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I shook myself, mentally and physically, but it did no good. I was seriously afraid. Too much had happened in the last few days for me to just shrug it off. If someone truly was trying to hurt the person they thought was Bella, then I needed to get out of here. Telling Ian the truth would finally make him let me go.
Chapter Nineteen
When I woke, it was in darkness, and I scooted over on the bed to turn on the meager bedside lamp. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but exhaustion must have overtaken me, and I’d slept through the afternoon and into the evening. Dragging myself out of bed, I shoved a hand through my unruly tangle of hair and blinked. Depending on the hour, the house was probably empty, and for the first time, I was regretting my refusal to join the others.
I shook myself. I was being silly—Maldonado would be here, and I would finally be able to track down Ian and settle things. There was nothing to be nervous about.
The light beside my bed flickered, and then went out, plunging me back into the darkness, and I had to swallow a little squeak of dismay. The electricity at Mariposa was notoriously unstable—the power had gone out on at least three occasions in the few days I’d been there. Maldonado would fix it.
Maldonado did not fix it. There was a bright, three-quarter moon overhead, streaming a fitful light through my open window, complete with the soft scent of bougainvillea, and I took a deep, encouraging breath. I knew where the electric panel was; I could throw a breaker as well as anyone. I had an iPhone with a flashlight app on it—I’d be perfectly fine.
The inky darkness of the hallway wasn’t particularly reassuring, but I held my phone on high, illuminating the pathway. The cousins were at the opposite end of the house, and I had no idea where Marcus slept. There would be no one close by, assuming they were even in the house.
They weren’t, I knew that, and I didn’t like it. I was entirely alone in the old house I’d always loved, but I told myself there was nothing to be nervous about. That gunshot this afternoon had to be a random hunter—there was no reason anyone would want to hurt me.
I was near the top of the stairs when I realized I’d forgotten to put on shoes, making my progress unnervingly silent. I was about to start down the stairs when I heard it—the soft scuffle of a shoe, the almost imperceptible sound of someone breathing.
“Is anyone here?” I called out, steeling myself.
There was no answer, just the quiet squeak of the old wood as someone stepped on it. “Hello?” I tried again. Silence.
I wasn’t going to panic—there was nothing to be afraid of. I could simply turn and shine the flashlight to the top of the stairs and see who was there. Stalking me.
I took another step down, holding on tightly to the banister. Again, an answering creak from above, and all my brave self-talk began to vanish. I descended the staircase a little faster, as my heart began to race and my breath caught. There’s no one there, it’s just the sound of the old house, there’s no one there, I told myself, over and over again as I edged my way down into the darkness. Everyone’s gone out, no one wants to hurt me, I’m perfectly safe...
I reached the first floor and my fragile bravado failed me. I began to run, racing barefoot across the tile floors to the massive stone staircase that was the centerpiece of the house. My heart was beating so loudly, I couldn’t hear if anyone was coming after me, but it didn’t matter. Panic had taken hold of me, and I knew I had to get away from there. I scrambled down the last flight, almost tripping in my haste to get away, and I reached the bottom with a gasp of relief.
Peering back up the stairs, I could see no one, not even with the help of the flashlight, but I was sure I hadn’t imagined those quiet footsteps. Someone had wanted to frighten me. The same with the gunshot earlier today—it had been a warning, and I had better start paying attention.
But why would someone want to hurt me? I hadn’t done anything to anybody, I was just...
I was just Bella. Bella, with the gangster boyfriend and the devious ways, Bella who cared for no one but herself. I realized that truth now without an ounce of surprise—I had always believed in Bella’s vision of herself: charming, kind, glamorous. She was charming and glamorous, all right, but that kindness had been nothing but a front, and clearly she’d made more enemies than she or I realized.
No, cancel that. She probably realized all too well how many enemies she had. I’d been the perfect patsy—anyone who wanted to hurt Bella would come after her doppelganger. That sudden, sharp knowledge was like a stab to the heart.
I felt cold, so cold, even on this warm spring night, and I didn’t know whether I was shaking from the chill or fright. How could they have left me at the mercy of whatever dreadful thing wanted to hurt me? How could Ian have simply vanished...?
He hadn’t vanished after all. There was a light under the library door, and I froze. Had he finally returned? Or was it one of my enemies, lying in wait for me again, determined to finish me off?
Suddenly my panic dissolved into anger. How dare he abandon me like that, how dare he disappear, leaving me to the mercy of God knew what? Ignoring my chill, I strode across the hallway, reached the door to the library, and slammed it open in a fine fury.
He was standing over the desk, and he looked up at me in the moonlight, clearly not glad to see me. Fuck him.
“Where the hell have you been?” I demanded.
He just stared at me. “None of your goddamned business. What’s wrong?”
I looked at him, taking him in for the first time in days. He looked exhausted, those piercing blue eyes shadowed in the moonlight, his hair rumpled, unshaven, beautiful. And I couldn’t allow myself to be vulnerable.
“Why did you tell Salvador to follow me?” I demanded abruptly.
“Someone threatened you at the taberna.”
“Yes. But I saw Salvador before that happened.”
“Let’s just say I wasn’t sure you were safe, especially after the Alfa crashed—I’d just had it serviced. The brakes shouldn’t have failed. You’ve made a lot of mistakes over the years, Bella-Beast. Your latest boyfriend’s a murderer and you’ve done something to piss him off, which wasn’t wise on your part. There have been people in town asking after you, strangers showing up at Mariposa. If you’re going to get yourself killed, it’s not going to be on my watch.”
“I’m touched,” I said sweetly. “Then why don’t you let me go?”
