Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Haz
An ominous sensation punctured the veil between sleep and wakefulness to infiltrate my dreams with a heavy sense of dread.
My body reacted first, bolting upright while I gasped for air as if someone had been choking me.
Eyes popping wide, I searched the dark room while pressing my hand against my chest to calm the racing of my heart.
Sweat slicked my limbs uncomfortably, and my body broke out into goose bumps as the cool air brushed against my wildly overheated skin.
It took a moment to orient myself and realize it was the middle of the night and I’d been asleep.
Judging from the way I’d woken, I’d been in the throes of a nightmare.
I didn’t bother trying to remember what it was about. Clearly, it was horrible. Why would I want to relive it?
Sweeping the quiet, dark room once more, I remembered I was at Kieran’s. In his bed. After the doc came and took out my IV, checked all my wounds, and declared I was on the mend, I tried to get out of bed.
Please note I said tried. Kieran was as prickly as a cactus and refused every attempt I made.
I even called out of work, not so much because he insisted but because I still had a headache and I didn’t have my car.
I couldn’t exactly deliver food without one, and when I asked Kieran if I could use his fancy SUV, he laughed and reminded me that the reason we’d met was because I crashed my own car.
I considered retaliation in the form of eating a granola bar on his bed. He’d be finding crumbs in his toes for months. But then he made me a plate of spaghetti with meatballs and crusty bread and told me I could pick a movie for us to watch.
I didn’t really want to go to work anyway. Taking one night off wouldn’t hurt anything. Right?
I’d probably regret it when my rent was due next week, but I guess that was future me’s problem.
I picked John Wick, my favorite, and Kieran said it looked stupid. But when I crawled into his lap, he wrapped his arms around me and only grumbled a little about how unrealistic the entire thing was.
I must have fallen asleep right there in his arms while it was still playing because now the room was dark and silent. How I managed to fall asleep early after sleeping all of the night before and most of the morning was a mystery.
Maybe it was the three orgasms and belly full of pasta. Or feeling safe in Kieran’s arms.
His arms weren’t around me now, and that ominous impression that woke me still lingered like that toothpaste I got off the clearance rack once. I didn’t know that stuff could expire, but now I’d never forget.
Anticipating his solid embrace, I turned and reached for him.
He wasn’t there.
Confused, I looked again. “Kieran?” I called, reaching across the mattress, my hand meeting an empty space where he should have been.
I felt around again, you know, just to be really sure, and yeah, not there.
Flopping onto my back, I sighed up to the dark ceiling and lifted my head, thinking he was in the bathroom, but it was dark.
I stumbled toward the bathroom. “Kieran?”
Silence was my only reply.
The white marble and cabinets contrasted against the dark as I went to the water closet to peek in. He wasn’t there, but seeing the toilet made me realize my bladder was about to burst (stupid IV), so I took a minute to relieve myself.
Back in the bedroom, the trepidation I’d felt in my sleep returned as I gazed at the large empty mattress. Shivering as the sweat on my skin dried, I left the bedroom to walk across the plush rug stretching down the hall and into the main living space.
Out here was just as empty as the bed, and my bare feet stopped, the wooden floor beneath them cold.
“Kieran,” I called.
When he didn’t answer, I went past the empty living room, past the island, and into the kitchen. It was spotless and dark. The only light came from the city view from the window over the sink.
Atlas and Cliff were still exactly where I’d put them, and I went over to gently finger their foliage. “Hey, guys,” I started. “You’re looking a little better. I know it’s dark, but I can tell. Sorry I didn’t find you a new home yesterday, but I will as soon as the sun comes up.”
After checking to make sure their soil wasn’t too dry, I wandered through the living room and into Kieran’s office.
It was spacious with an entire wall of bookcases in the same color as the floor.
The shelves were neat, the many books arranged by size.
Intrigued, I went closer to look at what else he had on display.
Even though there was a large city view in here as well, it wasn’t bright enough, so I clicked on a small lamp on the corner of his massive desk.
The room filled with a warm glow, and I was overwhelmed with a wave of homesickness.
Wrinkling my nose, I tried to push it away and walked to the shelves, which were much easier to see.
I ran my finger along the smooth, dust-free wood, taking in the wide range of books. There were several copies of The Art of War, a book I wasn’t familiar with, but clearly, Kieran liked it. There were history, medical, and psychology texts and even a few mystery novels.
A globe with gold trim sat on one of the shelves along with some carved statues made of wood. There was a stand with a dagger on display and an hourglass filled with red sand.
The homesick sensation reasserted itself, making my stomach tighten. Breathing deep, I realized the room smelled just like him, the scent familiar as I’d fallen asleep with it wrapped around me.
On the corner of his massive desk was a bonsai but no trace of paperwork or even a laptop. Such a neat freak.
Realization dawned. This room was the most “Kieran” in the entire condo.
He might not be physically in here, but his presence was.
He lingered in every book and collectible on the shelf.
I knew without him even saying that every piece was chosen for this room by him because all of it meant something.
The living room and kitchen almost seemed unlived in, and though this room was just as orderly as the rest, this was where he spent most of his time.
I was homesick because of him. For him.
Where is he?
Across the room was a large leather chair with a small table beside it and a fireplace built into the wall. A clock on the mantel drew me closer, and I noted it was after three a.m.
Why would he just leave and not say anything? What the hell does someone do at three in the morning?
Those thoughts sent me back into the bedroom where I looked on both nightstands for a note. Then I checked the pillow.
Nothing.
There was no note on the fridge or the island.
I checked the entire apartment. Kieran was not there.
I couldn’t even call him because I still didn’t have his phone number.
So stupid, Haz. You had sex with him. More than once. You’re in his house and don’t even know how to call him.
He told me I couldn’t leave, practically frothed at the mouth at the very idea. But what did he do? Leave. Hypocritical ass.
I thought briefly of Ghost, but I didn’t have his number either.
I did have a card with Dr. Hershberg’s number.
I raced to the bedroom for the card, tripping on the corner of the runner in the hall and pitching forward.
Flinging my arms out, I caught myself on the wall, falling into it with a slap.
Grunting, I pushed back, but the panel beneath my palm slid in.
Puzzled, I stared at the sunken block of wood and then pulled my hand away. The panel popped out, this time slightly farther than everything else.
The laundry room! Excited, I tugged, and the panel popped open, revealing itself to be a secret door. It was wider and heavier than I expected, and I figured maybe that was why it blended so seamlessly into the wall.
I moved into the opening, and the overhead light clicked on instantly, illuminating the room.
It was small but bigger than I expected, with enough room for a full-size washer and dryer and a rack to hang wet clothes.
I snooped through a set of black cabinets above the appliances and found them stocked with detergent, dryer sheets, and other cleaning supplies.
There was also one of those fancy cordless vacuums I saw on TV attached to the wall.
The walls weren’t white like the rest of the condo but covered with black and white geometric-patterned wallpaper.
Something about it struck me as odd. I wasn’t sure why.
Maybe because no other walls had it. Maybe because I’d just walked through a secret door hidden by custom wood panels.
Or it could have been because it was three in the morning and Kieran was gone.
Laying my palms flat on the walls, I began feeling around for anything that seemed uneven or out of place. After a while, I gave up, frustrated and feeling pretty stupid. I’d lost my mind, searching the walls for some sort of secret latch.
Did I think this was some kind of movie?
Blowing out a breath, I turned to go, my attention snagging on the lifting seam of the wallpaper near the floor.
In any other house, that would be a giant so-what. But this was Kieran the perfectionist’s house. Curling wallpaper was practically a crime. Leaning down, I used my ragged nail to lift the edge.
Gasping, I noted the small latch built into the wall, a latch the wallpaper usually hid. I tugged it, and a section of the wall slid open.
This is totally like a movie.
Excitement coiled through me as I stood, taking in the narrow opening. It was large enough for me to stand in, but Kieran probably wouldn’t completely fit.
I shifted closer, and light flooded the small closet-like space, revealing everything inside.
My jaw went slack.
Frozen in place, I gaped, unblinking, at the last thing I’d expected to find.
It was a body. A dead one.
Just kidding.
It wasn’t a body.
It was worse.
What could be worse than a dead body, you ask?
Stuff to make a dead body.
Guns. Knives. A machete. Pretty sure there was a row of grenades toward the top. Did I mention guns? Lots of guns of all different kinds. All of them with the potential to kill. There were some boots and a few other things I couldn’t identify.
Pursing my lips, I took it all in once more.
Listen, I know I just watched John Wick, had a nightmare, woken up to find my new maybe-boyfriend missing in the middle of the night, and then snooped through his house to find a secret room—Oh, and all that was after people tried to murder me—but I wasn’t making this up.
My eyes did not deceive me.
I blinked them a lot just to be sure.
There was a murder locker in my boyfriend’s house.
Remember when Kieran told me he was in real estate and I believed him? And then Ghost seemed surprised about Kieran’s career, and I didn’t say anything?
Sure, I had some suspicions. Kieran seemed very confident earlier when he said he’d handle the men who tried to turn me into Swiss cheese. Dealing with killers and selling a house wasn’t exactly the same thing, amiright?
I could no longer ignore my suspicions. It was clear Kieran was not, in fact, in real estate.
The murder locker lit up before me dared me to believe otherwise.
This is exactly why people say you shouldn’t meet men online. But why would I listen to a bunch of people I didn’t know? I didn’t even listen to myself.
I gazed back at the organized display of weapons silently making a mockery out of me.
Just who the hell was I dating?