Page 104 of Kiss of Deceit

I went to the closet again, pushed the clothes aside, and knocked on the walls, listening for any hollow spots. After rechecking his dresser for any hidden spots, I fixed up the room and looked to make sure everything was back in place before shutting off the light and walking out.

I slowly went down the stairs, staring at the living room before focusing on the kitchen. I was in these rooms every day.Usually, people hid things in a spot that wasn’t frequented often. My eyes darted to the back, where the laundry room was. Of all the spots in the house, I was barely in there.

I flicked on the light, leaning against the doorframe. For a washroom, it was a good size, fitting the washer, dryer, and a long counter with an oversized sink. The back wall had narrow floating shelves where Kole kept extra dry goods. Crouching down, I opened the cupboards under the counter, pushing the cleaning supplies to the side.

I rapped my knuckles against the wood, listening for anything that sounded different. I lifted my head a bit, hissing out a curse when I hit the edge of the cupboard. I backed out, rubbing the sore spot.

What was I doing? Searching for something that probably didn’t exist. Yet, I still reached over and knocked on the wall behind the washer. The solid noise only further proved I was wasting my time. If Kole was hiding something, it wasn’t in his house. Maybe it was at the bar.

With a sigh, I walked a few steps to the back wall with the shelves. I raised my arm, knocking on the wall. I froze, my head snapping up. I hit it again, listening to the dull echo. Which was completely different from the other walls. This one was hollow.

Maybe it was just the construction. Yet, I couldn’t let it go. I searched the shelves for anything out of place. When I didn’t notice anything, I ran my hands down the smooth wall. Next, I messed with the shelves. The highest one was screwed in tight. I grasped the second one, giving it a wiggle. It moved in my hold, and when I raised it, something clicked. A moment later, the entire wall swung toward me.

My lips parted in shock, my pulse thudding like crazy. What the hell was this?

A new noise stole my attention, and I spun around when the front door slammed shut. Panic slithered through me when I realized I wasn’t alone anymore.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

dani

I didn’t move a muscle,listening to the slow footsteps. When Kole’s voice rang out, I cursed under my breath. I would rather have the killer breaking in. I was pretty much healed from the night on the bridge, and I’d been waiting for another chance to see the masked murderer again. Because I promised myself that next time, he wouldn’t walk away.

“Dani?” Kole called out again. “Are you upstairs?”

When I heard him moving up the steps, I quickly peeked behind the wall that had moved. A regular looking door with a keyhole in the knob stood in front of me. I reached forward, twisting the knob, not at all surprised when it didn’t move. The locked door would have to wait.

I pushed the wall back into place and stepped back, controlling my breathing to stay calm. There was no reason to be nervous. I’d put Kole’s room back exactly how I’d found it; he’d never know I was in there.

I halted when the wall swung out again about an inch or two.

“No, no,” I hissed, pushing it back into place again, waiting to hear a click or something. The second I let it go, it moved out a couple of inches again.

My heart dropped into my stomach. I slammed it shut again, leaning against it while messing with the shelf that had opened it in the first place. But now it was locked in place. I jiggled it, pushing and pulling. It wouldn’t budge. Putting both palms on the wall, I pushed as hard as I could, only for it to move back the couple inches when I let it go again.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. It wasn’t super noticeable as I stared at it. But Kole would spot it the moment he came in here.

“Dani? Where are you?”

I whipped around, nerves skittering through me when I realized Kole was already back downstairs. Should I confront him about this?No, not yet. I wanted to see what was behind the door first. I shook my head, knowing I was going against everything I taught myself over the years. If this was anyone else, I would have confronted him days ago.

But this was Kole. The man who’d gotten under my skin and refused to let go. The person who protected his little sister while sacrificing his childhood. Finding those photos proved he’d told me the truth about his past.

A tiny piece of me knew the other reason I was waiting. I didn’t want Kole to be a monster. I was hiding from a possible truth I didn’t want to confront.

Kole’s footsteps reached the tiled kitchen floor. I glanced back at the wall, knowing he would notice it being out of place immediately. If I rushed out of the laundry room, his suspicion would soar.

So I did the only thing I could think of. I opened the lid of the washing machine and pressed the start button. Water began to fill it as I stripped out of my shirt, tossing it inside. My sports bra came off next. I wiggled out of my sweatpants, nearly tripping over myself as I yanked them off. I threw them into the machine, hearing a sharp inhale of breath behind me.

I spun around, seeing Kole standing frozen in the doorway. Just like I expected, his full attention was on my nearly naked body instead of the wall behind me. His eyes raked down me for a split second before his shocked gaze met mine.

“Care to explain why you’re practically naked?” he asked gruffly, his eyes never leaving my face.

I shrugged, my heart beating painfully fast. “I spilled juice down my clothes. I figured this was easier. What are you doing home?”

He cleared his throat. “I wanted to check on you. I don’t like leaving you alone.”

“You could have just called. That home phone is loud. I would have heard it.”