Page 27 of The Spy Who Ghosted Me

“Maybe he’s taking a moonlit walk with someone he met here.” That thought filled my belly with hot envy.

“He only has eyes for you. Take the keys and have some fun. If you don’t come back out, we won’t blame you.”

“Oh. My. Gosh. Nothing is going on between us.”

“Yet.” She grinned.

“Do it! Do it! Do it!” Lexi’s bridesmaids, minus Mia, shouted.

“Fine.” I swiped the keys out of Lexi’s hands, hoping one day she would remember that I’d done this for her, that I loved her, and that I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose.

With shaky hands, I put the key in the dead bolt and turned it until it clicked. Next, I placed the key in the doorknob and took a few deep breaths in and out before I worked up the courage to twist it open. Several thoughts barraged me, making me hyperventilate. Thoughts like, What was Cash going to think about me breaking into his cabin? What if he wasn’t wearing underwear? Yikes.

“Do it,” Lexi demanded.

I closed my eyes and opened the door as the bridesmaids cheered me on.

I hurried to step in and close the door behind me so that Cash didn’t hear them. It was then I noticed a thin red laser line across the bottom of the door. You know, like the kind you see in movies protecting priceless works of art. Had Mama and Daddy added new security systems to some of the cabins? There wasn’t one in the cabin Mia and I were staying in. Weird.

Regardless, I needed to get this over with. “Cash,” I whispered into the darkened living room, where I could only make out the outline of the furniture. “Cash,” I called again, this time louder, trying to project my voice up to the loft where the bedroom was located. Nothing but silence. Maybe he wasn’t here. Was he with someone else? I shouldn’t care, but I did.

With that thought, I marched up the wooden steps, none too happily, to the loft-style bedroom. There was another laser light across the threshold of the loft. Hmm. Something seemed off. Why did so much weirdness surround Cash? I was determined to find out, so I flew up the rest of the stairs and jumped over the laser. When I landed, my gaze immediately drifted toward the bed against the far wall, near the window with the curtains shut tightly. The made-up bed was empty. Where was Cash? He had probably hooked up with some gorgeous woman staying at the resort. Stupid man. He could do whatever he wanted.

Now more than ever, I just wanted to get this ridiculous game over with. I would grab some underwear out of his drawer and call it good. No one needed to know he wasn’t here. I hated that it hurt so much to think of him with someone else.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket so I could use it as a flashlight to snoop through the drawers. As I walked over to the dresser, I noted how pristine the room was. He was sort of a neat freak—it was a quality I admired in a man. I’d dated my fair share of slobs, so it had been nice to be with someone who liked to keep things tidy. But I needed to focus. There was no reason for me to waste any time thinking of the things I liked about Cash when I clearly hated him now.

I opened one of the top drawers of the mirrored dresser, hardly believing I was doing this. I took a second to look in the mirror and say to myself, “This might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.” My reflection agreed. It didn’t stop me from rummaging through the first drawer full of socks neatly folded together and separated by style and color. Just for fun, I mixed them up. Not sure why, other than maybe it would irritate him, and it oddly gave me some satisfaction. While mixing up his socks, I realized something was off about the drawer. It didn’t seem as deep as the one in the dresser in my bedroom, which was otherwise identical. I pushed on the bottom of the drawer and heard a click.

Uh ... what was that? I pushed it again, and this time the bottom of the drawer moved, allowing me to slide it open. I tossed some of the socks out and shined my phone into the space. There I saw what looked like high-tech gadgets with blinking lights. I think one of them might have been a listening device, but I couldn’t be sure. Something was hinky, though. Intrigued, I started rummaging through the next drawer, which was indeed filled with his underwear in assorted colors and styles, everything from boxers to tighty-whities. After I finished searching, I would snag a pair for Lexi’s dare.

Once again, I found another hidden drawer, but this time what I found was more disturbing. Holy crap. Before my eyes were guns and knives. What in the world was Cash into? Who was he? I furiously moved to the next drawer and found some crazy things hidden beneath his T-shirts, which smelled yummy, like spiced vanilla. But that was neither here nor there, considering what I’d discovered. We are talking things like straight out of a movie. There were fancy watches with strange buttons, night-vision glasses and binoculars, and tiny cameras. Was Cash a creepy voyeur? Now that I thought of it, he had acted oddly when I’d mentioned spying on people from the bushes when we walked around the lake.

What if he was really doing that? What if he was a serial killer and that’s why he’d disappeared? Oh. My. Gosh. I could have been a victim. Maybe that was still his plan—that’s why he’d come back.

I’d seen enough. I was going to call the police. Something was not right. At. All. Cash was what Mia and I called a douche canoe—a man who sails through life, leaving a path of destruction as he goes, not caring what kind of damage he leaves in his wake. And this proved it.

I turned off the flashlight on my phone and headed for the stairs. I needed to get everyone in our group out of there and call the authorities. Only, I discovered one little problem with that plan as I heard the front door open down below.

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. What should I do? It was obvious I’d been here, leaving his socks and underwear scattered all over the floor. He was going to have to kill me now because I knew his secret. Nothing in my life had prepared me for this scenario—not even all the crime podcasts Mia and I had listened to while baking. Oh, poor Mia, she was going to be so sad when I died. And Lexi would go on to marry Soren. I couldn’t let that happen, so I did the only thing I could think of.

“I know who you are, and I’m calling the police, and people know I’m in here!” I shouted out while fumbling to dial 911. What was wrong with my fingers? “Just stay away fr—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence. A powerful hand I knew well covered my mouth while Cash removed the phone from my hand, letting it fall to the floor. In his clutches, I stopped breathing. How had he snuck up on me? I hadn’t even heard him come up the stairs. This was it. I was going to die at the hands of the only man I’d ever truly fallen in love with. How had I missed all the serial killer signs? Not sure what those were, exactly, but there had to have been some, right?

Tears formed and dripped down my cheeks onto his hand, my life flashing before my eyes.

“Sabrina,” he whispered in my ear, holding me from behind. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just relax.”

Isn’t that what they all say before they kill you? Again, I was basing this off the movies I’d seen.

“I’m going to let you go, but I need you not to run or scream. You’ve obviously seen some things, and I’m not sure what you think you know, but I can explain. Promise me you’ll give me that chance.”

I nodded even though my plan was to scream my head off and run. I knew my chances weren’t good, considering his stealthy ways, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. With any luck, Mia or someone would come in and discover what had me delayed. They had to have seen Cash come in. Or was he so sneaky he’d evaded detection? Did they think some sexy things were going on in here and decide to just leave me? Or had he massacred the entire bachelorette party?

Cash removed his hand, and I immediately bolted for the stairs. “Help—”

Once again, Cash grabbed me and prevented me from finishing my plea. But it wasn’t his hand silencing me this time—it was his lips. Oh yes, his warm, supple lips moved over mine while his hands securely held mine to my side, pinning me in place. I knew I was supposed to hate him and his kisses, but all reason left me when the chemical cocktail hit, and suddenly I felt like I’d come home. The way his mouth softly but sensually controlled mine had me feeling weak in the knees. It had me gripping his hands and pulling them around me to bring our bodies flush against one another, just like in years past. Without even thinking, my lips parted, and his tongue slid in. It was then that my brain kicked in. What was wrong with me? He was a voyeuristic killer, and here I was just letting him have his way with me.

I leaned away from him, more scared of myself than Cash for how easily I’d let him take me in. “Who are you?” I cried, knowing it was no use trying to escape.

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