Page 46 of Sacrifice

“He has no idea who I am. I’ll be fine.” I forced a smile despite my hammering heart, psyching myself up to leave the car. “I won’t be in any real danger.”

“Do you remember the script we came up with if he’s there?” Sebastian asked, forehead wrinkling with worry.

“Yes. Every word.”

He nodded, inhaling deeply. “All right. It’s almost time. Do you remember the way?”

“Yes. Go around the corner, then take the next right. Then it’s the third house down.”

He nodded again. “If you start to feel unsafe, or even get a slightly weird feeling, get out of there. Okay?”

“I will.”

“Promise me, Rose.” He gave me a hard look. “Even the slightest whiff of trouble, you make an excuse and run.”

“I promise.” I glanced at the clock again. “I should go now.”

He gave me a long, hard kiss before reaching over to open the door for me. I grabbed my new bag, and then I gave him a reassuring smile and a wave before turning the corner and making my way toward the address he’d given me.

The plan we’d come up with was fairly simple in the end. Low risk, too.

While we were discussing various options to get into Adam Thorne’s home without being noticed, Sebastian had mentioned that his father employed multiple cleaners from a certain company on a rotating basis. The only permanent staff member he employed was his housekeeper, a woman named Caroline.

Because of the frequent staff rotations with the cleaning company, it was normal for them to send different people every week, so we figured it wouldn’t seem strange to either Adam or Caroline if a totally new person showed up this morning.Me.Sebastian had doctored up some fake identifying documents for me along with a badge from the cleaning company, in case his father or Caroline wanted to see it before I began my shift.

To ensure the company didn’t send a real cleaner today, which would obviously mess up the plan, Sebastian had contacted them pretending to be Adam and informed them that they wouldn’t be needing anyone for the rest of the week due to an impromptu vacation. Because he was Adam’s son, he knew all the relevant details, like Adam’s email address, phone number, and house address, so the person he spoke with at the cleaning company didn’t question the call at all. She simply thanked him for calling and said she’d make a note in his file to not send anyone until the following Monday.

If all went well, I would have several hours to search the three-story home from top to bottom. I just had to pray that Sebastian was right and his father had actually kept Miranda’s old laptop when he took it all those years ago.

I stepped up to the front door, took a deep breath, and double-checked the transmitter on my shirt. “Is this still working?” I mumbled.

Sebastian’s voice crackled in my earbud a second later. “Yes. Perfectly. You’ve got this, baby,” he said. “See that button in front of you? That’s the doorbell. Just press it once and wait.”

I took another deep breath and pressed the button, praying the housekeeper would answer. The door opened a couple of minutes later, and I found myself face-to-face with Adam Thorne himself.

Oh, no.

He looked just like Sebastian, only older. Handsome with mesmerizing green eyes and dark hair tinged with gray. My heart leapt into my throat, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe at all.

Get it together, Rose.I forced a smile and spoke up. “Hello. Are you Mr. Thorne?”

“Yes.” Adam returned my smile. It was exactly the same as Sebastian’s; disarmingly charming. It was hard to believe he was a cold-blooded murderer underneath it all. “Guilty as charged.”

I gestured to my badge. “I’m Mina, from Mess Addressed. I’m here for my trial shift. My supervisor spoke about it with, er… Caroline Quinlan? I think that was her name.” I gave him another more apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m very new. I’m a bit nervous.”

“No need to be nervous. I don’t bite.” Adam stepped aside and ushered me in. “Caroline isn’t here yet, but she should be arriving any minute. She’ll be able to show you where everything is.”

“Thank you, sir.” I swallowed thickly and stepped into the foyer.

Adam glanced at the grandfather clock that stood against one wall. “I don’t need to leave just yet,” he said. “How about I make us both a coffee while we wait for Caroline?”

My heart jumped right back into my throat. I wasn’t anticipating something like this at all. Sebastian told me that his father usually left by 8:15 at the latest to get to the hospital by 8:30, and it was already 8:12 when I rang the bell, so I thought I would only have to speak to him for a couple of minutes if he happened to be home.

I forced another smile. “That sounds lovely. Thank you.”

“Follow me to the kitchen,” he said, beckoning me with one hand. “By the way, what sort of accent is that? It sounds very familiar, but I can’t figure out why.”

“Um… I’m from Montreal originally,” I said. “Well, a small town near there, anyway. I just moved here a few weeks ago.”

---