Page 43 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“The leech knows that you’re trying to escape,” Shane pointed out.

“That’s because I’m lulling him into a false sense of security,” Jill said as they walked into the living room to find Caleb struggling to open a bottle of green glitter while Emma did the same with a bottle of glue.

“And it’s working,” Shane said dryly as they made their way over to the twins and plucked the bottle of glitter and glue out of their hands before they could redecorate the kitchen island.

“I just need time to figure it out,” Jill said as she placed the bottle of glitter back in the craft box.

“You might want to work faster,” Shane said as he placed the bottle of glue in the box before securing it and moving to place it back in the cabinet only to hesitate when he noted the way the twins watched his every move and decided to place the box in the cabinet above the refrigerator instead.

“And why’s that?” Jill asked as she did a quick search to make sure the twins didn’t hide anything only to sigh when she spotted the box of markers hidden in the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table.

“Because the other leech will probably take it out on you if we manage to escape first,” Shane said, drawing her attention and-

“Don’t hesitate,” Jill said, taking him by surprise. “If you get a chance to get the twins safely out of here, take it.”

“You’re not afraid of what he’ll do to you if we leave?” Shane asked, watching her curiously.

“I’ve been through worse,” Jill said, shrugging it off as she adjusted her hold around the metal pole in her hand and headed for the stairs.

“What’s the plan?” Shane asked as he caught up with her again only to grumble when Emma silently demanded that he pick her up before Caleb grabbed hold of his hand.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re doing up?” Jill asked instead because the last thing that she wanted to do was get them involved if she didn’t have to.

“We couldn’t sleep,” Caleb absently murmured as he took his time taking in the long hallway that led to the pool. “What are we doing up here?”

“I have to get rid of the evidence,” Jill said as she headed into the bathroom and worked on putting the towel rack back together.

“He’s watching our every move,” Shane said, placing Emma down so that he could gently push her hands away and take over.

“Which is why I’m being sneaky,” Jill said, grabbing the towel that she placed on the bathroom counter earlier and placed it back on the towel rack once Shane finished adjusting it.

“You’re really not, though,” Shane said, picking up Emma when she held her arms up again.

“Why do you say that?” Jill asked, taking Caleb’s small hand in hers as she headed back the way that she came only to have the little boy that she couldn’t help but adore pull on her hand to get her attention.

“What’s over there?” Caleb asked, pointing at the double doors that led to the pool.

For a moment, Jill considered bringing them back downstairs so that she could start the long process of tucking them in again only to decide to finish giving them the tour. It had taken her a week to get them to leave their room and since then, they’d spent their time between their room and the living room. Anytime she tried to show them the rest of the penthouse, they simply shook their heads and retreated back to their room.

“It’s a surprise that I was waiting to show you when you were ready,” Jill said only to smile when Caleb said, “I’m ready!” as he turned around and began pulling her towards the double doors.

“I can see that,” Jill said with a warm smile as she allowed the little boy to drag her down the long hallway.

“He watches you,” Shane said as Jill reached past Caleb and pushed the door open.

“Because he recognizes a threat when he sees one,” Jill said with a heartfelt sigh as she led them down a small hallway with her chain softly rattling behind them.

“Yeah, you’re a real threat,” Shane said dryly, making her lips twitch as they walked around the corner and into the large room filled with soft moonlight.

“I try,” Jill said, releasing Caleb’s hand so that she could turn the lights on before she pulled her dress off, leaving her in a black bikini and-

Felt her stomach drop as she watched Caleb stumble back with a look of pure terror on his face. She looked at Shane to ask him what was wrong only to find the same look of terror on his face. Her gaze shot to Emma to find the little girl crying as her tiny hand fisted her brother’s shirt.

“You don’t have to do this,” Shane said hollowly as the sounds of water splashing against the tiled floor drew her attention to find Caleb peeing himself.

“Caleb,” Jill said, feeling her heart break as she moved to go to him only to watch as he dropped to the floor and wrapped his trembling arms around his brother’s leg.

“We’ll be good!” Caleb screamed around a sob as he buried his face against his brother’s pajama-clad leg, leaving her stunned.

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