Chapter 1 #2
His voice softened slightly. “Same back at you, sister. Stay safe, and I love you too. If you need me, just send the Tessa signal.”
The Tessa signal was their emergency code. A specific text message that would tell Trent she was in serious trouble and needed help immediately, no questions asked.
“I will,” Tessa promised. “Thank you, Trent. Really.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Trent muttered. “You owe me. Big time.”
They hung up, and Tessa set Lori’s phone down on the desk, staring at it for a moment.
She hated lying to her brother, hated keeping him in the dark when she knew he would drop everything to help her if she asked.
But she needed to do this herself first. Needed to be absolutely sure before she started making accusations that could ruin someone’s life.
Because if she was right, if the tune running through her head was telling her the truth, then she knew exactly who was behind the kidnappings.
She heard footsteps on the stairs, coming down quickly. A moment later, the office door flew open, and Lori stood there, her face pale, her eyes wide with something that looked like fear.
“Tessa,” Lori said, her voice urgent. “You have to come see this.”
Tessa stood up immediately, leaving Lori’s phone on the desk as she followed Lori out of the office and toward the stairs. “What is it? What happened?”
“Just come,” Lori said, already climbing the stairs two at a time.
Tessa followed, her heart pounding. Lori was not the type to panic easily. Whatever she had found upstairs, it had to be bad.
They reached the second floor, and Lori led her to the bedroom and pushed the door open. She gestured toward the mirror above the dresser.
Tessa stepped into the room and froze.
Written across the mirror in what looked like red lipstick was a message in neat, precise block letters:
THIS IS NOT OVER. YOU WILL STILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID. I WILL STILL DESTROY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY JUST LIKE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS DESTROYED MINE.
The words seemed to pulse in front of Tessa’s eyes, and for a moment she could not breathe. Someone had been in this house. Someone had come into Seabird Cottage while they were at the hospital with Ryan, had walked up these stairs, had come into this bedroom, and had written this message.
“We need to call Mitch,” Tessa said, her voice coming out steadier than she felt. “We need to tell him about this right now.”
“No,” Lori said immediately, shaking her head. “He has enough on his mind with Ryan right now. Ryan just got out of surgery; he is sedated, and he is in critical condition. Mitch doesn’t need this added to his plate.”
Tessa wanted to argue, but she could see Lori’s point. Mitch had been through so much in the past few days. Nearly losing Ryan had almost destroyed him. Adding this on top of that seemed cruel.
“Okay,” Tessa agreed reluctantly. “But we need to document this. We need a photo.”
Lori nodded. “Yes. Good idea.”
“I’ll get your phone,” Tessa said, already turning toward the door. “Why don’t you go take a shower? You said you wanted to get cleaned up.”
Lori looked down at herself, at the clothes she had been wearing since yesterday. “I do feel disgusting,” she admitted. “And you need one too.” She gave Tessa a small smile. “Not that I’m saying you smell or anything.”
Tessa laughed despite the tension thrumming through her body. “No, I definitely stink. I haven’t showered in days. I’ll get your phone, take a picture of the mirror, and then take a shower once I’m done.”
Lori reached out and pulled Tessa into a quick hug. “Thank you. For being here. For keeping your head through all of this.”
Tessa hugged her back. “We’re going to figure this out. We’re going to find whoever is doing this and we’re going to stop them.”
“I know,” Lori said, but there was uncertainty in her voice.
They separated, and Lori headed toward the bathroom while Tessa left the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her. She could hear the shower turning on as she made her way down the stairs, her mind spinning through everything she knew, everything she had figured out.
The tune. That was the key. That soft, lilting melody had been running through her head ever since she woke up in the hospital. Tessa reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the office to retrieve Lori’s phone when she heard it.
A knock on the front door.
Tessa froze, her hand on the banister, her heart suddenly pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.
Who could that be?
Another knock, louder this time. More insistent.
Tessa took a slow breath, forcing herself to stay calm. It could be anyone. The mail carrier. Someone who was looking for directions.
Then she heard a voice calling from outside, muffled through the door but still audible.
“Hello?” the voice called. “Is someone home?”
Tessa’s jaw clamped, and she shook her head. Not now. She thought irritably. I don’t have time for this.
She stood there for a moment, with a strong urge to keep quiet and hope they would go away.
Tessa was not in the mood for friendly chatter, was not in the mood to pretend everything was fine.
Taking a deep breath, she walked to the front door, her legs feeling like they belonged to someone else.
Her hand reached for the doorknob, and just as she started to pull it open, another thought hit her.
Another memory of where else she had heard that song that was turning over in her head.
It had been recently.
Her hand froze on the doorknob. She wanted to slam the door shut, but before she could push the door shut again, it was shoved open.
There the person stood on the front porch, smiling at her with a smile that did not reach the eyes.
“Hello, Tessa,” the person said, holding a cylindrical object in one hand. Something metal. Something heavy.
Tessa forced a false smile onto her face, her mind racing through possibilities. She could scream. She could try to slam the door. She could run.
But none of those options would help. None of those options would keep Lori safe upstairs.
“Hello,” Tessa said, her voice remarkably steady. She glanced down at the air pump in the person’s hand. “Flat tire? Blowing up an air bed?”
“No,” the person said, still smiling that terrible smile. “Nice escape from the farmhouse, by the way. I really wasn’t expecting that.”
“So it was you!” Tessa nodded slowly, her mind working furiously to figure out what to do.
“I knew it was only a matter of time before you put it together,” the person said. “You are too smart not to figure it out eventually. But I can’t have you blowing up my plan for the others.”
The others.
Tessa went cold. “What others?” Although she had a feeling, she knew who the others were.
“Oh, come now, Tessa,” the person sneered. “We both know you’ve figured it all out by now.” Before Tessa could reply or think, they said, “Get her.”
The giant stepped in front of her from where he’d been hiding beside the door. The same giant who had held them captive.
“You again,” Tessa said, backing into the house as she saw him coming toward her with a cloth in his enormous hand. The cloth that would be soaked with chloroform. The cloth that would knock her out within seconds if he got it over her face.
She held up her hands, trying to keep her voice calm and negotiate. “I’ll go with you. I won’t fight. That stuff makes me sick.”
“Sorry,” the giant whispered as he reached her, and there was genuine regret in his voice. In one smooth motion, he grabbed her with one hand and brought the cloth up with the other, clamping it over her nose and mouth before she could draw breath to scream.
Tessa tried to hold her breath, tried to fight against his iron grip, but it was useless. He was too strong, and she was already weakened from everything she had been through in the past few days.
Her lungs burned, demanding air, and finally, she could not help it. She gasped, and the chemical fumes rushed in.
The world started to spin. Her legs went weak. She could feel the giant lowering her to the floor carefully, almost gently, even as the darkness closed in around her vision.
Great, Tessa thought hazily as consciousness slipped away. Here we go again.
Then there was nothing but black.