slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped down the drive, leaving dirt clouds in his wake. When he turned onto the main road, Maggie sat up, looking disoriented and nauseated.
“Cody, what's going on?” She looked down at the ring on her finger. “Where did this come from?”
How did he answer that? That ring was supposed to be hidden in a drawer. His secret was about to be revealed. Why had he kept that ring? That was a question he would have to answer later. Right now, they had bigger concerns. He decided to sidestep the question.
“It was part of another attack, Magpie.”
He glanced at her. She was studying the ring on her finger. She turned her palm over to take the ring off and let out a loud squeal. She’d finally found the words that had sent them running from the house.
Chapter Twenty-Three
There, written in red ink, were the words Eight for a Wish. Her fuzzy brain struggled to catch up. It hadn't been Cody in the room earlier—it had been the stalker. He must have hit her with something, put the ring on her finger, and then written those four little words.
She had to get them off. Palm down, she started viciously rubbing her hand on her pants, trying to scrub the words away. Another look proved the words remained. Licking the fingers of her right hand, she used them to wipe at her palm. She turned her hand back to her pants and scrubbed some more.
Oh, God. Please, get it off. Panic set in. Her heart raced, and her breaths came faster. Her hand was never going to be clean. The words would be there to taunt her forever. Her palm burned from the friction, but she had to rid herself of those words, even if she had to bleed to do so. Before she could begin another frantic attempt, Cody's large hand grabbed hers. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight.
“I have to get the words off my hand. Please, Cody.” She tried to pull again, but he wouldn't release her. Her chest constricted, and her lungs fought hard for air. She took deep, labored gasps.
“Cody, please.” She looked at him. His gaze was intense on the road, but he cautioned a look at the review mirror, and then back to the road. He pulled her to him so that she sat nestled at his side.
“It's okay, Maggie. Those words won't hurt you, honey.”
She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart, willing hers to match the beat. He released her hand and slowly caressed her arm. He whispered a prayer into her hair. Her breathing incrementally returned to normal. Cody's warm hand continued its comforting journey up and down her arm until her heart was no longer racing in her chest.
When she could finally speak, she sat up and moved back to her side of the truck. She immediately regretted the move. No longer feeling the warmth from Cody's body, a shiver ran up her spine.
“Thank you.” Trying to move inconspicuously, she changed positions again, settling slightly closer to him.
His concentration was still on the road, but he quickly looked at her and smiled.
She removed the ring and inspected it further. It was a sapphire princess cut surrounded by smaller glittering stones, which she assumed were either cubic zirconia or possibly even diamonds. The band was simple white gold. If it weren't for the circumstances, the ring would have been beautiful.
She showed it to Cody. “Do you want to see it?”
His gaze never left the road. “Uh, I know what it looks like. I've seen it before.” His words were filled with a longing she hadn't heard from him since she’d returned to Whitehaven.
“What do you mean you've seen it before? Oh, God, did it belong to Iris or Dee? Is it supposed to signify I am going to die next? Is that the wish? He wishes for my death?” She could feel another panic attack creeping up her body.
He jerked his head to face her. “No! No. It did not belong to them, and the wish isn't for your death. There's an inscription on the inside of the band. Go ahead and read it.”
She brought the ring closer to her face and tilted it to read the inscription.
My Magpie. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the memory swamped her.
She pressed her ear to the bedroom door, listening for any sound to indicate her father had gotten up. Nothing. She quietly raced to the bedroom window, raised it, and waited again for any sounds from the hallway. After a minute of silence, she gingerly climbed out the window, tiptoed to the tree by Jacob’s bedroom, and shimmied down.
The house was dark and looming in the moonlight. She’d be scared if she weren’t already trembling with excitement. She jogged to the path that would lead to the pond. Cody said he’d meet her there at midnight. She turned in circles looking around. He wasn’t there. The excitement started to die down and disappointment took its place. Maybe he couldn’t make it.
They’d been secretly seeing each other for two weeks. Their clandestine meetings were never long enough. She wanted to be with him all the time, and it had been her idea to meet tonight. She stood next to the towering trees and waited. A snap from behind made her jump.
“Maggie?” Cody’s hushed whisper calmed her fears as he emerged from the tree line.
“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind,” she teased.
“Nothing could keep me away from you.” He slid his hand into hers. His touch started a blaze in her hand that spread throughout her body as he pulled her down the path. “I would have been waiting for you, but I have a surprise.”
“I love surprises.” She tried not to let the bubbling, girlish giggle escape. “What is it?”
“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He squeezed her hand.
“I suppose not.” They walked the rest of the path in silence, hand in hand.
The bright moonlight shone through the opening of the trees at the end of the path. On the other side was a clearing that contained a small pond fed by a flowing creek.
“Surprise.” Cody turned her to face a large blanket spread on the ground. There were two pillows positioned a couple feet apart and a small ice chest on the edge. “The Perseid meteor shower starts tonight. I thought we could try to find a shooting star.”
They walked to the blanket, and she took a seat next to one of the pillows. He sat next to her.
“What’s in the ice chest?” If it had been any other boy, she’d be afraid of what was in it. Cody was different. He’d seen firsthand the damage alcohol could do.
He reached over and produced her favorite soda. “For you, my lady.”
“Thank you, kind sir.” She took a drink.
She laid down and rested her head on the pillow, clasping her hands over her stomach. Cody moved his pillow slightly closer to hers and laid down. He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the heat radiating from his arm inches away. She let her hand slide down to her side and searched for his. Finding it, she intertwined their fingers.
“This is nice.” She stared at the sky, waiting for a star to dash across.
“It is.” His voice was husky.
They laid in comfortable silence. Words weren’t necessary. Being together was all they needed.
“There!” He let go of her hand an
d pointed as a light darted across the sky.
“I see it!” The thrill of catching a glimpse of a shooting star danced in her heart.
“Now we have to make a wish. Close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes. What could she wish for? She had everything she wanted. At least, things she could have. Wishing on a star wasn’t going to bring her mother back. She’d wish for more moments like this. She was free and content, and she was certain the boy next to her could be thanked for that.
She opened her eyes to find he had rolled on to his side, his head propped on his hand, watching her.
“My Magpie.” His voice was as soft as the look on his face. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her. His soft lips sent chills through her while setting her on fire at the same time. Her stomach quaked as he deepened the kiss.
The ring slipped from her hand and fell to her lap, snapping her from her memories. This ring had been meant for her. She was completely certain. Not today, and not from a stalker, but six years ago from Cody. She was speechless. She didn't know what to think much less what to say.
“Cody. What does this mean?”
The muscles along his strong jaw twitched. He didn't say anything, didn't even look at her. He kept staring straight ahead, watching the road. What about this ring made him go silent? Why did he have it? Even if he had planned on giving it to her years ago, why hadn’t he gotten rid of it after he sent her away? Maybe he had been completely honest when he said he broke up with her because he thought that was what was best for her. He hadn't been playing with her heart back then.
“It means that this isn't about just you.”
“I'm not sure I understand. I was the one knocked out, this ring placed on my finger, and those awful words written on my hand. Who else is it about?”
Hidden Danger Page 15
