Pieces of Dreams by Donna Hill

Pieces of Dreams by Donna Hill

Author:Donna Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-10-15T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 7

Can’t Let Go

The house was stone cold silent. After I checked out the parlor floor I tiptoed upstairs, halfway mindful of not disturbing Mrs. Finch, who swore she could hear every creak and whistle.

I opened the bedroom door and stepped farther into the room. It was dark, save for a milky stream of light from the full moon that hung right outside my window. I eased the door closed, not wanting to wake Nikita if I didn’t have to.

My eyes began to adjust to the dark, making out shapes and locations of furniture in the room. Something wasn’t right.

I walked closer toward the bed, searching in the twilight for the familiar outline of Nikita’s body.

The bed was empty.

Something gripped me, like that feeling you get when you’re at the top of the roller coaster, held there for a moment, just before it makes its hurtling descent, when terror grabs hold of you and you want to get off. Too late. You’re on your way down.

I stared harder, tried to force her image to be there. Then I saw the red light of the answering machine blinking its warning in the dark.

“Nikita.” I knew there’d be no answer, but I called her name, anyway. Nikita never left messages unanswered on the machine—if she were home.

Flipping on the light only confirmed what I already knew, but that didn’t stop me from looking around as if I expected her to walk out of the bathroom or up the stairs. I walked through the adjoining bathroom to the front guest room that we’d converted into an office space, and looked out the window. Sometimes Niki did wild things at night, like taking a stroll to the all-night store, because she said it was so peaceful in the neighborhood and walking relaxed her. I looked out the window. That’s when I noticed that her car wasn’t there. She hadn’t walked to wherever she’d gone.

Looking for me.

My heart started beating a little faster, and a wave of unease rocked through my gut. I went back downstairs. Maybe she’d left a note.

I searched in the kitchen, the dining and living rooms. Nothing. This wasn’t like her. No matter how late I’d stayed out in the past, she’d never just up and walked out, jumped in her car in the middle of the night to come looking for me.

Naw, that wasn’t like her at all, no matter what she’d said on the phone. She probably just got pissed off and went to Parris and Nick’s house. Yeah, that was probably it. My stomach began to settle.

I checked my watch. 2:30. Too late to call over there. She was probably on her way home, anyway.

I prowled around in the kitchen for a while and finally decided to fix a sandwich and wash it down with a bottle of beer. Then I went upstairs.

Standing in the doorway of our bedroom, I experienced the first inkling of what Nikita felt when she sat up waiting for me all kinds of hours, thinking all sort of things.



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