Swingers: a dark and twisty psychological thriller (Dark and Twisty Psychological Thrillers) by Marnie Vinge

Author:Marnie Vinge [Vinge, Marnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yellow Truck Media, LLC
Published: 2023-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

I don’t text Jackie to tell her my plans. Michael is another story, though, and ask him if he can come hang out at the house for a little while with Olivia while I run some errands. I don’t tell him any more than that. He doesn’t need to know more, and he doesn’t ask.

I need to know more.

There’s a knock at the door and I jump out of my skin in my seat on the couch. I whip around. For a moment, I’m not sure who’s at the door. My heart leaps into my throat, then slowly slides back down into its rightful place. I thought it might be Underwood and not Michael.

I compose myself and shake my head, trying to get the constant ghost of Underwood off my back. It should be my dead husband I feel as a companion right now. Not the detective investigating his death. But Underwood haunts me just as well as any ghost. And I think he knows it.

“Who is it?” I ask as I reach for the doorknob.

I see Michael’s frame on the other side of the door, still I feel the need to ask. Just to make sure, I tell myself. I feel crazy.

Crazier still for what I’m about to do.

“It’s me,” Michael says, sounding none the wiser about my plans.

I sigh and open the door, gesturing for him to come inside.

“Were you expecting someone else?” he asks.

“No,” I say. “Just jumpy.”

He looks me over.

“Why are you jumpy?” he asks. His tone is cautious, like he’s afraid he might set me off by asking. I try not to bristle at the question. It irritates me, though. Makes me feel like Michael thinks I’m not handling this very well. Which, anyone could argue, I’m not. But I’m doing my best. Who the hell would know the correct way to handle such a situation?

“I don’t know,” I tell him with a pressed smile. “Sit.”

Michael looks at me skeptically.

“Olivia’s in her room. Probably playing video games. You can drag her out of there if you want, or you can go play with her. Or y’all can play in here,” I tell him.

“I’m not a babysitter, Kim. I don’t need instructions,” he says, eying me with the same skepticism. He detects that I’m up to something. “Where are you going tonight?”

“I told you, I need to run some errands,” I say, looking away.

I’ve never been the best liar. I remember getting my ass beat over the fact when I was a kid. Never by my mom, but always by one of her boyfriends. She never stopped it, either. I half-expect Michael to bend me over and smack my ass. Not in a sexy way. In a brutal way.

“What errands do you need to run at nine at night?” he asks. “Come on, you can talk to me.”

“I just need to pick up a prescription,” I tell him, lying on the spot, coming up with the first thing I can. Thinking about Billy being drugged brings it to mind.

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