Shivers Box Set: Darkening Around Me\Legacy of Darkness\The Devil's Eye\Black Rose (43 page)

Brynn stood at the window watching the flurry of activity below. Police and crime scene investigators scurried between the cars parked in the courtyard. Harding had divers out at first light, and three hours later the first of the body bags had been brought out. Brynn had lost track of how many others had followed after the third.

Her thoughts drifted to the night before, of coming back to the house and the genuine relief in her sister’s face when Eleri had seen that she and Reece were safe.

Could Eleri be a killer? Was she responsible for what Brynn had seen in those murky waters?

“He’ll see you,” Warlow said, words clipped and icy. Brynn jumped and turned away from the window. While his expression remained impassive, his eyes shone with animosity.

Brynn started for her father’s door. She had no idea why the man was so angry with her. Maybe because he realized she wasn’t going anywhere soon.

“It’s a mistake letting you stay, and I told him so,” the butler said. He stood with his hands gripped behind his back. Maybe to stop himself from throttling her. “You’ve caused nothing but havoc since you’ve arrived.”

“The havoc
I
caused? The fact that you hired a crazy woman to care for your employer has nothing to do with me. She was killing people long before I arrived.”

His scowl darkened. “He’s growing worse. Don’t upset him.”

She doubted very much she could help but upset him. Not with everything she had to say. Still, she shot Hugh a tight, phony smile. “Of course.”

Brynn turned and walked into her father’s room. The smell of sickness—of death—caught her full force and her step faltered. She drew a deep breath through her mouth and forced her feet forward.

Dull light spilled through the windows, falling on the sallow, shriveled man beneath the blankets. Eerie silence gripped the room except for the relentless hiss of the oxygen tank.

Arthur looked considerably worse than he had the previous week. His closed eyes were sunken, dark half-moons smudged beneath them. His face was gaunt, skin haggard.

Releasing a slow breath, she lowered herself into the chair next to the bed. His eyes opened and locked on her, as alert as ever.

“Still alive, I see,” he wheezed.

Try not to sound so happy about it
. She was sore, tired and her sprained wrist ached even with the painkillers, but she was alive. “What can I say? I’m tough to get rid of.”

The man smirked at the double meaning. At least she thought he did. It could have just as easily been a grimace.

“Have you come to say goodbye?”

Brynn shook her head. “I came to tell you I remembered what happened. It was Meris, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t reply, merely turned his gaze to the sea.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she pushed.

“What would have been the point?” He continued to stare out the window. “You were out of harm’s way. Why relive the stigma of another mad wife?”

Two wives who’d lost their minds. What was it about this place?

“Was Meris always—”
Insane? Sick? Evil?
“—the way she was?”

Arthur hesitated as if choosing his words carefully. “For as long as I knew your mother, she wanted what she wanted and she would do whatever she could to get it.”

“What was it she wanted when she tried to drown me?”

“She never said.” He turned away from the window and finally met Brynn’s gaze. “When will you be leaving?”

Oh no, he wasn’t changing the subject. Not until she finally had the answers she came here for. “How could you have kept quiet? Didn’t you worry Meris might kill someone else? Like your other daughter. Meris used to lock her in the basement, did you know that?”

“I believe we’ve already discussed my poor parenting skills. You should be thankful that your grandparents took you.”

“I am, believe me.”

“Now that you have the answers you wanted,” he smirked beneath his oxygen mask, “won’t you be going?”

She shook her head. “Not for a while yet.”

“Aren’t you concerned for your safety? How many bodies have they found?”

“Three, last time I checked. But to answer your question, I’m not worried. Eleri didn’t try to drown me when I was little. She didn’t kill Meris or Matthew Langley or Olivia Dodd. Maybe she had nothing to do with those bodies in the bog, either. She needs someone on her side.” Lord knew, it wasn’t going to be him.

Again that toothy smirk. She waited for him to tell her she wasn’t welcome to stay, just like Hugh wanted him to. Instead, he asked, “Will that man be staying with you? The one working with the police while pretending to work for me.”

She didn’t have an answer. Last night, after the EMTs had treated them—Reece refusing to go to the hospital for the seven stitches in his forearm—they had fallen into bed and slept the clock around. When she woke, he was gone and she had no idea where he went. “I don’t know why he would.”

“Don’t you?”
Innuendo dripped from his tone.

Maybe the implication was meant to embarrass her, and if he were her father, maybe it would have. But this man was a stranger.

She stood. “I’ll leave you to rest.”

“If you’re determined to stay, Brynn, you need to be careful.”

“Because of Eleri?”

He shook his head. “Because this place, this land, could be dangerous for you. I would hate to see you wind up like your sister, or your mother.”

Apprehension fluttered in her throat, but she swallowed the sensation. He was trying to freak her out. “I’m not worried.”

She left his room, relieved not to find Warlow hovering outside the door, and hurried to her own room. The house, despite its size, felt like it was closing in on her, the air too thick and hot to breathe. She grabbed her jacket off the end of her bed and shoved her feet into her sneakers before heading downstairs.

She needed quiet, time and space to process everything that had happened. She walked outside and came to a halt.

Normally, she would have gone around back to the courtyard and into the woods, but the forest would be filled with police, and possibly body bags.

She looked up at those steel waves rolling into the shore. Her pulse gave a small jolt, but none of the usual panic appeared. Had remembering what had really happened to her and who was responsible killed her phobia?

Tentatively, she made her way to the stone stairs at the side of the cliff. They were steep and uneven; her heart beat faster while she toyed with the idea of going down.

The hell with it
. She took a deep breath, gripped the rough wooden rail and took her first step. She’d probably wind up with more than one splinter in her palm before she reached the bottom, but she didn’t dare let go. The cold, damp wind off the sea slapped at her face and swept her hair back. She kept her attention focused on her feet, refusing to look out at the water. The last thing she needed was to freeze up halfway down.

Once her feet were firmly planted in the wet sand at the bottom, she lifted her gaze to the roiling waves. Her breath caught and her chest squeezed. Instinctively, she reached out and gripped the handrail to anchor herself.

Breathe. In and out
. She did, slowly, each breath slightly less shaky than the last.

The wood under her hand trembled. The heavy thud of footsteps rose above the relentless hush of the surf. She lifted her gaze to Reece making his way down.

She hadn’t told him about what she’d remembered. There hadn’t been time with everything that had happened. And she wasn’t sure there would be, now.

Matthew Langley’s killer was caught and Reece’s secret was out. He could leave here anytime. Maybe that’s why he’d followed her down—to say goodbye.

She ignored the ache in her chest and forced a smile as he came to stand beside her.

“What in the world are you doing down here?” he asked. A confused smile pulled at his mouth, his eyes the same shade as the water.

“I wanted to see if I was still afraid, after last night.” Her face warmed. She probably sounded foolish.

“Are you?”

She smirked. “Yes…but maybe not as much. Where did you go this morning?”

“To speak to Harding. Though, to be honest he barely spared me a moment. I had to make do with Miller.”

To find out when he could leave, no doubt.

“Oh?” was all she could manage through her shriveling throat.

“We won’t have to worry about Ruth. With everything they’ve turned up so far, she’ll be going away for a long, long time. She’s confessed to everything.”

“Was Daniel Forbes her son?” she asked.

Reece shook his head. “According to Miller, Daniel wasn’t adopted. Ruth found his picture in the paper and fixated on him. Maybe he looked like the man who’d fathered her child. That’s even if she’s telling the truth about giving a baby up. Miller can’t confirm with her family. They died in a fire when she was nineteen.”

“That sounds suspicious.”

“It does. I suspect the woman’s been killing for a long time.”

A shiver scurried down her spine, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her middle. “I keep thinking about what your uncle said about those shadows being a manifestation of evil. Maybe this place attracts evil people and that’s how Ruth wound up here.”

“I had the same thought.”

Relentless wind swept her hair into her face. She shoved her hand through the strands, holding it back. “Did Miller say anything about the bodies?”

“Not really. They were pulling another out when I left him in the woods.”

“How many now?”

Reece shrugged. “I’m not sure. I thought I heard someone say five.”

Brynn’s stomach sank like an icy brick. “That’s more than Eleri was ever accused of. Have they arrested her yet?”

Reece shook his head. “Not yet. After this mess with Ruth, Harding’s going to be very careful. He’s been after Eleri for a long time. He’s not about to risk her slipping through his fingers now.”

“I practically handed my sister over on a silver platter, didn’t I?”

Reece stepped closer and slipped his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “What choice did you have? You couldn’t have stayed quiet about something like that.”

“I know. I know.” And she wouldn’t have, but she wished telling Harding wasn’t putting the final nail in Eleri’s coffin.

“You think she’s innocent?” Reece asked.

Brynn nodded. “She’s been cleared of trying to kill me and murdering Matthew Langley. Maybe there’s proof out there she had nothing to do with the bodies in The Devil’s Eye if someone were just willing to look for it.”

He grinned and her heart fluttered in her chest. “Is that someone you? Is that why you’ve decided to stay?”

“Maybe.” She bit her lip struggling to hold back a grin of her own. With a deep breath, she hardened her resolve. After all, there was no point giving in to the warm flutters the man created. He would be leaving soon. He had no reason to stay. “How did you know I was staying?”

“Hugh was railing about it to Mrs. Voyle when I came back from talking to Miller. I should thank you, really. He was so furious at you, he was too distracted to continue being angry at me for lying to him these past months.”

“Glad I could help. He really can’t stand me. What about you, though?”

“I don’t think he likes me very much either.”

She laughed in spite of herself. A part of her wished Reece would close the distance between them, pull her in so she could feel his body against hers, and a part of her wished he’d move away, give her space to think. “I mean what will you do now? Langley’s killer has been caught, Harding has what he needs to go after Eleri and your cover’s blown. You’re finally free to leave.”

He nodded slowly. “I am, but I’m staying. There’s nowhere else I want to be, after all.”

“You
want
to be here?” Brynn asked, refusing to give in to that small flicker of hope burning in her chest.

His gaze held hers. “I want to be wherever you are.” He let out a long breath. “I’ll never be that guy who’ll give you a nice, normal life. But I’m too bloody selfish to walk away like I should.”

She shot him a faint smile. “Someone once told me normal is overrated. Besides, I’ve been accused of being so normal I’m boring.”

He snorted softly, gripped her hand and pulled her closer. “There’s nothing boring about you.” His mouth brushed hers. “I love you.”

His words rolled through her like a warm tide.

“I love you, too.”

He kissed her again, deeper this time, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. All the tension and doubt drained from her. This was where she was meant to be. Whatever future they faced, they would have each other.

Behind her, the surf rushed against the shore and Brynn barely noticed.

Be sure to look for Dawn Brown’s next Shivers book, THE WITCH OF STONECLIFF, later in 2014!

About the Author

Dawn Brown’s first sojourn into storytelling began when she was nine. She would gather neighborhood kids into her garage and regale them with ghost stories, believing even then that atmosphere played an important role in a good story.

Dawn has a diploma in journalism, but found herself pursuing a career in computer leasing. After the birth of her son, she gave up the corporate world to be a mom and write full time, trading in her dreary cubicle for a dreary room in the attic.

Now Dawn spends her days creating dark, romantic mysteries with edgy heroes, clever heroines and villains she hopes will keep her readers sleeping with the light on.

Dawn lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son.

To learn more about Dawn and her books, visit her website at
www.dawnbrown.ca
.

Don’t miss Dawn Brown’s next book, The Witch of Stonecliff, coming soon!