Return to Stony Ridge by Dani Sinclair

Author:Dani Sinclair
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2005-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

IT WASN’T UNTIL Ian left her at her door and scurried across the back hall to his own room that Teri remembered why she’d gone downstairs in the first place. Too late to call Ian back and ask if he’d tried her doorknob, but that had to have been the sound that had woken her. Didn’t it?

Remembering the sense that someone had been in her room, Teri felt reluctant to step back inside. What if there was another hidden passage in there? What if this Jacob person had used it to come inside and watch her as she slept?

Teri shivered. Taking a deep breath, she entered, turning on all the lights. The room was exactly as she had left it. She quickly pulled on socks and shoes while sliding glances around the walls.

No paneling. No fireplace. Not even any built-in shelves. Why wasn’t that more reassuring?

“What are you doing?”

At the sound of R.J.’s voice she spun away from the wall she’d started to examine.

“You scared me!”

“Sorry, but what are you doing?”

Fully dressed, he looked solidly reassuring standing there holding her flashlight and another one of his own.

“Looking for another hidden entrance.”

Instead of the amusement she expected, his expression turned worried.

“Why?”

“Because I think someone was in my room tonight while I was sleeping.”

He stepped inside and closed the door.

“Why would you think that?”

His eyes glittered with fierce intensity. Only a few hours ago, that expression would have made her uneasy. Now she faced him without a qualm.

“Something woke me. I’m not sure what it was, but I had a feeling…you’ll think it’s silly.”

“No,” he said flatly, “I won’t. You had a feeling someone had been in here.”

“Yes.”

He nodded toward the connecting bathroom. “Are you sure—”

“Both the door on my side and the one leading to Mrs. Cosgrove’s room were locked.”

“Did you leave this closet door ajar?”

She stared at the door, apprehension wrapping itself around her mind. The closet was paneled in cedar.

“I’m not sure.”

Stepping past her, R.J. opened the closet and walked inside. “There is a passage in here. Alexis had me seal it off before she opened Heartskeep.”

The acid taste of fear washed her mouth as he stepped inside the closet and ran his hand along the bottom of the wall above the baseboard. Soundlessly, a panel of wall slid back, rocking him back on his heels. A gaping black hole was revealed.

“Didn’t do a very good job sealing it off, did you?” she managed to say past dry lips.

R.J. swore under his breath. His stark expression held anger when he turned to her.

“Where does it go?” she asked before he could say anything.

“Straight across to Mrs. Cosgrove’s closet, up a flight of stairs to a room in the attic and down to the main floor where it connects the two spare bedrooms down there.”

She released a deep breath. “What, not all the way to the basement?”

“No.” R.J. flicked on his flashlight and studied the wood he’d nailed in place to prevent this door from opening. Teri could see that someone had pried it free.

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.