RETRIBUTION RIDGE by Anna Willett

Author:Anna Willett [Willett, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS Australian horror thriller and suspense publishers
Published: 2016-10-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-two

“Your mum’s had a fall,” Harper’s voice, husky and solemn, cut through Milly’s alcohol-dazed mind.

She’d been asleep. Not asleep, passed out when the phone rang. The shrill ringing melted into her dreams where Drew’s face, distorted in terror, loomed over her as she hung from the edge of a knife-shaped black rock. Milly, jolted awake by the phone, gasped out a startled shriek.

With her bedroom still swathed in darkness, she fumbled for the phone. By the time Milly realised what Harper was saying, she’d already stopped speaking. There was silence on the line.

“A fall?” Milly tried to form her jumbled thoughts into words. “Where is she?”

Harper let out a breath. A tired sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. “She’s… she passed away. I’m so sorry, Milly. It must have happened yesterday afternoon. Susan, your mum’s cleaning lady found…”

“What? How did she pass away?” Milly pressed the phone against her ear and reached out her other hand to flick on the bedside lamp. A circle of dim yellow light chased away the darkness.

“It looks like she fell down the stairs. I don’t know how it happened. The police were there when I spoke to Judith. They think it must have been an accident.”

“My mother can’t have passed away.” Milly now fully awake began to realise what was happening. Her best friend was calling in the middle of the night. No. In Perth it was earlier. Yes, Milly thought, she’d forgotten the time difference. She picked up her watch from the bedside table; her hand shook.

“Are you there, Milly?” Harper sounded different. Her voice deeper.

“Milly?”

* * *

Lucas’s dark eyes bored into hers. Milly blinked and her vision cleared. The light surrounding him, a dim haze, but his features were in sharp focus. She moved her head and realised the buzzing had stopped but the pain remained. “I must have fallen asleep.” Milly knew she was laying on the ground, but couldn’t remember how she got there. The smell of damp leaves and woody earth hung over her.

“You passed out.” Lucas continued to regard her, as if fascinated. “Your nose is bleeding.”

Milly touched her nose and felt the warm wetness. She looked at her fingers coated with blood. “Did I fall?” She sat up, pulled the edge of her shirt out of her shorts and wiped her nose.

“No. You just toppled to the side after your sister left.” He was hunkered down next to her, his hands dangling between his legs. His face only centimetres away from hers. “I called you a few times, but you were out for the count.”

“How long?”

He seemed to be about to say something but changed his mind. “Not long. A few minutes.” He stood and picked up her pack. “It’s going to rain.” He held out his hand for her to take. “We should keep going.”

Milly reached out and took his hand. His skin, warm and rough felt good against her cold palm. He pulled her to her feet. She winced and let out a gasp.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.