Chapter 27 One Step Closer To The Secret
Serena
It had been three glorious, quiet days without Saint or Sin breathing down my neck, without their hands or their eyes or their darkness pressing into every corner of my mind.
I almost convinced myself I could breathe again.
Then they came back. You could guess there wasn't anything peaceful about their return.
I was curled in the study armchair, H. D. Carlton’s Haunting Adeline open on my lap.
I was even thinking the twisted love story felt almost tame compared to my own life when the first scream sliced through the whole house. How it didn't fall, I had no idea.
It was Lara’s signature Hollywood-horror shriek, high, dramatic, and designed to make everyone jump.
A second later, glass shattered. I snapped the hardcover shut and bolted upright, fear shooting up my spine.
From the window I saw it: a dining chair cartwheeling through the air, smashing into Mrs. Rivers’ prized rose garden.
Petals exploded like red confetti. Thorns and broken stems rained down on the lawn. What in the world….?!
I raced downstairs, wondering if robbers were in the building.
I stumbled to a halt on the last step.
The living room looked like a scene from an Afghanistan war zone.
Saint’s shirt hung in tatters, the sleeves were shredded, his collar was ripped open, and blood streaked the white fabric in dark smears.
Sin was worse. Blood soaked his black T-shirt, and blood was dripping from his knuckles, his split lip, and a nasty gash above his left eyebrow.
He looked like he took a trip to hell to fight the devil himself.
The Rivers' bodyguards poured into the living room, their hands hovering near their holsters, surveying the scene as if there was an intruder in the house with us.
Sin’s eyes found mine first.
The wild, fractured, starving look in his eyes hit me like a fist to the sternum.
Saint released him instantly. Sin crossed the room in three strides and crushed me against his chest before I could speak.
One arm banded my waist, the other cupped the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair, pressing kisses into the strands like he was trying to inhale me.
Blood smeared my cheek. I didn’t care.
“What’s going on?” Lara demanded, her voice shrill as ever.
Nobody acknowledged her question.
“Where did you go?” I whispered into Sin’s neck, my voice muffled against his skin.
He shuddered, a full-body, violent vibration that shook me as well.
“I had to fight,” he rasped. “I needed to fight so I wouldn’t hurt you… it was too much… I couldn’t—”
He wasn't making sense. What happened? Why were they both bloodied up?
Saint stepped in, prying Sin’s arms from around me.
He tugged me back against his chest instead, one hand splaying protectively over my stomach while the other angled my head so he could whisper against my ear.
“Stay away from the game room, love,” he murmured, his breath warm and unsteady. “We’ll find you later.”
Then he turned, his arm locked around Sin’s shoulders and dragged him toward the stairs.
Sin’s head twisted at the last second, his eyes locking on mine one more time.
It wasn’t until they disappeared around the landing that I realized Mrs. Rivers was standing at the top of the stairs.
Her arms were crossed, and her lips were drawn into a thin, furious line.
Her wicked gaze drilled straight into me.
“Carry her to her room,” Mrs. Rivers said to the bodyguards, her eyes daring me to make a run for it.
Sin wasn't supposed to touch me like that in front of an audience, and Saint hadn't acted like the jealous or enraged fiancé one but.
She was starting to suspect something.
Two bodyguards stepped forward immediately, their hands reaching for me. I didn’t fight them.
I didn’t even twitch.
Something dark was rotting inside this family, and Mrs. Rivers wanted it buried so deep no one would ever dig it up.
Especially not me. The S in my name stood for SNOOPER. She had no idea.
They grabbed my arms and hauled me upstairs like I was cargo.
My bare feet dragged across marble, then carpet, then the hallway runner.
The door to my room opened. They shoved me inside, hard enough that I stumbled forward two steps.
The door slammed shut behind me with a sound that rattled my bones.
“I’m with the key, bitch,” Lara’s voice called through the door. She sounded bright and gleeful. “No coming out for you until I say so.”
She gave a high, sharp, victorious laugh before leaving.
I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms.
Then I walked to the bed and sat, hating myself for the millionth time since I’d stepped foot in this house.
I stared at the floor-to-ceiling windows across from the bed for a minute, then a thought struck me square in the forehead.
The windows! I could climb them.
I’d done it before, scaled the outside of this house like a damn lizard, clinging to ledges while the wind tried to rip me off.
If I could get out, I could circle around the exterior wall. I could reach the game room from the outside. See what they didn’t want me to see.
My heart kicked hard against my ribs. I could do it.
I stood and crossed the room. Carefully, I unlocked the window latch and it gave a quiet click.
I pushed it open and considered the risk for a second before swinging one leg over the sill.
My bare foot found the narrow stone ledge outside, the cold biting into my sole.
I didn't look down as I swung, leaped and landed on the last ledge.
The windows were open, lowered, in fact. So I couldn't peer into the room. I opted for eavesdropping. No need to play with my life.
I heard Mrs Rivers curse under her breath before a female voice I'd heard before spoke up.
“We can't afford another scandal, the brand's image will crash. You need to learn to control your urges.” It was Delaney speaking.
Perhaps she'd driven in while I was busy scaling the walls like Spiderman.
“It's easy for you to say when the temptation isn't living right under your roof, easily accessible and just a few rooms away from you!” Sin roared.
I nearly fell off the ledge I was crouched on when I heard something crash to the floor.
“What?” Mrs Rivers gasped.
Sin had just admitted that I was the reason for his strange behaviour. But how? How was I responsible for his feral behaviour?
Delaney had said '....we can't afford another scandal...'. It could only mean something terrible had happened before, something that Sin must have done.