Page 105 of Veil of Silence

Nora smoothed the comforter, checking for any wrinkles that hadn’t been there before. It looked fine . . . she thought.

The stairs creaked.

Someone was coming up, she realized. She had to get out of here!

She hurried toward the door and slipped out.

Christian appeared in the hallway just as she reached her door.

They both stopped and stared at each other.

Look normal, Nora. Normal. Like nothing happened.

His gaze moved from Nora to the open bedroom door behind her.

For one terrible second, neither of them spoke.

“What are you doing?” Suspicion lingered in Christian’s voice.

Nora forced herself not to glance at his bedroom door. “Checking the windows. I wanted to make sure rain didn’t get inside earlier. We’re all good.”

Christian didn’t respond.

Nora wondered if he could hear the report’s conclusion pounding through her head. If he could sense that she’d been in his room, under his mattress, holding his secrets in her trembling hands. She knew it was illogical, but the fear remained.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to shower.” Nora nodded toward the hallway. “Austin will be here soon.”

He stepped aside.

She hurried past Christian. Or rather, the young man pretending to be him.

Her skin prickled between her shoulder blades as she waited for him to say something.

But the even bigger question was this: Who exactly was this stranger living in her house?

Austin waited until Nora had buckled her seat belt before easing his SUV away from the Loveless house.

She hadn’t looked at him since climbing inside. Her purse remained clutched against her ribs, and the rigid set of her shoulders told him something had happened since he’d last seen her.

Austin checked the rearview mirror as he turned onto the highway. Nora’s house disappeared behind them, swallowed by trees and the first traces of evening fog. No vehicle pulled from the shoulder after them. No headlights appeared from a side road.

Nothing followed them.

So far.

Some of the tension eased from Austin’s shoulders, though he kept watching the mirror.

Nora tightened her fingers around her purse strap. “I found Christian’s DNA results.”

Austin’s gaze snapped toward her before returning to the road. Had he just heard her correctly? He knew he had. “What did they say?”

Nora’s throat worked before she answered. “He isn’t my brother. The DNA says he isn’t biologically related to my parents.”

“What?” Disbelief marred his voice. “Are you sure?”

“That’s what the paper said. I’m having trouble believing it myself.”

Silence fell for a moment. A light rain began tapping against the windshield. Austin switched on the wipers, and they dragged across the glass with an uneven squeak.