Page 62 of From the Darkness

The protective bubble seemed to draw closer around her, as if Troy had taken her in his arms. She felt as if she were leaning into his strength as she pressed back against the wall.

Nola was shouting at Abner. “I can’t take it anymore. That crazy session with Hirsch was the last straw. I’m tired of playing this role. I’m getting out of here, with or without you!”

“And going where? Maybe if I’d found Graves’ stash of money, we could have done something. But not now.”

Bree blinked. He’d been prowling around looking for cash?”.

“Too bad. Because I must get away from this horrible place. Away from the ghost and that damn imperious housekeeper. So, you get us out of here, or I’m going alone.”

“Don’t act like this is my fault!”

The tone of his voice made the hairs on the back of Bree’s neck prickle. He was pretty angry—at his wife. What would he do if he realized someone was standing in the hall listening to them?

It was almost as if Troy caught her thought and used the powers she’d observed outside. In the next moment, she felt a gust of wind spring up in the stairwell.

She could see nothing. But she felt a wave of cold air gusting down the steps, toward the couple in the hall below.

On the first floor, she heard Nola gasp. “What was that?”

“Hell if I know. It’s like when I was going to Graves’ shed to look for the money.”

The voices had been close. Now they moved quickly away. As Bree strained her ears, the sound of the conversation faded, and she was left standing alone in the hallway.

Well not alone.

She still felt Troy’s presence.

“Thank you,” she murmured, the words barely audible.

“I didn’t do much,” he answered, in the same low tone. Or maybe she only imagined the small exchange. Maybe she was going batty—and imagining a lot of things. Like a hurricane inside the house.

Lips clamped together, she hurried down the hall to his room. “I assume you’ve unlocked the door for me this time,” she whispered under her breath as she reached for the knob.

It turned easily in her hand.

Once she had been afraid to lock herself in here with a madman. Now she turned without hesitation and flipped the latch.

For several heartbeats, she stood facing the door, feeling the darkness of the chamber pressing against her back. Finally, she squared her shoulders and pivoted to face the room. This was the one place where she’d actually seen Troy. Well, here and in the grove. But in this room the lines of his body had not been obscured by the whirling leaves. He had been real. Solid. Warm. Loving. Until he’d slipped away like a thief in the night.

“You’re here, aren’t you? So, let me see you,” she said. “Or are you playing games with me? The way you played games with Miss Carpenter. Why don’t you make it easy for me and show me where to find the strongbox?”

She waited with her heart pounding. For a moment, she was sure he wasn’t going to answer her. Then she heard a faint noise and turned toward the closet. In the next breath, the door opened, and he stepped into the darkened room.

Her heart leaped. “Troy!”

Now that he was here, he came to her swiftly, taking her into his arms, holding her tightly. She clasped him just as tightly, leaning into his warmth and strength, breathing in his familiar scent.

“I didn’t play games with Miss Carpenter!” he growled. “Well, I did, but not what you think. She and Nola got into some pretty strange discussions about the ghost. Sexual discussions.”

“Nola tried to do that with me.”

“I know. I didn’t want Dinah hearing that kind of talk. So, I decided to scare Mrs. Carpenter away.”

“Oh.”

“I’d scare you away, too, if I could!”

“Well, I can’t just leave. I can’t exactly walk back to town with Dinah.”

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