Page 26

I watched with morbid fascination as he stood back and surveyed his work.

He decided one of the cushions on the couch needed a bit more fluffing, but then he was satisfied.

What he did next was even more concerning.

He hurried to the bedroom and stood before the full-length mirror to check himself out.

He smoothed out non-existent wrinkles in his slacks, brushed off invisible lint from the shoulders of his dress shirt, adjusted a silk tie I recognised as one that I had bought him for one of our first Christmases together, and even messed with his hair until he thought it sat just right.

It was the same routine I had seen him perform many times during our marriage, particularly before we went on a date.

Oh…

Oh, hell no.

I silently raged as he took a deep, steadying breath, like he was nervous, before nodding once, satisfied with the way things looked. This was the one place on Earth he didn’t have to keep up appearances, yet there he was, doing just that.

What the fuck was going on?

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

A knock came from the front door, and Blake hopped about like he was excited. Excited for what? Who was here?

He rushed to the door, took one more deep breath, then opened it to reveal…

Dakota?

He’d invited his wife here?

Dread sank low in my belly as she stepped through, her gaze darting about the place with a scrutinising eye.

She was taking everything in with a stoic expression, refusing to give away what she was feeling, though it was clear she was unimpressed.

I had a feeling that was with Blake, though, not the house.

‘Babe,’ he greeted with a blinding grin that didn’t fix the dead look in his eyes. Now that I had seen it, there was no unseeing it. He would always be the monster now. ‘I’m so glad you’re finally here.’

He stepped back to let her further inside, and though he was too focused on closing the door behind her to see it, I caught her flinch when the lock clicked before she hid the reaction behind her enigmatic mask.

‘So,’ she began, turning in a slow circle as she took in the old, mismatched furniture and the overall cosiness of the place.

I had to admit, it looked good. It reminded me of those cabins you could rent out in the woods, the ones with roaring fireplaces (his wasn’t lit) and chandeliers made from antlers.

It screamed money, but in an understated way.

It also screamed masculine, but in a decidedly overstated way.

I side-eyed the taxidermized stag head mounted above the fireplace with distaste.

So did Dakota.

‘This is where you’ve been,’ she finished, a hard note to her voice that had Blake’s eye twitching, though he covered it up quickly enough.

He was struggling with having her in his space.

His two worlds were never meant to collide.

The last time it had happened, he’d picked one over the other, and it wasn’t the pretty one.

I surged forward, getting in his space. He didn’t notice, not even when my shadows lashed out like they wanted to wrap around him and squeeze until he popped. He rubbed his arm like he felt the chill of my presence, but otherwise didn’t behave like he knew I was there.

Dakota, however, was fixated on the action. Her nose flared, the first sign of emotion she’d dared to display in front of this man with his false smiles and pretty, meaningless words.

‘Yeah,’ he sighed out the word like it was a relief to finally reveal his murder den, though he had trussed it up to look innocent enough.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

‘This is where I go. The river out back lets me fish without being disturbed by anyone else.’

She hummed, the sound full of doubt. He seemed to miss the way her voice shook, but I latched onto it. She was acting, too.

What was her plan here?

‘Why hide this from me?’ she asked, letting the waver in her voice out as tears glistened in her eyes.

They didn’t spill, but they didn’t need to.

The impact was the same. He didn’t feel guilt, but he knew the cue to start pretending he did.

He rushed to her, cupping her face tenderly in his hands.

She flinched away, the action involuntary, but thankfully, it only looked like she was angry, not afraid. Her cover was still safe.

‘Baby, it’s not like that. I swear,’ he began, pressing a kiss to her lips that, to anyone else, would seem sweet and caring. I shuddered with revulsion. Dakota couldn’t, however, so she pushed him away and turned her face so he could see the way her nose wrinkled in disgust.

‘I didn’t think we had any secrets, Blake,’ she said, her voice dull like she was hurt. Who was I kidding? Of course, she was. Loving Blake was a one-way trip to eternal torment, and she was only just skimming the surface of what that meant.

‘I’m sorry. I know this looks bad, but that’s why I called you over. I know I fucked up, and I shouldn’t have left like I did. You deserved better than that.’

When she faced him again, she let a little sliver of her rage show through in the quiver of her bottom lip and the fire burning in her eyes.

‘And this place, Blake? Why the fuck would you keep an entire house a secret from me? I’m your wife,’ she snapped, and I internally cheered her on.

It was good to see she had a backbone and that she wouldn’t let him walk over her like a doormat.

It wouldn’t do her much good against his alter ego, but I was relieved to discover she was a fighter.

She wouldn’t take this lying down. Perhaps I could even use that to my advantage.

Maybe, if I could figure this whole shadow power thing out, we could help each other.

‘I know. It’s not what you think, I swear. Just let me explain. Please?’ he begged, and it was so believable even I almost fell for it. Thankfully, Dakota wasn’t stupid enough to, either.

‘You have five minutes, and then I’m walking out that door, Blake. Convince me you’re not an asshole.’

Ha. I liked her.

‘I bought this place as soon as I had access to my trust fund,’ he began, and I settled in for this explanation, too. I wanted to hear it. It was a mystery I had yet to solve.

‘I wanted a place for myself that no one else knew about. A place to escape to when everything became too much. Medical school was so stressful, and I was married straight out of high school. I felt like I didn’t have anywhere to go where I could just be alone, so I bought this place.

’ He extended his arms as if to say Look at how awesome it is. Look at how smart I am.

Dakota folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. He still hadn’t given her a good enough explanation for why he had kept this place a secret from her, and she wasn’t giving an inch. He realised this, too, and dropped his arms to swing lamely by his sides.

‘Well, when I was with Kali, she didn’t like it when I went fishing so much.

She didn’t like me being all alone in the middle of the wilderness, and she always wanted to come with me.

I hid this house from her so I could have somewhere to escape to that she couldn’t follow.

I know it sounds bad, now that I’m saying it out loud, but she had places she could go if she wanted to be alone.

I didn’t. This was my safe haven. My refuge.

The one place in the world where I didn’t have to be perfect.

The perfect surgeon. The perfect son. The perfect husband.

‘I guess, even after Kali went missing, I didn’t want to give it up.

This place became even more of a haven for me when she was gone.

I didn’t have to sit in that big house all on my own.

At least here, I was used to the quiet. And when I met you, it was just a habit, you know?

Coming here wasn’t meant to be this dark secret.

This isn’t a secret hookup pad. Actually, you’re the first person I’ve ever brought here. ’

Yeah, right. More like the first person he’d ever brought here with the intention of leaving alive.

‘And that’s supposed to make me feel better?

’ she asked incredulously. ‘You spout out some bullshit sob story about needing a getaway from your perfect life, and you just expect me to believe you’re not doing something wrong here?

Blake, come on. I wasn’t born yesterday.

People don’t just hide whole houses on tens of acres of land if they’re not hiding something. ’

She paused to take a breath, glancing away from his stricken expression that I wanted to claw from his face.

Liar. Liar. Liar.

‘Who is she?’ Dakota demanded, and the pieces fell into place. She knew the truth, so either she was in full-out denial or she was keeping up the act. Fuck… was she wired, or something? What was her goal here?

He risked getting closer again, grabbing her hands in his in a way that I was sure he meant to come across as tender and pleading, but was really controlling and manipulative.

She tensed at his touch, and he tried to soothe the reaction like he was trying to convince her that no other woman had touched him.

Too bad for him that she already knew that.

She looked locked in place, like he was binding her wrists like he bound his victims, and her face paled as the blood drained from her cheeks.

‘I promise , baby. There is no other woman. Or a man, if that’s what you’re thinking too.

You’re the only one for me. You’re my wife, and I love you .

I don’t want anyone else, and I swear, you’re the only woman that has ever been here before.

I don’t want to hide it from you anymore, and I never should have in the first place.

I see that now. Please, baby. Please forgive me. ’