The Siren by KATHERINE JOHN (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

from the weight of the tread, I’m guessing Cole. I listen as doors within the building are opened, unknown objects tossed about. I nervously check to ensure I remain completely hidden as the footsteps grow closer. The door of my closet opens; I don’t dare to breathe. Petrified, I watch through the pillows as the beam of a flashlight sweeps the inky darkness.

It’s a man, so it must be Cole. He’s looking for someone. Me, likely. And Jackson. Or Stella, if…

I don’t know what happened once Stella disappeared inside the lobby, but she never returned, and after five minutes Jackson and I bolted, finding refuge in the nearby spa building. We decided to split up to sleep off the pills in case anything happened to one of us, and he made sure I was concealed in my hiding place in the linen closet before tucking himself behind the extra mattresses in the storeroom.

He must have hidden me well because the door slams as Cole backs out of the closet, leaving me in complete darkness. I inhale, realizing I was holding my breath.

Over the noise of the storm outside, I can barely make out the sound of more doors opening and closing as Cole moves down the hall. Does this mean he’s somehow discovered we’re not in our bungalows? And if so, does he know Stella helped us? Worry prickles my spine.

Still foggy, I carefully push back my pillow fort and sit up, rubbing my eyes. At least I don’t have to wear those irritating contacts anymore. Pins and needles tickle my feet as the blood flow returns. My watch reads 10:57 p.m., which means I’ve been here around three hours. Not enough to fully metabolize the heavy dose of sleeping pills Stella gave me, but the fear and caffeine pumping through my system work as an antidote, the need to live superseding the need to sleep. I remove the small metal flashlight I stored in the band of my shorts and grip it in my palm.

In the hallway, I suddenly hear men’s voices talking excitedly. Cole must have found Jackson. My heart thumps faster as I strain to hear.

“I don’t know.” Jackson’s voice. “I can’t remember.”

A decent line of defense, though I don’t know how well it will work with Cole. “I saw you with them by the pool,” Cole says. “Where is Felicity now?”

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember, I was in my bungalow alone. What happened?”

Does he really not remember?

“Stella drugged you.” Their voices are moving down the hall in the direction of the waiting room. “She’s got it in her head I killed that woman who overdosed at our house when you were a kid and you helped me cover it up, and she wants revenge.”

The fact that Jackson doesn’t ask any of the myriad questions that flimsy fabrication should illicit makes me think he does remember and is only playing along. “Where is she now?” he ventures.

“Somewhere safe. Don’t worry.” It sounds like they’ve stopped right outside my closet. “We can deal with her once the storm has passed. The problem is Felicity. She’s missing, and so are two of my guns.”

Oh, come on. Like I’m some comic book vigilante running around in a hurricane, shooting people. Although, come to think of it, it’s not actually that far from the truth. If only I’d known about those guns sooner. But I’ve decided not to kill anyone, I remind myself. Not even Cole.

Unless I have to.

In the hallway, Cole continues. “Good thing I still have this one.”

The hairs on my arms stand up.

“What’s Felicity have to do with this?” Jackson asks gamely.

“She’s the dead woman’s daughter.”

“What?” To his credit, Jackson sounds genuinely shocked.

A tremendous crashing noise over the constant din of the storm outside drowns out their voices. When it subsides, I no longer hear them. Shit, where have they gone? Desperate not to lose them, I slide my feet into my still-wet sneakers and quietly open the door a crack to peer into the pitch-black hallway. Afraid to use my light, I feel my way along the wall and stand listening behind the door to the lobby to make sure they’re gone before slipping through.

Outside I can hear the storm raging like a demon in heat. Every nerve in my body cries out to return to the linen closet and sleep until it’s over, but that’s not an option. What if Cole’s discovered Stella helped me? I don’t even want to think about what he might do to her. And where’s he going with Jackson? I steel my nerves and nudge the front door of the spa open a crack. Immediately it flies wide, ripped from my hand by the vicious wind. A blast of air and water smacks my exposed face as I survey the area for any sign of Cole and Jackson.

Surely Cole won’t harm Jackson; he’s his son, and Cole’s so self-centered he would never imagine that Jackson would choose me over him. I try to convince myself, but my heart is sick with worry.

A flash of lightning illuminates the chaotic scene, sending me scuttling for cover behind the door frame. To my left, a giant oak has fallen into the restaurant, smashing the roof to bits, while ahead of me, so much debris is strewn about the pool deck that it’s difficult to determine the exact location of the pool itself. A golf cart is upside down in the bushes, and the roof of some unseen building now litters the trees. A deafening clap of thunder draws my eyes toward the sky in search of flying debris.

Through the branches of the fallen tree I spot a winking pinprick of light moving toward the building beyond. Cole’s flashlight. It disappears near where I have to guess the door to the main lobby must be. So I’ll need a different entry point. I map the building in my mind, recalling all the doors Jackson and I shored up this afternoon. I decide