When he pushes the next door open and lets out a huff, I shake my head in frustration.
Keep going, Karolina. She has to be here somewhere.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jack suddenly says as the final door is pushed open. He pulls my hand up to his lips, gives it a soft kiss, then yanks me gently in front of him. “Wake her up.”
“What?”
I pull away from his grip again, but only because he allows it, and step into the room.
And there she is.
Immaculate.
Naked.
Crumpled on the floor in a heap of sin with death standing close by.
But I won’t let it take her from me.
“Grace?” I call out softly as I move quickly toward her. When she doesn’t answer, I pull my dress over my head and toss it on the floor next to her. This way she won’t feel the shame of being naked alone when she wakes up.
“Grace, it’s me.”
She gurgles slightly as I look to see what’s wrong with her.
That’s when I notice it.
It looks like the rope she had strung around her neck snapped in half. But not before it tightly wound its way around her neck.
I get on my knees and move her long, blonde hair aside as I dig my teeth into the rope and begin to gnaw on it as gently as I can.
Someone must have cared for her in the months that she’s been like this, otherwise she would have died.
I know who it was.
“Grace,” I say again, ignoring the bitch in my head. When she doesn’t answer, I lean down again and give the rope one more hard yank with my teeth until it finally breaks free.
Letting out a relieved breath, I sit down next to her, gently lift her head then place it on my lap.
I begin to brush her hair out of her face, hoping that her breathing will eventually become even and strong again. It reminds me of when I used to chase her in the woods when we had rare moments to be ourselves. Of how I would never be able to quite catch her but always able to comfort her as we hid from the two people who hated us the most.
“Is she okay?”
“She will be,” I tell Jack without looking at him.
Another hour passes, Jack sitting on the chair that had toppled under Grace’s feet during her show, Grace’s head is still in my lap, her eyes still closed, and my hope is that she’ll open them soon, when she finally starts to show signs of life again.
A sharp inhale.
A grunt.
A rub of her throat.
Her eyes begin to flutter as I wait with bated breath for them to open. It takes her a few tries, but when they finally do, I’m the first thing she sees.
She smiles as best as she can, then coughs violently.
“Grace,” I greet her gently.
She opens her mouth but closes it almost instantly. It’s as if she’s trying to get feeling back in her throat.
“H … ha ...ig … ht,” she rasps back, as her eyes attempt to close again.
“I’m going to take you home now. We both are.”
I look up at Jack who gets to his feet, then reaches down for my sister—our sister. He cradles her against his body then reaches a hand down to help me up.
As we begin to walk out of the room, I glance around briefly hoping that death can feel as cheated as it should when it comes to the Albertine sisters.
And when I see a small red light blinking somewhere near the wall, I can’t help but smile.
Amen.
About Yolanda:
Yolanda Olson is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author. Born and raised in Bridgeport, CT where she currently resides, she usually spends her time watching her favorite channel, Investigation Discovery. Occasionally, she takes a break to write books and test the limits of her mind. Also an avid horror movie fan, she likes to incorporate dark elements into the majority of her books.
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Books by Yolanda:
Bones
Inferno
Nefarious
Take You
Brianna Hale
Blurb
All grown up…
The moment I laid eyes on Alaina after all these years, she awoke the beast in my heart. I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I crave her, and it fills me with rage that she will never want me.
I’m ugly. Harsh. Rough. I have to make her want me, and for that, I need a trap. One so perfect that she doesn’t see the cage closing in around her until it’s too late.
Alaina, you’re going to be mine. I’ll possess you. Ruin you.
Take you.
And you won’t even see me coming.
Chapter One
Alaina
Alaina.
I’m coming for you. I’ll possess you. Ruin you.
Take you.
The note drops from my trembling fingers. It flutters to the floor, a neat, unfolded rectangle of white paper, pasted all over with letters cut from newspaper headlines. I stare at it on the carpet like it’s a snake that will strike if I dare look away for one second.
All the notes end the same way.
Take you.
Simple. Ominous.
Terrifying.
My gaze flits around the room, searching for more danger. The front door to my apartment is locked. I’m on the fourth floor and there’s a security guard at the front desk. I should feel safe.
Should.
I can’t shake the feeling that he’s watching me even now. Through a window. Through the webcam on my laptop. Stealing my privacy. Owning my every breath.
When the first note arrived three months ago, I showed it to Mitchell.
Alaina. Beautiful Alaina.
I need you to be mine. I want you, but you don’t want me.
So I’ll have to take you. Soon. Very soon.
“Is this your idea of a love letter?” I asked him, laughing. “Kind of sinister, isn’t it?”
But my boyfriend of eight years said he didn’t write the note
