Page 63 of Hidden With You

ChapterTwenty

I’m trying to sleep, but not even managing to doze, when I hear the sharp tap at my door. “Go away,” I say. The tap turns into a pounding knock. I roll over in my cocoon, wrapping the comforter around my ears. “Go. Away.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Leah’s voice is firm.

“Just leave me alone. I want to sleep.”

“We need to talk.”

I groan and sit up. “What part of no don’t you understand?”

“Never mind. I’m coming in.”

I hear the doorknob rattle, followed by her soft curse when she realizes that I locked it. I allow myself a smug smile and do another turn in my cocoon of comforters, covering my ears for when she’s going to inevitably start yelling at me again.

But the yelling doesn’t come.

I try to fall back asleep, but I can’t because I keep expecting her to knock at the door.

I’m irritated. Irritated at Leah for not leaving me alone, at Ryan for starting all of this, and at Jasper for making me love him.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

The only one not filling my mind is this damn Maestro, and he’s the one I should be angry at. But how can I be angry at a chimera? Some evil criminal overlord who’s completely fucked up my life.

I groan and squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that a witch will put a spell on me and I can pull a Sleeping Beauty. Right now, that’s all I want. To sleep. To forget.

I think I might actually be drifting off when I hear the scrape of metal at my door. I sit up, trying to figure out what I’m hearing. By the time I realize that she’s picking the lock, it’s already open.

Leah stands there in the doorway, her arms crossed as she stares me down. “That’s a really shitty lock you have.”

“No one asked you to come in. And what the hell are you doing in here, anyway? My door was locked. Ergo, no invitation.”

“I’ll go away. But we’re going to talk first.”

I make a low growling noise but loosen my cocoon so I can scoot back, propping myself against the headboard. I stay snuggled in my blankets, though. I want the warmth. I want the protection.

“Fine,” I say. “Talk. Dance. Do whatever you want. Anything. Just get it over with so I can sleep.”

“Why are you so pissed?”

“Because you’re not letting me sleep.”

“No. I mean at him. Why are you so pissed at Jasper?”

I gape at her. “You’re kidding, right? What conversation were you just listening to? The man was supposed to kill me.”

“And yet here you are, living and breathing and being annoying.”

“What the hell is your problem?” The words slam out of me, my temper flaring. “He didn’t tell me anything that was going on, and now you’re mad at me because I’m mad at him? You wouldn’t be?”

“Maybe. A little. But you’re acting like he did kill you. He didn’t, and we both know he wouldn’t. He would never hurt you. Damn it, Zelda, he worships you. Don’t you see that? You’ve become his whole world. He loves you. And, damn it, you need him. He’s brought you into the sun.”

I feel my eyes fill with hot, annoying, inconvenient tears. “He was supposed to kill me,” I say. “And he thought about it. I know he did. His hands at my throat. Standing near the edge on Mulholland. I didn’t realize it then, but I know what he was thinking. That it would be so easy. So easy to just push me over and have his answers.”

Slowly, she nods. Then she takes a step toward me and sits on the edge of the bed, her hand extended. After a moment, I put my hand in hers.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “That must feel terrible. Knowing that he thought about it. Knowing that for a moment, he looked at the possibility of having the answer to a question that’s haunted him for ten years. For one moment, he held the key to finding out who killed Sandra and Bonnie. He had it. But then he tossed it away, and do you know why?”