by Liz Schulte
I made a face. I might have understood why they did what they did, but I had a hard time with him thinking he could just come back into my life like nothing happened. “Dad, I want to change the arrangement with the security company.”
“You have to keep the guard until this person is caught.”
“That’s not what I mean. I want them…” I didn’t really know how to verbalize it. “More involved.”
My father was quiet for a moment. “What happened?”
“Nothing really. I’m comfortable with Aiden and want him to stay with me.”
“Whatever you need to feel safe.”
“Thanks. Bye.” I hung up and looked at him. “So how did you feel about Three’s Company?”
He chuckled. “We’ll make it work.”
“Now what was that about a trap?”
Chapter 23
Aiden, Vivian, and I vegged out and watched movies. Vivian and I were finishing a bottle of wine when there was a knock on the door.
Aiden looked at me. “Are you expecting someone?” he mouthed.
I shook my head, and he held up a finger for us to stay as he went to the door. Vivian paused the movie.
“Who are you?” I recognized Blair’s voice and hopped up.
“Hey.” I went around Aiden, hugged Blair tight, and introduced him. “How are you doing?”
Blair shook his head and I understood.
Vivian patted the couch beside her. “Christian Bale can take your mind off anything. Come watch the movie with us.”
I smiled. “Can I get anyone a drink? Blair? Aiden?”
“Water,” Aiden said, and Blair said that he was fine.
He sat between me and Vivian and we finished the movie. Aiden volunteered to take the dogs on a walk and Vivian went to bed. Blair looked over at me.
“So are you going back?”
I rested my head against my knees. “I was actually thinking about staying for a while. I want to get to know all of you better.”
“What about Briggs?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s going to work out.”
He nodded. “Wherever you go, don’t cut me out again.”
I squeezed his hand. “I promise.”
When Aiden came back, Blair left to go home, and I went to bed with both dogs. A few hours later I was awakened by my phone. I fumbled around for it and answered.
“Hello?”
“Ryan, there’s been an accident,” Ashley said.
*
Aiden drove Vivian and me to the hospital. No one said a word in the car, and I couldn’t stop fidgeting. He had to be okay. Before the car was even fully stopped, I flung my door open and ran toward the emergency room entrance. I spotted my dad first and raced to him.
“Is Blair okay? Ashley didn’t know.”
He hugged me hard. “I don’t know. He’s with the doctors now.”
“What happened?”
Someone cleared their throat and I looked up. Deputy Perry was behind my father. “I was just about to get to that before you came in.”
Dad and I turned to him, and Vivian took my hand. Aiden hung back.
“He missed a curve and ran off the road. It appears the car rolled until it hit a telephone pole. There were no skid marks. He was unconscious when he was extracted from the vehicle.”
I squeezed Vivian’s hand and Dad tightened his arm around me. “Extracted” sounded extra bad. Ashley and Melissa were there now too. Only Mother was missing. Deputy Perry asked a few questions and then left us to wait. “Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“She was at a fundraiser, but she’s on her way,” Dad said. He cleared his throat. “Are you going to introduce us to your friends?”
It took me a second to know what he was talking about because I was focused on the fact my mother would go to a fundraiser the day her sister died. “Oh, sorry. This is Vivian. We were roommates at school.” I hooked a thumb toward Aiden. “The big, quiet one is Aiden, my bodyguard.”
He gave a half wave but didn’t crack a smile or shake anyone’s hand. Instead, his eyes continued to scan the room for threats.
Ashley’s eyebrows went up so high that if he had hair for them to get lost in they would have. “You changed your mind pretty quickly. Did something happen?” He watched me carefully.
I nodded and went to stand by Aiden. I didn’t want to talk about the scrapbook or the yearbooks with them yet. I leaned toward Aiden and asked quietly, “Do you think Blair’s accident could have anything to do with me?”
Aiden’s brown eyes met mine. “Do you think it could have?”
“I don’t know. Why didn’t he brake?”
Aiden continued slowly surveying the room. “It’s possible.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I stood up and paced the waiting room until I thought I might go crazy. Then I headed outside. Aiden was right behind me. “I’m just making a phone call,” I said.
“Go ahead.” He stood about four feet away.
I called Briggs to make sure he’d left town. I didn’t want to date him, true—but I also didn’t want him hurt or killed because he was close to me. He didn’t answer.
“Have you followed me the whole time?”
“I’ve only been assigned to you for three years.”
“Do you have a family?”
He raised a thick eyebrow.
“If you’re going to go everywhere with me, I’d like to know you better.”
“No family.” Aiden didn’t look at me. Instead he stared out into the parking lot. “This isn’t going to stop. You know that, right? Not until the person is caught.”
He was talking about his plan to trap the stalker. I didn’t love the idea of being bait, but putting my family in danger wasn’t an option either. “I know.”
“I’ll be with you the whole time.”
I nodded. He wanted us to lure the person out by making them think I was alone and, for lack of a better word, available. “Let’s go back inside.”
My mother arrived over an hour later, and the doctor finally came out to talk to us. “Blair is stable but still in critical condition. He has several cracked ribs, a ruptured spleen, and some internal bleeding. We’ve repaired the spleen but will continue to monitor it. I’m most concerned about brain swelling from his head trauma. We’ll keep a close eye on him for the next twenty-four hours.”
The doctor answered a few questions before going back to Blair. Ashley and Melissa were the first to leave and Mom and Dad were next, though Dad said, “The best thing you can do for him tonight is to go home and get some rest.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Be careful, Ryan.”
The three of us walked to Aiden’s car. “He’ll be okay,” Vivian said.
I nodded, but I didn’t believe it. I didn’t trust anyone I loved in this place. I stared at the hospital looming on top of the hill as we drove away. Whatever was hiding behind those doors wasn’t going to stop until it had me. No one was safe.
*
I tossed and turned in my bed until the covers tangled around me. I flopped to my back and sighed. I needed a plan. But the only things that went through my head were questions. Did it want me because I lived? Or was it a grudge against my family? Could a flesh and blood person orchestrate all of this? I struggled out of bed and wandered into the kitchen for a drink.
“Can’t sleep?” Aiden asked.
I’d forgotten he was there. He sat on the couch half in shade, half in moonlight. The shadows made his cheekbones sharp and his eyes dangerous. “Don’t you sleep?” I asked.
“I was. You walk like a herd of elephants.”
“Do you work for me or for my family?”
“My job is to keep you safe from anyone who threatens you.”
I thought about what he said as I went to the living room with my glass of water and sat on the other end of the couch. “That doesn’t really answer my question.”
“Ryan, I’ll protect you from stalke
rs, your family, and even yourself if need be.”
I leaned forward. “But will you help me?”
His jaw stiffened. “With what?”
“I’m going to go on the ninth floor, and I don’t want to go alone.
“Why are you obsessed with this?”
“Because I hear the voices, I have seen the locks come undone, and people have died. Now Blair is hurt and Bee is dead. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to survive. Maybe if it gets me back, no one else will be hurt. “
His lips curved, but he pressed them together to hide the smile. “You believe all that?”
I nodded. “It’s all the better that you don’t. You’ll give me perspective, and if you’re right, there’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s no reason we shouldn’t do it.”
“You have enough to worry about without chasing ghost stories. We need to find your stalker and eliminate the actual threat. My plan is good. It’s controllable.”
“Humor me. Come with me tomorrow. If you’re right and nothing’s there, I promise to do whatever you say to catch the stalker.” His eyes were softening. “Please, Aiden.”
He ran his hand over his hairless head. “How do you plan to get in?”
“It’s going to unlock for me.”
He nodded and didn’t say what I knew he was thinking—that I had lost my mind. He leaned back against the couch. “Get some rest. You need it.”
“You’ll do it?”
He didn’t try to hide his faint smile this time. “Stand in front of a door with you waiting for it to unlock? Sure.”
I finished my water, watching the hospital in the distance. A light on the dark floor blinked on and off as if it knew I was thinking about it. I’m coming for you, I thought as I bit my lip.
When I didn’t leave, Aiden threw part of his blanket over me, and I scooted closer to him. Tomorrow would change everything.
Chapter 24
The dogs woke me up. My neck was stiff and Aiden’s hand rested lightly on my legs. Aiden’s head snapped up at the sound of the dogs whining as they pawed at me. He looked over at me and I gave him a thin smile.
“You should’ve gone back to bed,” he said, his hand still resting on my legs, but I didn’t mind.
“I want to go see Blair,” I told him, pulling the cover up under my chin
He nodded. “As soon as you’re ready.”
I sat up and tossed the covers aside. I took a shower and turned the bathroom over to Aiden while I dressed in a black tunic and dark jeans.
“Did you get any sleep?” Vivian asked, coming out of her room as I was making coffee.
“A little. I overslept. Aiden and I are going to the hospital to see Blair. Do you want to come?”
She shook her head. “I’ll go later this morning. Thanks though.”
“If you don’t feel like opening the store today, don’t worry about it—and Viv, thank you for everything.”
She laughed. “Someday I know I’m going to need you for something, and you’ll come through.”
“You count on it.” I went back to the living room, to-go cups in hand. Aiden was waiting.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yep.”
We got to the hospital just as visiting hours started. My parents were already there. “I think we should move Blair,” I said.
My mother looked me in the eye and nodded. “I agree. We’ll have him out of here today.”
We all went into the room together, even Aiden. Blair looked terrible with tubes sticking out of his mouth and nose. I held his hand for a little while, but I couldn’t talk and pretend everything was going to be okay. I just hoped Mom and Dad got him moved as soon as possible. When I’d had all I could take, Aiden and I left. I tried to call Briggs again, but he still didn’t answer. I frowned, threw my phone back in my purse, and saw the letters my father had given me. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten about them.
The dogs whining from the deck vaguely registered in my preoccupied mind. I opened the door, but Aiden caught the back of my shirt when I made a move to go in. “Ryan, call the police.” His voice left no room for argument as he reached around me and pulled the door shut again. I hadn’t been paying attention to what was inside, but I dialed 911 and handed him the phone. He reported a break in, hung up, and looked back at me.
“What happened?”
“Didn’t you see?” He shook his head when I shrugged. “It looks like you were robbed.”
“So why are we waiting out here? Shouldn’t we see what they took? And I need to get the dogs.”
“It’s best if we wait. I don’t think you need the extra stress.” His voice was patient, almost tender.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do. For the first time since I’d arrived in Goodson Hollow, I wanted to be back in my tiny city apartment with the dogs and nothing more to worry about than going to work the next day. But I’d promised Blair I would stay.
“The dogs will be okay for a couple more minutes. You look like you’re about to fall over. Sit down for a bit.”
I sat on the top step and stared at my hands. “I want to go home.”
“We can do that.”
“You would come with me?” Just knowing that made leaving seem more possible. For some reason, I trusted this stranger more than anyone else.
“I go where you go.”
“Forever?”
He sat down across from me. “For as long as you want me to.”
I nodded.
“You’re still going to the ninth floor?”
“Nothing could keep me away now.” Anger was burning away my grief with a slow, steady flame that only seemed to grow. “Did you know about all of this the whole time? The letters, the kidnapping, the hospital?”
His eyebrows pulled together. “I’ve seen the letters, but I don’t know everything, no.”
“Did you know I was born there?”
“No. Does that matter?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure if it mattered or not, but it felt like it did. “Everyone else died.”
“It’s very sad, Ryan, but what does it mean?” He glanced around us. “Okay, let’s say you’re right and something supernatural is happening. What do you intend to do about it?”
I hadn’t thought about it. Part of me had been holding on to the hope that there was a reasonable explanation for everything. “I don’t know—but I have to at least find out what we’re up against, or I’ll lose my mind.”
“Let’s not rush into anything. Let’s figure out what’s happening before we start running into situations we aren’t prepared for.”
“Yeah.” I opened my purse and retrieved the letters. “I can’t believe Bee’s gone.”
Aiden’s eyes cleaved me in half with their sympathy. I was so used to him being strong and aloof that this break in form almost undid me. I fingered the envelopes sitting on my lap, knowing I needed to read their contents but not wanting to.
“Are you going to read those?”
I blinked. “Now?”
He nodded. “I think now is the perfect time.”
I slipped the top letter out of its envelope. The paper was worn smooth and soft. How many people had read it? I looked at Aiden. He made a circular gesture with his hand, prompting me.
“Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy Autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.”
You left us alone while you live a charmed life in a mansion high above the rest of us. Like a princess destined for greatness, but ignoring the lie that is your life. You allow the evil that destroys everything to slumber inside of you, lying dormant until it is awakened.
They call you Ryan, but that isn’t your name. You aren’t one of them. You belong with us, twisted and broken in the darkness.
Why did you leave?
Why did you let them tak
e you away?
You fucking whore. I hate you. I wish you had died with the rest and nothing would have changed. Now it is too late. Things can never be as they were and you will pay, Ryan Sterling. No amount of money can save you now. A reaping is coming. Soon.
I put the note back in the envelope and threw it on the step. “That didn’t make me feel better at all. Why the hell did you have me read that?”
Aiden picked up the letter and skimmed it. “Because ghosts and evil hospitals do not write letters. They do not quote Tennyson. You have a very real, very human stalker, Ryan, and you need to start acting like you believe that.”
So many thoughts went through my mind that I couldn’t make sense of them, but the one that slipped out of my lips was, “How do you know that was Tennyson?”
He gave me an impatient look, but he stood up and nodded toward the stairs. Two police officers started up. Aiden briefed them, telling them that we just got home and hadn’t gone inside. He opened the door again, and we followed the two police officers in. Aiden gripped my hand. Everything was shredded or destroyed. Chunks of my beautiful new furniture were strewn all over the room, tables were smashed and splintered, and my kitchen glinted with chunks of glass. “Whore” was scrawled across the wall in red. The bedrooms were just as bad, except for mine, which was untouched except that it looked like someone had lain directly in the center of my made bed.
Aiden leaned close to my ear. “You see?” His finger traced the air around the very human looking outline. “A person, not a ghost.”
My lips parted, but nothing came out. I was caught somewhere between terrified and relieved. The officers took our statements and asked whether either of us knew who could’ve done it. I shook my head. They left and I let the dogs back in the house. They ran from room to room, sniffing everything. Aiden and I sifted through the rubble for salvageable items, but we found nothing. Even Vivian’s purse was scattered and torn.
Everything stopped around me. What was Vivian’s purse still doing here? “Aiden.” My voice shook.
He looked up.
“Give me my phone.” He handed me my cell and I dialed her number. A faint ring came from the floor. Aiden swooped down and picked it up from underneath a cushion. The screen was cracked and jagged over a distorted picture of my face.
