Page 48 of On Edge

By evening, my nerves are frayed.

Every time I hear footsteps in the corridor, I tense up, certain that Severin has discovered that I’ve taken his phone. Even the helicopter buzzing ahead makes me jumpy. In the distance, it hovers over the lake, heading towards the island. I stand at the window and watch it for a few moments. That must be the reporter, arriving.

I’m almost grateful for the distraction when Kathy knocks. Her eyes miss nothing as she takes in the Band-Aids around my fingers.

“Did you hurt yourself?”

I move my hand out of view. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

Her lips thin, but she doesn’t persist. “Master Troy will be in meetings this evening. It might be best to stay in your room for dinner.”

“Meetings?”

“Business meetings. Nothing that would interest you, my dear.” But something in her tone suggests she doesn’t quite believe that. She pauses, taking in my uneaten lunch tray on the bed. “I’ll bring your dinner up a little later?”

So much for not being a prisoner.

A message slips through the chaos and lights up my phone. It’s from Nola replying to mine from earlier.

I should be able to break into a phone. What’s the model?

Just so you know, skipping therapy to live with a serial killer and texting back that you’re “fine” is really annoying. Call soon. Laine keeps dragging me to eat veggie grill for lunch every day, and I’m allergic to halloumi.

When the storm starts to pick up, and I can’t stand it anymore, I get out of bed. It’s raining so hard that the sound seems to echo inside my skull. What kind of business meeting happens here on a stormy evening, anyway? And why specifically do I have to stay away? As I go to leave my room, the door won’t budge.

It’s locked.

Did Kathy lock me in? No, I don’t think so…

There were footsteps earlier stopping outside, but I was so afraid it was Severin that I ran into the bathroom. I try the handle again just to be sure. No, definitely locked. What do I do now?

The rain tap-tap-tapping against the French doors draws my attention there first, but they have brand-new locks that I can’t open. So I wander into the bathroom to take a look at the frosted windows. The number of times I’ve climbed out of similar ones at home to get rid of my father’s men sent to follow me around, I’ve lost count.

Without thinking, I climb onto the bathtub and unhook the latch on the window. It’s a tight fit, but I squeeze through.

Outside, it’s spitting rain rather than throwing buckets. But I’m still getting soaked, and one of the buttons on my borrowed tulip trousers has popped off, but at least I’m not locked in my room.

“Nice try, Mundel.” I breathe out. I’ve been climbing out of locked rooms for as long as I can remember.

Wrapping my cardigan around me to keep the rain off my skin, I start toward the bootroom door at the side of the house and go inside.In the hallway, there’s no one around, though the shadows seem to lean closer. Voices are coming from the billiard table room, so I make myself as small as possible and move as close as I dare.

“—told you she’s becoming a problem for us.” It sounds like Mundel. I’m beginning to hate that man.

“And your point being?” Severin’s voice drawls, low with irritation. “I deal with problems all the time, what’s one more?”

“She’s been snooping around, asking questions. She was listening in on me and Kathy this morning.”

“I said, I’ll deal with her,” Severin replies, but there’s tension in his voice.

There’s a muffled response, but I can’t quite make out the words.

Palms slick with nerves, I swallow hard. They’re talking about me. He’s going to deal with me how?

In the same way he did with me.Nell sweet-talks in my ear.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway behind me makes me panic. I turn around, ready to duck into an alcove, as a man emerges from the bathroom.

“Oh!” I step back, startled.