The Beast of Bloomfield Hills by Johanna Lemon

Author:Johanna Lemon [Lemon, Johanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-05-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

“I thought you might show up.”

“Like you could have kept me away.”

Sunny hesitated at the threshold of the turret. The room looked nothing like it had the night before. The floor was swept clean, the broken door had been replaced and a sheet once again covered the wall where Heath had been chained.

And it was barely ten o’clock. After their little spat at dawn, Sunny had gone home only long enough to catch a shower and a few hours of sleep. At nine, she’d ridden out to the Victorian and waited until Heath moved from the front yard to the back. Once the coast was clear she took off at a run and sprinted into the house. Heath told her he wanted her gone, but she wasn’t leaving. Not without an explanation.

Grumps sat behind his desk in a chunky, well cushioned chair and waved to the much less luxurious seat opposite him. “You might as well sit; this will take a while.”

“You’re not going to fight me?” Anymore?

He shook his tired head. “No. After what you did last night for Heath—hell, for the entire town—you’ve earned the right to know.”

Sunny’s bottom sank into the chair. Her heart beat like the wings of a caged bird and her hands crinkled her overalls in restless agitation.

“You already know our twosome isn’t a conventional one.”

Sunny’s mouth turned down into a grim line. “I figured that out when I was twelve.”

He nodded. “And now you know that we both have some rather, ah, unique attributes.”

“The fact that Heath can turn into a terrifying monster is kind of hard to miss.” Sunny applauded herself for her cavalier tone. She almost sounded like she wasn’t scared out of her wits to have this conversation.

Grumps’ gray eyes narrowed. “Turn into?”

“What?”

“You said he could turn into a monster, not that he was a monster.” He leaned forward. “Why?”

He wanted to argue syntax? “Heath isn’t a monster and that thing wasn’t Heath. Heath is sweet and thoughtful and yes, a little rough around the edges, but he would never hurt me. That thing hurt me. That thing isn’t Heath.”

Grumps blinked at her, as though he’d never seen someone like her before. “I—well. Interesting.”

Sunny scooted forward until she was barely clinging to the edge of her seat. “Are you were going to tell me how this all happened?”

He nodded, his expression once again grim. “I am. Please, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Sometimes I can get swept away in the memories.”

Sunny nodded resolutely.

Grumps settled into his chair and Sunny winced when it—they—creaked.

“Might as well start at the beginning. I was born in 1901—”

“You were what?”

Grumps lifted an amused eyebrow at Sunny’s gawping face. “Don’t tell me that after what you saw last night you’re having a hard time believing I’m over one hundred years old.”

Right. “Congratulations on your, uh, youthful appearance, I guess.”

Her comment snuffed any levity in Grumps’ eyes. “Yes. 1901, right here in this house. My parents built this place after my father made a large sum of money investing in oil stocks.

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