Page 1 of The Couple’s Secret (Detective Josie Quinn #23)
Leave while you still can.
She ran her fingers over the words. Someone had carved them into the wood at the bottom of her underwear drawer.
A splinter caught in the pad of her index finger.
With a hiss, she drew her hand back. Pain stung her skin.
A surprising amount of hurt for such a small injury.
Her brain latched onto it though, in a desperate attempt to distract her from the uneasiness that coiled around her spine, slithering upward until it set the hair at the nape of her neck to standing.
Leave while you still can.
For almost two years, the words—the warning—had lain hidden beneath her underwear and lingerie.
Under the plastic liner that had been there when she arrived.
All the drawers had liners, checkered in black and white, more suited to a kitchen than a bedroom.
She’d never liked them, but it wasn’t as if they were visible all the time.
Not unless she hadn’t done her wash in a long while.
If it wasn’t for her leaving her coffee too close to the edge of the dresser while yanking the drawer open too vigorously, she never would have pulled the liner up, never would have seen the message.
The creak of a door opening somewhere in the house startled her.
Her skin went clammy. Uneasiness turned to trepidation, settling heavily on her shoulders, like a yoke.
Cocking her head, she strained to hear any movement or footsteps.
A year ago, she would have called out, hoping it was him.
A year ago, she would have shown him the words.
He would have reassured her that they weren’t meant for her.
How could they be? He would have told her how he picked up the dresser from some estate sale or how some customer had given it to him as a gift.
Then they’d worry about who had written them.
Now, as she heard the heavy tread of boots approaching, she scrambled to put all her wet, coffee-stained underthings back into the drawer.
Her fist curled around the crumpled liner, lukewarm brown liquid dribbling down her wrist. It was too big to put in her jeans pocket, so she stuffed it into the back of the drawer.
There was just enough time to slam the drawer home before the knob on the bedroom door rattled. Cool sweat dampened her nape. She realized her breath had become quick and labored. The words were alive now, a whisper escaping through the seams of the wood.
Leave while you still can.
Hoping she looked far calmer than she felt, she faced the door as it swung open, discreetly brushing her wrist over her hip, wiping away the sticky streak of coffee. Shock made it impossible to force a smile onto her face.
Breathless, she said, “Wh-what are you doing here?”
He smiled, closing the door softly behind him and stepping closer. “You know exactly why I’m here.”
“You can’t be here. Please. It’s not—” Breaking off, she realized she’d been about to say “safe.”
It’s not safe. There it was, the thing she hadn’t wanted to face, hadn’t even wanted to think. She didn’t want to breathe life into it because if she did, then what?
“Hey.” He prowled closer, too close. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t.”
When he gripped her wrist, she jumped. The cold sweat spread rapidly, forming a sheen over her face.
He turned her arm, running his thumb over what was left of the coffee residue.
Paralyzed, she wondered if he could hear the words carved into the bottom of the drawer running on a loop in her head now.
Leave while you still can.
She had to stop this. Before it was too late, she had to find a way out.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she spoke, not sure if the word was meant for him or for some deity who had abandoned her long ago.
“Please.”