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Lincoln shut the door and secured the lock. “I’m surprised she hasn’t sold the place. It would sell for a lot.”
“Are you a real-estate expert now?” I asked as I walked through the entryway and grazed my fingers over the antique record table.
He shook his head. “No. I just know that the money from this place could be put to good use.”
I picked up an old photograph that was sitting on an end table just before the staircase. It was an old one of my mom’s when she was a girl. My uncle was standing next to her. They both had bright, happy smiles on their faces.
I set the picture down. “True. I think Mom holds on to it since there are five of us.” My heart jumped into my throat as I realized what I’d said. “Or there were five of us. There’s only four now.”
Darrin’s tortured face filled my mind, making me queasy.
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and started up the staircase. “I think she hoped that one of us would take it and renew the pack here.”
Lincoln’s footfalls thudded on the stairs as he followed me. “I guess that makes sense. It’s hard to buy big pieces of property. I helped my dad look a few months ago.”
“Oh?”
Lincoln exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “So he can set up bases of operation throughout the US.”
I crinkled my nose and turned to the right at the top of the stairs. “Right. World domination and all.”
“Unfortunately.”
We both froze when the door downstairs creaked open and footsteps thudded against the hardwood.
I shared a look with Lincoln. There was no way that was my dad. Even if he’d sped the whole way, he couldn’t have gotten here that fast.
Someone else was here.
Twenty-One
Sloane
My heart pounded, and I held my breath.
Lincoln tiptoed toward me, grasped my arm, and tugged me toward the closest bedroom. He pushed me inside, followed me in, carefully shut the door, and twisted the lock.
The bedroom had a bed, two end tables, and a dresser. There were no other exits other than the large windows. But we were on the second story, and it would be a long jump down.
My chest rose and fell rapidly as my breath came in quick pants. Maybe it was the groundskeeper. I had no idea what their schedule was.
“Lincoln, Sloane, I know you’re in here,” Mikey called from downstairs, his voice echoing through the empty house.
Not the groundskeeper, then. We weren’t that lucky.
Lincoln cursed under his breath. “How did he find us? We were the only ones on the road. Believe me, I checked.”
I flinched as something was dragged against one of the walls downstairs, making a scratching sound.
“Come out, come out wherever you are. I know you’re here.”
I licked my lips and took a step back from the door. The floorboard creaked beneath me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
Mikey laughed. “Upstairs, then, I see.”
Lincoln pushed me toward the window and peered outside.
I looked too and didn’t see anything. “We need to get back to the car.”
