Page 50 of Todd
“You should stay,” he said, stepping closer with predatory grace. “We have some new water yoga exercises planned.”
The suggestion felt like a trap disguised as hospitality, another opportunity to monitor her condition while maintaining the pretense of guest services. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, but showing panic would confirm their suspicions.
“Thank you, but I’m changing things up today,” she replied, forcing warmth into her tone. “I wanted to do my water exercise early and alone. I’m heading back to my room now to shower and change.”
“Then you can join us for another mud bath, mineral bath, or massage,” Brock continued, moving even closer. “I believe those are on your itinerary for today.”
The thought of any additional treatments made her stomach revolt, but she managed to nod with apparent enthusiasm. “Sounds wonderful, but as I said, I’m changing up my itinerary.”
His brows lifted. “That’s not something we encourage among our guests.”
“Then I suppose it’s good that I make some choices for myself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower.”
Turning away from his predatory gaze required tremendous willpower, but she forced her compromised legs to carry her toward the exit with measured steps. Every fiber of her being wanted to run, to sprint back to her room and barricade herself inside.
Instead, she walked with the careful dignity of someone who had absolutely nothing to hide, while inside her head, alarm bells screamed warnings that her window of opportunity to collect evidence of wrongdoing was rapidly closing.
The calming, brief moments of feeling almost weightless had been stripped away by Brock’s appearance and the suspicion in his eyes. Now, even the pool felt contaminated—an additional tool in Dr. Selinski’s arsenal rather than a refuge from his experiments.
My room. My phone. Todd.The mantra repeated in her foggy brain as she navigated the corridor that seemed to stretch infinitely before her.Just make it back to my room.
The click of her door closing behind her should have brought relief, but as Sadie stepped into what she’d hoped would be asanctuary, the sound of running water from her bathroom sent a fresh alarm racing through her compromised nervous system. Her hand automatically moved toward the lighthouse pendant at her throat, a reflexive gesture seeking the comfort of knowing Todd was just a transmission away.
Through the partially open bathroom door, she could see movement. A figure bent over the marble vanity, scrubbing with the kind of intense focus that spoke to more than routine housekeeping. The soft sounds of running water made Sadie’s skin prickle with warning.
“Nina?” she called out as she walked closer, recognizing the housekeeper. Her voice came out steadier than she felt, allowing her to project calm despite the adrenaline coursing through her.
The woman straightened abruptly, nearly dropping the bottle of cleaner clutched in her hands. Nina’s dark eyes were wide with something that looked suspiciously like fear, and her usual quiet composure had been replaced by nervous energy that filled the small bathroom.
“Ms. Sadie,” Nina replied, her accented English more pronounced than usual. “Yes... I was just cleaning.”
Something in the woman’s demeanor set off alarm bells in Sadie’s mind. Nina’s hands trembled slightly as she set down the cleaning supplies, and her gaze kept darting toward the bathroom’s hidden corners as if searching for escape routes.
“Is this your usual time to clean?” Sadie asked gently, stepping closer while maintaining enough distance to avoid seeming threatening. Her investigative instincts, dulled by whatever pharmaceutical cocktail was circulating through her bloodstream, still functioned well enough to recognize fear when she saw it.
Nina’s shoulders tensed, and she twisted her cleaning cloth between nervous fingers. “I... they told me to come now. While guests are at activities.”
But Sadie had deviated from her expected schedule, and Nina’s presence here felt far from coincidental. The timing was too convenient and the housekeeper’s nervous energy too pronounced for simple housekeeping duties.
“Nina, do you know why Melinda left?” The question emerged with careful casualness, but Sadie watched the other woman’s face intently for micro-expressions that might reveal the truth.
The effect was immediate and devastating. Nina’s face went pale, her eyes darting toward the door as if afraid of someone else walking into the room. Her hands stilled completely, the cleaning cloth twisted in her fingers.
“I don’t know these things,” Nina said quickly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I just cleaned.”
The rehearsed quality of her response triggered Sadie. This was a woman who’d been coached on what to say.
“I’m sure you see a lot more than just people’s underwear on the floor,” Sadie pressed gently with a smile, her tone carrying understanding rather than accusation. She knew that fear often loosened tongues more effectively than aggression.
Nina’s breath caught audibly, and for a moment her carefully maintained facade cracked to reveal the terror beneath. “I see... but it’s not my place...” Her voice was heavy with implications she couldn’t say.
The pain in Nina’s expression sent protective instincts surging through Sadie’s chest. This woman was trapped just as surely as any guest, caught between loyalty to her job and knowledge of things that could get her killed. The recognition sparked something fierce in Sadie despite her compromised mental state.
“Nina, if you’re not okay, you can let me know,” she said, moving closer and lowering her voice to barely above a whisper.“If someone is making you do things that feel wrong, you don’t have to carry that alone.”
The kindness in Sadie’s voice seemed to reach Nina. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, and tears gathered in her dark eyes as she struggled with words that wanted to escape but couldn’t safely be spoken.
“I was told to search,” Nina finally whispered, the admission torn from her like a physical wound.
