Seductive Suspect - Page 32

I winced when I remembered the previous morning. “And the last time Paul tried to leave, it didn’t end well for him.”

“All right.” He looked at each of us in turn. “Same ground rules as yesterday, then? Only one person leaves the room at a time, and so on?”

“Sure,” Isabel said flatly.

Dylan hadn’t said anything since we reconvened.

“Hey, can you get a signal on your phone yet?” I asked him. “I didn’t even think to check mine before coming downstairs.”

“Nope.”

I took no offense at the stilted conversation from the other two. All we needed to do was get through one minute at a time. We’d be cautious, we wouldn’t fall for any attempts at distraction again, and we’d be out of here by the end of the day…right?

In the kitchen, Adam scrambled the last of the eggs and divided them onto four plates. I picked at a stale croissant and tossed most of it in the trash. We completed our new ritual of eating in silence and returning to the library for the interminable wait.

Dylan flopped into his usual armchair and took out his phone.

Adam picked up the deck of cards from the coffee table. “Anyone up for a game?”

I joined him at the sofa, and Isabel sat across from us. “What are you playing?” she asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you’d like.” He shuffled the deck. “Poker, blackjack, go fish…”

“Funny.” She didn’t laugh.

“If Dylan joins us, we have a few more options,” I said.

He remained transfixed by his screen. “Nah, I’m good.”

Adam dealt the cards into three piles. “Back to poker it is, then.”

We played hand after hand, only muttering the words necessary to keep the games going. At any moment, I expected someone to burst through the door to tell us the bridge had been repaired, we could leave the lodge, and go back to the safety of our homes to forget about this nightmare of a trip. The minutes on the clock ticked by at the same sluggish pace as the previous day. Part of me wanted to slip into a cozy corner with Adam again to help pass the time, but it didn’t seem right to leave the others. I wished the cards did a better job of holding my attention.

After winning a hand with three of a kind, Isabel stood. “I’ll beback in a few minutes.”

I turned toward Adam, tucking my feet beneath me. “Once I master chess, is poker next on your list of projects for me? I don’t seem to be very good at cards, either.”

He grinned. “Cards are more luck than strategy a lot of the time. I can think of better things for us to do.”

Before I could shoot back a witty remark, a blood-curdling scream emanated from somewhere beyond the library door. The three of us looked at each other in alarm, eyes wide.

Ice ran through my veins and terror gripped me. “No,” I whispered. Wrapping my arms around my legs, I shrank into a ball in the corner of the couch. “Not again. I can’t do this again.”

Neither of the men said anything. I rested my head on my forearms and focused on inhaling and exhaling in a steady rhythm. Adam’s hand brushed my shoulder, but I recoiled from his touch. Closing my eyes, I tried to convince myself nothing was wrong, that if we waited a few more minutes…

“Shouldn’t we go see what’s going on?” Dylan finally said.

I peeked at him over my knees. Adam didn’t answer.

Dylan stood and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “This whole weekend, everyone’s been treating me like I’m the biggest asshole they’ve ever met, and now I’m the only one who cares if she’s alive or dead? If only they could see us now.” Shaking his head, he put his phone away and walked toward the door. “Whatever.”

He may have had a point, I thought, though it wasn’t enough to get me off the couch. I tucked my head back down and searched for something to cling to. The chances of leaving the lodge alive seemed smaller and smaller with each passing moment, yet not impossible. If I stayed here without moving, maybe I’d be able to dodge whatever gruesome fate the killer had in store for me. It sounded like a stupidly simple plan, but it was the only one within my grasp. Hugging my legs tighter to mychest, I braced myself for the next round of bad news and waited for Dylan to return.

And waited.

And waited.

I didn’t know how long he’d been out of the room. The growing pit in my stomach indicated he’d had plenty of time to find the cause of the screaming and come back, or at least call to us for help. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. Realization set in, and panic wrenched the air from my lungs.