Page 19 of Blood (A Killer’s Love #4)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Kaleb
Turning the front door handle, I silently curse Sam’s best friend for not locking the door. Did we not just survive a break-in?
I mean, the woman lives alone now. She should know better.
Shaking my head, I walk through the one-story property until I find Shelby in her bedroom.
Her back to me, she’s packing a bag on her bed, completely oblivious that I’m standing in the doorway.
“You and I need to have a word.” I tut.
“Ahhh!” she screams. Whipping around, her left hand clutches at her heart while her right lifts the bedside lamp.
“Really?” I ask with a raised brow. “I could be a serial killer, and your plan is to defend yourself with a lamp?”
“No.” She shakes her head, wide-eyed. “The plan is to have a heart attack before I can be murdered. You’ll be happy to know we’re on schedule.”
Shelby tilts her head back and huffs a harsh breath, her cheeks puffing out. She looks like a startled little hamster.
The thought makes me chuckle. An angry hamster, I amend.
She glares at me. “How did you even get in?”
I point my thumb behind me. “The door.”
Shelby blinks at me. “I’m starting to see why Sam isn’t talking to you.”
I gasp, clutching my chest. “You get mean when you’re scared.”
Her body instantly deflates. “I’m sorry. That was mean,” she acknowledges. Her fingers move farther up toward her neck, fiddling with something under her shirt. “I locked the front door, is what I should have said.”
I frown. “It was unlocked.”
Something dark passes over her face, and I don’t miss the way her eyes flit about the room.
“I’ll check the house.”
“Kaleb . . .” she says, her voice sounding unsure.
“It’s okay. It’ll give me something to do while you finish getting ready.”
“Why do I have to be the buffer between you and Sam again?”
“Because you love me like a brother.” I smile, stepping out of the bedroom and into the other. “Did she tell you?” I ask from the spare bedroom, not wanting to see the judgment on her face.
But Shelby doesn’t answer. I peek into her room as I pass. She’s looking at something in her side drawer.
I do a quick sweep of the rest of the house. It’s clear, but something still doesn’t sit right, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s being back in town after what happened last week? I brush off my anxiety and go back to Shelby.
She’s still lost in a world of her own, staring into her bedside drawer as I approach.
“I didn’t realize that you were seeing someone,” I say, looking over her shoulder.
Startled, she slams the drawer shut with her right hand. Her hip whacks the table as she turns to me and stumbles.
I catch her by the arm. “Careful,” I chide.
Stretching past her, I tug on the drawer handle, but her hip keeps it closed.
I give her a pointed look.
“What?” she asks innocently.
I don’t reply.
“She told me,” Shelby says, answering my earlier question about Sam.
She really doesn’t want this drawer open.
Straightening, I tower over her.
Shelby cracks first. Side-stepping, she drops her eyes from mine.
Opening the drawer, I look inside. Condoms. The packets are scattered, but it’s impossible to miss the clean slit down the middle of each one.
I’d know a knife slice anywhere. Someone piled them high and stabbed right through them. It was small, maybe a scalpel. Holy shit!
My gaze snaps back to her, and Shelby flushes. Blush spreads from her cheeks and down her neck. Her hand raises and fiddles with the same object as before.
“Do I need to take care of someone?” I ask carefully.
She quickly shakes her head.
Not good enough.
I catch her chin between my thumb and forefinger. I wait until her eyes meet mine. “Do you need help, Shelby?”
Her teeth chew her lower lip, and her fingers keep fiddling. “No,” she finally whispers. “It’s complicated.”
My hand drops to her collarbone. I hold her gaze captive and slip my finger beneath the chain of the necklace she’s been playing with. I pull until the locket rises out of her shirt.
“It was a gift.”
I watch her face for a second. She’s embarrassed and shy, but she’s not lying.
“Okay.” I tilt my head to the door. “Let’s go make him jealous.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Because he wants you pregnant before you’re ready,” I say, motioning to the drawer.
She pouts her lips and squints. “And why would you help me?”
“Because I have someone of my own to make jealous.” I grin.
“Are you going to tell Sam about . . .” She motions to the drawer.
I shrug. “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.”
“I don’t have one, not really,” Shelby denies.
I roll my eyes. “You’re a terrible liar.” Nodding to the door, I take another look around her room as I walk behind her. “You should see a doctor about that.”
Shelby’s face scrunchies. “Are all brothers this annoying? I’m suddenly very grateful I’m an only child.”
I laugh when she shoves me in front of her.
“How was the party?” I ask, leading her to the living room.
Shelby stumbles into my back.
“Woman, have you been drinking?” I laugh, turning to help her straighten.
She gives a sheepish look. “The party was okay. Nothing special.” She waves it off, walking past me.
Now, why do I not believe that?
“What were you packing a bag for?” I ask.
Shelby sighs, closing the door behind us. I watch as she locks it, pushing the handle several times after to check and then looks up at me. “It’s complicated.”