Chapter 12
Jemales stood and felt a wave of fright wrath over her. “This makes natente. Devlin wasemel, but he wasn’t iniune“.
Tyun’s eyes darkened “Are you sure about that?
Jennifer Hipped through the pages of the journal azalm, now in a frenzy, as it the end would yieklanemets. She frote at the lasi page
One line limpedink stared back at hi
The house isn’ı safe anyoODA.
She looked up sharply at Byron. “Do you think they were incide
He didn’t hesitate. “I think someone wants you to believe that. And maybe it is true. We need to check everything. Now
They ripped through the house room by room, checking for anything – closets, vents, even the attic. But nothing felt amiss. Nothing was out of place.
But at that moment, everything belt wrong
Jennifer stood in the doorway of her room, looking at the mirror perched above her dresser. In one corner of the glass lay angreprint, faint: too high for her to have left it and too fresh. *I think they were watching,” she whispered.
“Maybe the whole time” Byron joined her, following the direction of her gaze.
‘ install cameras tonight,” he explained “Motion detector. New lock. Whatever it takes. Jenniler nodded slowly. But a weight settled in her chest, something heavier than fear, d knowing. Devlin hadn’t let go. And he wasn’t alone. This person behind the messages and journals seemingly wasn’t done either. Iyon walked toward the window and paused, looking out of
rapain
He trone “What is it?” she asked, rushing to his side. He pointed. “There. Down the block. A figure stood beneath the streetlamp. Dressed in black Face hidden by a hood. They didn’t move. Ther just stood there. Watching, Jennifer’s breath caught. Byron polled her back gently, drawing the curtain
“we’re not alone in this,” he said. “Someone’s trying to send a message.” Jennifer looked back at the journals on the table.
What message?” she asked softly Byron met her eyes. “One that isn’t finished yet.” And just she said it, the power went out. Darknesswallowed the house whole, Jennifer’s scream never left her throat
Outside, the figure disappeared as the front door creaked
The third creak came like a slow breath of warning, Jennifer’s heart thundered in her chest. She grabbed Byron’s arm instinctively, hat other hand fumbling in the dark for her phone. Bur the screen stays black. Dead. No signal. No light. Byron moved first, stepping silently toward the foyer
“Sray behind me,” he whispered, his voice lour and controlled, Jennifer followed, her steps quit against the wooden floor.
The silence was deadening no humming of the fridge, no ticking cock Just the beat of her heart, Byron’s even breathing.
They arrived at the entry, the door was still closed; locked.
But that creaking han’t come from the front doo
Byton turned toward the hallway leading away from the house: the sliding glass door,
Jennifer sensed it then that concocted feeling of being watched.
Byonthew on a flashlight from the emergency drawer; a thin beam stabbed through the dark, down onto the glass door..
It was ajar. Crackuid open. A sliver.
Jennifer breathed in sharply. “I locked that I swear I did.”
Byron did not answer. He moved slowly toward it, stepping onto the cold tiles, the beam shaking in his hand just a limite.
Aiguepped out from the backyard shadows
His hair appeared wet, plastered to his forehead almost as if he had been standing out the rain, except the hy’t been any. His eyes were wild, rimmed in exhaustion and something
be; desperation. His chest was heaving — he must have run a mile to get here.
“I told you I would wait for your ariveer,” he said quietly. “But I couldn’t.”
Jennifer instinctively recalled, and pyron stepped in front of her.
“just how did you get in!” Byron demanded.
Devlin did not answer. He only gazed at Jennifer. “You said five minutes. But it wasn’t enough. You didn’t hear me broke into your house.
“Why, Devlin?” Jennder ‘s voice, filled more with disbelied thanfea_could hardly come for that a whisper.
“because you don’t understand,” be continued, stepping closer to her, barefoot, sainless, and hollow. “There’s stuff I never talked about with you. Things I couldn’t tell you. And now they are coining after me Adier u Thad to come back.”
Byron’s hand slid back orders weist. “He’s stalde, jn, we pre
“No,” he said sharply, eyes flashing. “It’s not just out me anymore. You’re in danger. Both of you.” jennifer’s blood frore. “What are you talking about? Devlin glined behind him, as il expecting someone to appeat fi on the trees.
“They wand the Journal. They think I still have them. But you found theru, did’t you? They’ll come for thess. Fou you.” Jeriler stared at him, her walce bacely a breath. “Who are they?”
evilir’s jaw clenched.
“My father’s business associates. People I shouldn’t have never gotten involved with. When leit I thought i could osttun it. But you were always my weak spot. They sew that. He reached inth his jacket, pulling seething out slowly with a flash drive.
7 recunded everything. All the meetings. The threats bes. Everything I did, and everything they made me du” He stepped forward, altering it to her. Byran grabbediset arm, holding hei
back
“Jen, don’t.” But she looked into Devlin’s eyes and saw the truth. Not Just gain. Not just pain. Fear. Beal, |
“Dyvän,” he said, “I never stopped loving you ““thur’s not something I’m here to,” he added. “Then why?” jenniler asked as she slowly took the dive. He looked beyond her, lato che dark
“Because if you don’t leave this house tonight, you won’t get another chance ~ Behind them, shattering glass sounded
Again spitales Jennifer gasped Byron spun around. Devlin stepped back into the shadows and simply disappeared through the open door without anoth
Just as the flashlight
2/2
Chapter 13
Iron bald the flashlight stil He died at the instant Jenniler breathed. The only sounds are her gaping breathe and the distant tinkle of shattered glass. The piece of metal chain that Devi had handed to her hangs in her hand trembling lingers clutched it, while her knuckles turned white
The an was pushed away past as though it was heavy, making it even harder for her in breathe. She stared at the open sliding door through which Devlin had vanished. He had gone as prickly
Byren rook her by the arm and pulled her back from the door, slamming it shot. Locking, it, he then shoved a nearby chair beneath the handi bat goed measure
“Are you okay?” he asked, glancing at her over quickly.
She nodded, though her body said otherwise. The heartbeat race. The skin feb clammy. And the mind was stuck replaying Devlin’s volor: If you don’t leave this house t
Dyton picked up His phone, cuning under his breath when he saw that there was sti bo’t sale angınste.”
Tonight you won’t get
“We need to go,” he said, heading toward the stairs. “I’m grabbing the car keys. This place
Jennifer didn’t budge. Her focus remained on the finite flash drive in the center of her palm. There was no moving her gaze. She felt like if she blinked, she’d drop it and with it, whatever inworn it heldi
Byron rerumed with some keys and a flashlight from his bag. “Come on,” he urged. “We’ll go to my place and regroup, then discuss our next step
But jennifer stood still
“I’m not leaving,” she said in a soft voice. “Not yet”
Byron looked at hes, puzzled and frustrated. “Why not? He just broke into your house. Some upstairs smashed glass. Your jest sald It Someone’s been watching you.”
inally, she looked at him, her eyes filling with confusion. “Devlin said they were afterme because of the Journal Decause of him.
Byron’s voice had a tight edge. “And do you believe him?”
She hesitated, unsure what she was saying “I don’t know.”
Byron moved in closer, his tone softer. “Look, I understand. He was a pretty big part of your life. And now he created an opportunity to endanger you. But you don’t owe him anything, Jennefer He let you broken. You spent month trying to fix yourself. Don’t let pull you back in!
Jenner’s gaze secured to the flash drive. “But what if this bus’t just about him? What if he is telling the truth?
Blyton’s jaw was set. He didn’t answer right away. Instead he walked to the front door and opened it, unlocking it. The street outside was still dark, lit only by the faint glow of distant
71 wait in th
” he said. “If you’re mming, come now
Jenner stared after him. “Iron”
He turned back to her. “I care about you. I want to help. But I won’t fight for space in your fut you’re still holding on to him.
The door closed quietly behind him.
She slumped onto the couch, snill closching the flash drive for dear life. Her body felt like it was qualong with adrenalina; her mind a word with memeles, old arguments with Devlin, whingered promises, the fear that crept into her life like smoke after every fight. And yet, tonight he hadn’t come with cage or manipulation. Just desperation, just fear.
He said they’d come for her.
Ashiver ran down her spine as she recalled the shattered plass upstates.
Forcing berseli to move again, Jennifer gratised the fight, and as the walled down the static beach stop created under the weight, echoing in the ominous seron.eached the top and took a moment to scan the hallway before continuing on.
Nothing
She moved toward the guest room from which the mole had sounded. The door was open, trikda, shards of glass film a broken window lay scattered across the floor, glimmering in the beam of her light
Her heart fluttered as she drew closer to the window. Noone in the backyard. No shadow. No movement Only silanen.
As she turned away from the window, she apled amething on the bed, some square of folded paper
She picked up and unfolded it. One
You still time. But not much.
wandely crawled across the page red ink
She dropped the note as if it had somuchowburnedler the was screaming howardly to get out, to follow Byton, to leave this nightmare behind.
Bath feet were glued to the groded.
With that, she turned and walked, almost slowly, back downtals. The flash drive pulsed in her dim like a heartbeat.
Dyron sat in his car, engine running lades whitening again the string wheel with each second she watched the front do, waiting to creak open with jennite to say she was ready.
Mhistes felt lär hours. With each ticking second, Ida heart sank lower. He knew he was in turmoil She had always had an eye for the weak, even when weakness deserved no sympathy- Dyvin had been that one with her since the very stu
He leaned back against the headrest, closing his eyes. Maybe he was being wjust. Maybe for her sanity, she did want to see this though.
Or maybe, just maybe, she was falling back into a trap.
He wasn’t rady to stand and watch her bust again.
The opened his eyes and locked one last time at the house. All the light a
da jaj, de megaped the reverse gras and did a slow back all.
No Jennifer.
Jenniter was back inside and seated at her körben table, laptop open. She inserted the Bach down and walled for the files to load
The videos, plenty of them, some labeled with dates while others had names she didnt recognize.
Chapter 11
She licked to play the first one.
Devlin,backlit in the dark, as thin as she remembered him, his face pale, and an expression of tension on it.
“If you see this,” he said, “that means I am either dead or there was no other way to get this to you. I know I messed up. Jen. But I have never lied about one thing which was what I felt for you, and that was real–even if everything else in my life was a mess.”
