Page 103 of Our Little Secret

If so, Brooke would play dumb.

Let Leah scream and go into hysterics and have Neal wonder how in the world the bloodied rodent had ended up there.

But Leah wasn’t interested in anything other than the phone call. It was obvious as she held the phone close, nodding and whispering. In that instant Brooke realized that Leah would give her husband another chance, that all Sean had to say was that he wanted to make things work and Leah would be into him all over again. She thought of the money Neal had loaned her sister—a small fortune—and if Sean the gambler found out, why wouldn’t he play on Leah’s already ragged emotions?

She made one step toward the deck to warn Leah but stopped.

Who are you to give advice? It’s not like your life isn’t crumbling around you. Forget Leah, the money, and her marriage. Concentrate on your own problems. It’s not like you don’t have enough worries of your own.

First and foremost she needed to find Shep. That was her top priority now that Marilee was safely home.

Secondly, she had to buy a pregnancy test and take it. She had to know if she was pregnant or it was a false alarm.

Finally, she had to figure out how Gideon knew her every move and was one step ahead of her.

She believed with all her soul that he was involved in Shep’s disappearance.

She was certain he was at the end of the alley, loitering beyond the open gate.

And he left the dead rat, not just to freak her out but to let her know just how dangerous he could be. She didn’t doubt it for a second. She’d seen the darkness in his gaze, the cruel glint. If she were to square off with him, she suspected she would need a weapon.

Neal had one. A gun that was locked away. A pistol that Brooke hated even being in the house.

Until now.

Out on the back deck, Leah stood leaning over the railing and appeared to be looking out at the lights of the city winking in the distance, but Brooke suspected Leah’s vision was turned inward; she was deep in conversation with Sean, oblivious to the world.

As for the rest of the family, they were upstairs. She heard muffled voices coming from Marilee’s room, so while everyone else was busy, she quietly eased her way into Neal’s office again and closed the door, hearing a soft click. Moving noiselessly, she slipped around her husband’s desk and knelt in front of the safe.

With an ear tuned to the sound of voices and an occasional creak of the ceiling, indicating someone was walking on the floor overhead, she tried to open the safe. Her fingers were trembling so badly, she overshot as she spun the dial and had to reset it twice.

Sweat collected on her forehead and fingers.

Come on, come on!

She tried more carefully again, and she heard the door to the deck open just as the tumblers fell into place.

Crap! Leah!

The door shut.

Brooke’s heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear Leah’s footsteps in the kitchen.

“Hey!” Leah called, her voice coming closer. “Where is everybody?”

Hastily, Brooke tried the handle on the safe.

It didn’t budge.

Damn!

Neal must’ve double-locked it with the key. She rocked back on her heels. Yes, they always kept the safe locked of course. But she couldn’t remember when it had been double-locked. Not for years. And she didn’t even know where the key was. She glanced rapidly around the room, trying to guess where it was hidden. What had Neal said just the other day when she’d asked about the keys to the unused staircase and he’d withdrawn a ring from his pocket?

“I have keys to all the locks here and at the office.”

So the key was with Neal.

Shit!