“I have to see him, but don’t you dare breathe a word. Promise me.”
Ronan sighed. “Scout’s honor.”
“Shake on it.”
Ronan extended his hand, and Bree clasped it. She looked taken aback for a moment and stared at their clasped hands.
“You scare the hell out of me when you get that look.”
“It’s probably the pregnancy.”
“Give me that.” He grabbed the box of Milk Duds from her lap and flung it into the backseat.
“What are you doing?”
“Faelan’s going to blame this whole fiasco on me. I’ll be damned if I’ll let him blame your poor eating habits on me too.”
“But I’m craving them. I’ll eat broccoli tomorrow.”
“We’ll probably both be dead tomorrow,” Ronan said as he pulled away from the airport and headed toward Charlottesville.
***
“Shay, we’re home.”
Shay sat up, blinking her eyes as Cody pulled into his driveway. It was already dark. “I can’t believe I slept the whole way. Did I snore?”
“Either that or there’s a kitten purring under the seat.” His lips thinned, and he looked away.
Shay didn’t want to think about Cody and kittens; that’s where the trouble started. “I’m going to go straight to bed.”
Cody pulled his truck up beside a blue car. “Wait, I’ll come with you.”
Shay raised her eyebrows.
“I’ll walk you over. I need to get some things from the house first.” He looked at the blue car and frowned. “Why don’t you wait out here?”
“You’re staying at the house again? Why?”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
“My ankle’s okay.”
“What? Yeah, your ankle. Stay here. I’ll be back.”
“I don’t want to sit here and wait. I’m going on. You can come when you’re ready.”
“I think you were a mule in a previous life. Go on, then. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
She got out of the car, wondering why he was so distracted that he’d let her walk home alone. In fact, she was fairly sure he was trying to keep her out of his house. What was he hiding?
She turned around and walked to Cody’s house. She eased in the back door as she had a thousand times before. He wasn’t in the kitchen. She crept into the living room and down the hall. Her fingers skimmed the banister she and Cody had slid down while his mother, Laura, hid a grin and pretended to scold. Voices were coming from upstairs. A woman’s. Was Laura home? Shay eased up the steps to what had been Cody’s room. His door was cracked. Shay froze, her eyes locked on the long dark hair spread across his pillow. A woman was in his bed.
A girlfriend? Cody had a girlfriend? Shay eased back into the hall, trying to breathe.
“You’re right about the candy,” the woman said. “I don’t think it did me any good. I wish I could just lie in bed all day.” There was a thump, like a pillow hitting flesh, and a low male chuckle.
“Serves you right,” Cody said.
Shay backed away and slipped down the steps, her brain and legs numb. Marcas and Lachlan were in the living room, their voices coming closer. She couldn’t face anyone. She turned and went down the hall, opening the nearest door. When she was a child, the door stayed locked. Ewan MacBain had forbidden them to go down there. Shay adored Ewan, sometimes even pretended he was her father, but she wouldn’t have dared defy a direct edict from him. She closed the door and waited for the voices to pass. Someone had left a light on. Curious, she looked down the stairs, expecting rickety steps, cobwebs, and spiders, dangerous things for kids, not a Bat Cave with rows of computers and weapons lining the walls, guns, swords, and battle-axes, a blend of high tech and medieval. Was Ewan a collector?
She moved down the steps in a daze. The weapons were amazing, authentic, from what she could tell. There was a sitting area with worn leather sofas and chairs. Another room had weights and workout machines. Beyond that, she could see a large, empty space with what looked like wrestling mats covering the floor.
A tall cabinet caught her eye. It was an old piece, probably eighteenth century, in great condition. It held several old books, a few small knives, and a long, wooden box. The grain of wood was unusual. Shay couldn’t resist peeking inside. She saw a thick, round necklace, similar to the one Cody and his brothers wore, but this one had three swirls in the center, etched with some kind of symbols. There were other things, too, gadgets she’d never seen before. Off to the side, a small door stood ajar. She nudged it open and peeked inside, gaping at the wall of monitors. Good heavens. It was Nina’s house. They were recording Nina’s house, from every angle; front, sides, and back, even views of the woods.
She rethought her childhood, wondering if she had missed the signs of insanity in her next door neighbors, but then she saw that their house was monitored as well, again, from all sides. The entire perimeter was covered on both houses. Did this have something to do with her father’s top secret job? Ewan was involved. He’d admitted that much when he and Laura called to apologize a few weeks after she left. But video surveillance?
How could she have spent so much time in this house and not known about this basement? She and Cody had
