Page 28 of If You Dare

He nodded at her and then disappeared into the darkness.

Lily had overturned her purse (again) and then had emptied the grocery bags as quietly as possible. Although if there were people outside, it wouldn’t matter how much noise she made. They might have noticed her car, or could have seen the glow from the lantern or heater.

Gulp.

She held the flashlight between her teeth as she folded the sheets and stuffed them into a pillowcase. The keys weren’t lost in the bedding or hiding beneath the mattress, which was on its way to deflating thanks to recent activities.

Her phone’s battery icon was red with five percent left. Not that it mattered without a signal. Daylight wasn’t far off, but even that was too long to wait. Worry ate at her insides as she thought of Marcus out there. Alone.

She scrunched the pockets of her hoodie and found nothing. She turned toward the kitchen next, on the off off chance she’d dropped her keys while doing a preliminary investigation of the area. She didn’t make more than two steps before a familiar jingling sound echoed from the second floor.

Chills covered her arms and legs.

She had two keys. A house key and a car key. Since she was always losing her minimalist keychain in her bag, she’d attached a pair of bells to the keyring. They were large, easy to find, and very, very jingly.

She paced through the living room, every part of her not wanting to approach the staircase. The bells jangled again—from the upper floor. Ice-cold fear snaked down her spine, turning every brave part of her body yellow.

“Find them?”

She screeched as she spun toward the front door, her open palm landing over her heart. “Marcus. Jesus. You scared the shit out of me.”

“So I noticed.” He shut the door behind him.

“Must have been animals. I didn’t see anyone out there.” He touched her arm, his face a mask of concern. “You okay? What happened?”

“I heard something else.”

“What?”

She gulped, her throat suddenly dry. “Something upstairs. I didn’t imagine it.”

“Enough.” His nostrils flared. “Enough of this stupid bet. We can walk to the road and call Clive from there.” Taking her hand in his, he led her to the door. “We’re not spending another second in this fucked-up funhouse.”

With his palm warming hers and the promise of freedom a few feet away, she almost followed him. Almost. She planted her feet. “No. I’m not leaving.”

He spun on her. “Are you crazy?”

She tugged her hand from his and then folded her arms. He hadn’t been in sight when she’d heard the disembodied voice or the bells. Which meant he could have been the source. “Where were you a minute ago?”

“Outside.” He shot a thumb over his shoulder and regarded her like she was missing a few brain cells. “Walking the perimeter.”

“Are you sure you weren’t upstairs?”

“How the hell would I get upstairs?”

“I don’t know. Climb a tree? Did you bring a ladder?”

“No, of course not.”

She thought back to the mask incident. He’d worn it in the hopes of frightening her off the property. He’d been trying to convince her to call off this bet from the start. And that sort of underhanded, sneaky action reminded her of another man who had taken advantage of her once upon a time.

Granted, Marcus was not Emmett, but she wouldn’t be played twice. He had been by her side when they’d heard the crash in the kitchen, but she wouldn’t put it past him to have caused that sound, too. Maybe he’d made an elaborate plan to make sure random, unexplainable things happened in and around the house.

And maybe…that plan had included charming her out of her pants. Her stomach sank like it was filled with lead. She’d fallen for it.

She searched his expression for signs that he was lying, but it was hard to tell in the dark. Anger morphed into molten rage the longer she stared at him. She had a weakness for attractive men with boatloads of charm—and he fit that bill perfectly.

“It was you,” she said. “Upstairs. Admit it.”