Free Nowhere to Turn by Lynette Eason Page B

parents?”
    Okay, so maybe small talk was a bad idea. This kind of small talk anyway. “It’s not a pretty story.”
    “And mine was?”
    “Touché.” The hotel lights beckoned. “But it looks like my story will have to wait. I’m here.”
    “Hm. How convenient.” She gave a small laugh. “All right. Have a good time.”
    “That probably would take an act of God.”
    Dani gave another small chuckle. “Then it could happen.”
    Adam found himself smiling. “I suppose it could. I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Goodbye, Adam.”
    He hung up and let her melodic voice ring through his mind. He decided he really liked Danielle Harding.

    Thwack, thwack.
    Dani’s eyes popped open. A soft thud from upstairs reached her ears and she stilled, listening. Simon? Janessa?
    Dani rose from the couch and padded on silent feet to the bottom of the stairs.
    All was still.
    Just as she started to relax and decide it was just the house settling, she heard another quiet hiss. A snick. Like a latch catching. Or a door closing?
    What was Simon doing?
    Where was Janessa?
    Dani hurried up the stairs. At the top, she turned left, her bare feet silent on the hall-length carpet runner. The blacknesspressed in on her and she thought about flipping the light switch, but hesitated.
    She stepped into the first door on the right. Simon’s dark room greeted her. The faint nightlight provided enough of a glow to see his still form curled under the covers.
    She frowned. Her pulse sped up a notch. Simon was asleep.
    So who was making the noise? Janessa? What would she be doing?
    Her stomach tightened. She backed out of his room and went for the guest room. Inside, she stopped. The open blinds allowed the moonlight to filter through. Janessa’s still form stretched across the bed, her head on the pillow, face turned away from the door.
    Anger surged. Janessa was supposed to be making rounds, keeping her and Simon safe and she was sleeping? What kind of agency had she hired? Had she put her trust in the wrong people?
    With a quick glance back down the hall, Dani stepped into the room and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. She shook her.
    No response.
    A coldness settled in the pit of her stomach. She trailed her fingers down the woman’s arm to her wrist. Felt for a pulse.
    She thought she felt something, but wasn’t sure.
    Terror swept through her. Janessa wasn’t sleeping, she was unconscious. Dani’s brain clicked with panic. She pulled in a deep breath and forced herself to think. She had to get Simon to safety and help for Janessa.
    Another sound. A rustling in the hall, a light footstep.
    Dani’s heartbeat sped up and her hands went clammy. She glanced back at the woman on the bed and knew she wasn’t going to be able to offer any help. Dani just prayed she wasn’t dead.
    She walked to the door and peered out. Trying to keep her panicked breaths silent, she noted the empty hallway and headedfor her bedroom to get to the nearest telephone. She’d left her newly acquired cell phone downstairs. Her bare foot stepped in something warm. Slick.
    Then she noticed the coppery metallic smell.
    Blood. Most likely Janessa’s blood. She’d been taken by surprise in the hall and moved? Dani didn’t know what had happened and right now details didn’t matter.
    Simon did. Nausea churned.
    Simon. Think about his safety. Get help.
    At the door to her bedroom, she froze. Movement sliced the air within. Soft, quiet. A dark figure near the bed. A low curse when he realized she wasn’t there.
    She spun, and darted silently down the hall to Simon’s room.
    Who was he? Why was he here?
    Stuart? He’d come by earlier, apologizing profusely, trying to explain away his crazy actions, and she’d refused to talk to him. She just couldn’t. Not yet. She was still furious with him for scaring her like he had. Janessa had intervened and sent Stuart on his way, cursing them, but at least leaving.
    Had he come back and slipped into the house?
    Another