Page 28 of The Stolen Dagger

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

KATHERINE

P ast the tourist traps and bright lights of Las Vegas, I stood outside of a small two-story house in a suburban neighborhood just outside of the city a few hours after the talk with my father.

The house had white panel windows and a light blue exterior. Chrysanthemums lined the stone walkway up to the pale yellow-painted front door.

The overgrown lawn was patchy like it hadn’t been mowed in weeks, but other than that, it was exactly as I had remembered it.

Pearl’s house.

An ache formed in my chest just thinking of her and what she must be going through because of me. I glanced over to my old house next door.

Compared to Pearl’s bright pastel colors, mine was otherwise bleak and looked abandoned.

The front door was in rough shape. Its faded, white paint was chipped along the edges of the doorway and square- framed windows, one of which was boarded up with plywood like someone had busted the glass to get inside.

I swallowed down the emotion lodged in my throat. The night I left, I told myself I’d never come back here. I had said goodbye to everything I’d known.

Now that I was back, it almost felt like nothing had changed. But it had. I had changed.

“All right, little bird,” Mack shouted through the truck window from where he parked along the curb. “The sooner we get what we came for, the better. I’ll be waiting right here for you. And making sure we don’t have any trouble.”

Right. I was here for a reason. I needed that dagger.

I took a deep breath and walked up the steps to Pearl’s front door.

With shaking hands, I lifted the top right corner of the bumblebee doormat, grabbed the small brass key that lay on the concrete porch, and inserted it into the lock.

As soon as the door opened, I was hit with the stale scent of laundry detergent mixed with lavender. Shutting the door behind me, I walked deeper into Pearl’s house.

Decorated in pale, earthy colors, it looked the same as it had a year ago.

Multiple framed photos of Pearl’s family were hung on the beige walls.

Potted plants were scattered around the room on end tables and windowsills that looked in desperate need of watering.

Along the antique furniture and floral accent curtains, a layer of dust covered every open surface.

It looked like she had been gone for weeks. That thought frightened me more than any threat from Adrian.

How long had Pearl been gone? How long ago since Adrian got to her?

I shook off that thought. Focus , I told myself.

I approached the wooden staircase leading to the second floor. At the top of the landing and to the right, I entered the guest bedroom. I surveyed the small space until I found the false floorboard beside the small twin size bed against the far-left wall.

Bypassing the dresser topped with succulents and the white bookshelf housing a handful of old romance novels, I kneeled beside the hidden compartment beneath the floorboards marked with two dissimilar wooden planks, one lighter and another darker.

The difference in the wood was so slight that no ordinary person could spot it without having it pointed out to them beforehand.

With the key to the front door still in my hand, I angled it on the outside of the wood and wedged it into the crack between the boards. Applying just enough pressure, I twisted the key deeper into the gap. When the hardwood creaked, the false plank popped open.

A blue duffel bag, along with the rest of my belongings I had stashed that night, were crammed into the ten square-inch space. Carefully, I lifted the bag from its hiding place and dumped the contents on the floor beside me.

Among my small possessions was the bizarre-shaped engagement ring and the jewelry box. They were just as I remembered from that night.

The jewelry box was a bit bigger than my hands and in the shape of a rectangle with curved corners supported by hooked, sturdy legs. It comprised a dark red wood with a polished finish and golden accents. Carved into the top of it was a begonia flower.

I grazed my finger over the oddest part of the jewelry box: the latch.

It didn’t look like a standard key hole. Instead, it was in the shape of a wide, ten-pointed star.

How odd.

How was I supposed to find a key like that? Adrian didn’t give me a key that night, and I couldn’t recall if he mentioned anything more.

My gaze wandered around the other objects that were in the bag.

There has to be something here that ? —

That’s when I spotted the ring; the silver ring with a set of layered diamonds in the exact shape of the ten-pointed star.

With the box still in hand, I plucked the ring from the pile of my former possessions and hastily lined it up to the lock. It took a few twists and turns to align the points of the star, but, like the last piece of the puzzle, it finally clicked into place.

Holding my breath, I carefully turned the ring in the latch clockwise until a clack sounded. With my thumb, I pushed up the latch connected to the lid of the box and opened it all the way, revealing a small dagger that glinted inside.

Holy shit.

The dagger laid diagonally on the black velvet lining in the box. Red and gold jewels adorned its cream-colored handle.

Almost too afraid to even touch the infamous dagger, I gently curled my hand around the base of the weapon that sparkled with rubies.

Setting down the box, I touched my fingertip to the point of the stout silver blade. Expecting it to be blunt, I gasped and pulled my finger back as a bead of blood gathered from the prick.

If it was sharp enough to pierce my skin from barely any pressure to it, I could only imagine what it could do if used with force.

Sucking the drop of blood off my finger, I placed the dagger back into the box with indignation.

This is it? This is what’s so important? This is what everyone is willing to kill for ?

I scoffed. How could such a small object cause such chaos in the wrong hands?

A muffled thump sounded downstairs. I startled and looked over my shoulder through the room’s open doorway and into the empty hallway. Footsteps sounded more clearly.

Someone’s inside Pearl’s house.

As quietly as I could, I scrambled to lock the dagger back into the jewelry box and shoved the ring into the front pocket of my jeans. I stuffed the rest of the belongings into the duffel and shoved it under the bed, then popped the loose floorboards back into place.

Another series of thumps sounded closer this time.

With little time to think, I hid the jewelry box behind a pillow on the bed and searched the room for something to defend myself against whoever was coming.

Ah ha!

Propped against the wall just inside the closet to the right was a metallic baseball bat.

Thank god for Pearl’s old-fashioned survival instincts.

I tightened my fist around the base of the bat and raised it over my right shoulder, prepared to swing.

A creaking noise came from down the hall, and I took two soft steps toward the open door, angling my body to be parallel with the doorframe.

I widened my stance and adjusted my grip as I took a steadying breath.

Where’s Mack?

My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the sound of the footsteps now outside the room. As soon as the shadow of a tall body crested the edge of the doorway, I swung,

A large hand gripped the bat before it made contact, and the intruder grunted.

“Whoa!” a deep voice exclaimed. “It’s me!”

The fog of fear over my mind cleared as the man spoke, and a familiar face came into view .

“Drew?” I stared, wide-eyed, at his concerned expression.

“Darlin’,” he breathed out in relief.

I didn’t think twice before I dropped the bat and threw myself at him. My arms encircled his neck as he caught me around the waist. I choked on a sob and buried my face in the curve of his throat.

“You’re here,” I whispered.

“I’m here.” Drew’s hand traveled up my spine and cupped the back of my neck, threading his fingers through my hair.

I took a second, just breathing in his woodsy scent before I reluctantly leaned back but stayed in his brawny arms.

“What are you doing here?” I asked in disbelief. “How did you find me?”

“When I came back to the apartment and you were gone,” Drew released a shuddering breath and shook himself as if in pain, “I thought the worst. I thought someone got to you.” He pulled me in by the grip on my neck and plundered my mouth with a quick, hard kiss.

“But then I found the note you left, and I was so mad.”

Kiss.

He pulled back. “I can’t believe you thought that was okay.”

Kiss .

“You can’t just say goodbye with a fucking note?” he grumbled.

Kiss .

“How could you leave like that?” he asked accusingly.

Stunned by the combination of his harsh words and hot kisses, I blinked up at him. He was obviously upset by my leaving. I knew he would be, but seeing it up close like this made me realize how wrong I had been to leave in the first place. Despite me trying to protect him, I hurt him instead.

I swallowed down my guilt. “I thought it was for the best.”

“It wasn’t,” he said firmly. “I was so worried about you. But something didn’t feel right.

So I called Leah, but she didn’t answer.

Then I called Tyler. Leah was with him and said she’d lost her phone an hour before you said she called you.

I knew something was wrong and figured, either way, you were most likely heading for the dagger.

It didn’t take long to find Pearl’s address after that. ”

“But why?” I asked. “I left you. I hurt you. I’ve pushed you away at every turn. Why do you care enough to continue to come after me? To follow me all the way here?”

His large hands cupped both sides of my cheeks and leaned in so our lips were just inches from one another. “Because I love you.”

He pressed his lips to mine in a desperate kiss, and I could only melt into his embrace. I was left breathless when he pulled back.

“Even if you said you never wanted to see me again, I’d never stop trying to prove myself to you,” Drew said. “I’d go to the ends of the earth to make sure you were protected. You have to know that I’d never stop until I knew you were safe, even if you didn’t feel the same.”

My heart swelled at his confession, and tears filled my eyes.

It was all so surreal. Him being here, in my hometown, in Pearl’s house.

Ever since I’d realized I had feelings for him, I’d wanted to introduce him to Pearl. I knew she’d love him. Not only because of what he meant to me, but because of the man he was. He was caring and protective and good.

“I love you, too, Drew,” I said and chuckled as tears spilled over my cheeks. “So much it frightens me sometimes because if something happened to you—if Adrian got to you …”

Drew kissed me again, but this time it was hard and fierce. When he pulled back, he all but growled, “He won’t. The only way Adrian could hurt me is by harming you.” He leaned his forehead against mine and swiped the tears from my face. “And I will never let that happen.”

I nodded ever so slightly against him, believing his words to be true. Drew would do anything to protect me, as he’d done before.

We stayed in each other’s embrace, soaking each other up and breathing each other in as if we both needed reassurance.

Then, Drew pulled back. “Now, we need to get out of here before that brute in the truck wakes up.”

Brute? Oh no, Mack!

“Wakes up?” I asked. “What did you do to Mack?”

“Mack?” Drew asked, his expression shocked. “You know him?”

“He’s helping me. He works for my father.”

“Your father?” Drew reared back and that stubborn crease formed between his brows. “What exactly happened after our phone call yesterday?”

I sighed, retrieved the jewelry box from where I hid it under the bedcovers, and stopped in front of Drew. “I’ll explain on the way to my father’s place, but first we need to make sure Mack is okay.”

The look of shock on Drew’s face was almost comical despite the circumstances, but he recovered quickly.

“Wow, meeting your father already,” Drew teased. “You sure move fast, don’t you, darlin’?”

“Too late to back out now, smooth-talker.” I chuckled. “Besides, I’ve already met your parents.”

Drew took my hand that wasn’t holding the jewelry box in his. “Oh, that’s right. I guess the next step would be a proposal then, wouldn’t it?”

When I turned to him with wide eyes at the “P” word, Drew just winked and pulled me out of the room and downstairs .

I couldn’t tell if he was truly joking or not, but the idea caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

Nope. Definitely not the time.

I reminded myself we had more important things to worry about than when he was getting down on one knee.