Chapter 89
CLAIRE’s POV
It takes a few seconds for me to calm my jangling nerves down. Jake stares at both of us
with that evil grin of his and some teeth missing. The man is truly ugly, the
worst kind of ugly.
“Not funny,” Clive says. “What are you doing giving Claire a fright like this?”
Jake grins. “Just jesting with you is all. Thought I’d come out and get some fresh
air. Hey, Hector, catch,” he shouts at the dog throwing another stick for the
dog.
Hector bounces around like all his Christmases have come at once. Being near Jake as
he takes his stride by my side makes me feel physically sick. There is most
definitely something off with this guy. Although hearing from Clive that he has
cleaned himself up, is something. Funny, though I am not convinced. I swear to
God he is on something. His eyes keep bouncing around and the way he is looking
at me makes me shudder. I wish he would go the fuck away and leave us in peace.
We were having a nice walk until he appeared out of the blue like a bad omen.
“What happened to splitting the logs?” Clive asks him as he takes my hand in his. It
feels warm and I realize how much I have missed physical contact. I smile up at
him trying to do my best to ignore his brother on my other side.
“Man, stop. I wanted to join you both on the walk. Like I said it can be dangerous in
these woods. You gotta know where all the pit holes are, Claire. Fall down one
when you’re not looking properly and you could be down there for days,” he
tells me with a tone that makes my blood curl.
Is he threatening me? Maybe he has issues with Clive having a woman in his life.
Maybe, Jake wants Clive’s attention for himself. Sibling attention is a real thing;
I read about it somewhere. Some have even been known to harm the other’s
partners or close ones.
“You’re making a nuisance of yourself. Go back to the cabin and finish it. We’ll need
plenty this week. There is a storm rolling in.”
Oh, God.I hate storms, they freak me out so bad. Jonathan seemed to think I was
pathetic when it began to thunder and lightning. Once he stood at the bedroom
door. When the lightning came and cast a light across him, it made my
hysterical.
I can only imagine that storms in this part of the world can be horrific. “Don’t
worry, Claire you will be perfectly safe with me,” Clive reassures me as if he
senses that I am scared of them.
Jake pulls a face. “You know that someone has gone missing in these woods don’t you,
Claire?” Jake says with menace in his voice. Is it me, or is he almost jovial
about that fact?
I shake my head and grip hold of Clive’s hand harder. He reassures me by circling his
thumb on the top of my hand.
“Pay no attention to Jake, Claire. He’s full of shit.” There is a tone in Clive’s voice
that I don’t recognize.
“Was it a woman or a man?” I ask hoping to God he doesn’t say neither and that it was a
child. I hold my breath then remind myself I need to breathe. It’s damn-well
hard with Jake moving closer to me. Any closer and he will be brushing my body.
I inch closer to Clive who looks across and throws a stern look to Jake.
“A woman,” Jake says. “It happened just a couple of years ago. Out she was walking by herself.
Her phone was tracked to here. They found the mobile but not the body,” he says
almost sing-song voice. I want him to go missing, to the end of the earth and
never be found again.
Could he possibly have anything to do with it? He could be one of those stereotypes who
like to brag about their conquests. My mind is in overtime right now as I
imagine how easy it would be for a man like Jake to harm a woman and bury the
body.
A cold chill spreads over me. Clive lets go of my hand and places his arm around my
shoulder and hugs me into his side. I should feel comforted but Jake moves
closer.
Hector comes bounding up to us at just the right moment and drops the long stick at
Jake’s feet. “Good boy,” he says as he picks it up and throws it again.
“They found her phone at the edge of the woods and her shoes, that’s it. Nothing
else. This is private land so nobody should have been in here. That’s what you
get, Claire for being in the woods on our land.”
He has a smug smirk on his face. I want to slap it off. The palms of my hand itch to
slap him across the face good and proper.
“Why didn’t they start digging?” I ask. I mean they would wouldn’t they. Police never leave
a stone unturned. They would be relentless in their quest to find the missing
woman.
“Oh, they dug alright in the spot the dogs led them to, but nothing was found. Chemicals,
you know, Claire,” he says as he looks deep into my eyes. I want to avert my gaze
but I can’t. “Can disguise a lot of scents even for sniffer dogs. Bet you didn’t
know that then, did you?”
I have to say I didn’t. I shake my head not wanting to hear anymore.
“That’s enough, Jake now go on. Piss off. You’re frightening her half to death. She’s
already had a shocking time. If you don’t stop being an asshole, you will have
to leave.”
Clive’s voice is stern and anger bubbles beneath his surface as his cheeks flush red. I
can see the hard anger in his otherwise, warm eyes.
“What? You’d kick me out because of a woman?” Jake asks incredulously.
“Oh, brother. I wouldn’t be making threats like that. You know what could happen.” Jake
sneers at me when he says it.
My jaw drops open as he turns and runs like some kind of maniac towards the cabin.
“Sorry about him, Claire. He’s not been right since she left him. We have tried
everything.”
“It’s fine,” I mutter knowing it’s not.
What if he had something to do with the missing woman? Who was the woman?
What if his threat is not empty? Then what?