CHAPTER ONE
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Four years ago in Winter Park, Florida…
“Anna?”
Remy Kinkaid stood in the foyer of her sister’s home, listening to the sound of her voice echo off the walls. It must have reverberated a few times before the air settled around her and descended into silence. The only other disturbance appeared to be coming from their great-grandmother’s large antique, Black Forest clock hanging in its niche on the living room wall. She couldn’t even see the large gilt Roman numerals due to the darkness, but the soft noise coming from the moving hands only served as a metaphor for their childhood lessons on punctuality in their dating curfews during high school.
Time served no master.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Why wasn’t her sister answering her?
“Anna? Are you here?”
Remy held her keys in one hand while once again flipping the light switch with no success. She glanced behind her across the street through the open solid oak door, confirming that the neighbors had electricity. Had a fuse blown, or was it just the old wiring again?
That was always the trouble with owning one of these beautiful old historic homes. The ancient electrical and plumbing needed to be replaced, but it took money to do that. Only Anna could have purchased such a hidden treasure at auction with her limited resources.
Remy closed the door and sighed in exhaustion, bending her left leg at the knee so that she could remove one of her new Jimmy Choo red high heels that were beyond comfortable for the height they offered her. These gems had been worth every penny she’d spent on them and then some. She had finally freed her feet of their confines and then carefully set her new babies just inside the front door.
“How is it that I always get stuck fixing your messes?”
Remy closed the door behind her, depositing the keys next to her purse that she’d placed on the antique table Anna had purchased for half price on one of their weekend trips to St. Augustine. Her sister’s hobby of acquiring antiques could be rather expensive, but she was always scouring garage sales and receiving discount emails from the smaller shops in the area. The bonus was that her sister was finally learning responsibility and only spending what she had in her bank account, and not what was available on her credit card.
It was a good thing the moon was shining in the leaded glass transom window above the door, or else Remy wouldn’t have been able to see her hand in front of her face. The foyer danced in a mosaic of distorted colored shadows.
She continued forward on her bare feet, albeit carefully, as she ambled onto the cool tile that graced the entrance into the large kitchen. The darkness completely swallowed her as she finally rounded the corner that would lead her past the island, the stove, and eventually the refrigerator.
“Shit,” Remy muttered after banging her hip against one of the granite countertops Anna had chosen last year. “You’re going to owe me, baby sister.”
Remy cautiously held out her hands to guide her toward the laundry/mudroom located behind the kitchen. The fuse box was located on the far side of the single-car garage, but Anna always kept a flashlight on the wall next to the washing machine. It took another bruise on Remy’s shoulder and a broken nail before she managed to remove the round flashlight from its intricate holder. She couldn’t possibly imagine why engineers always built these damned cradles to resist one’s most sincere efforts to remove the item from its charger. After another few seconds, she finally had the light in her hand.
Thud.
She swung the beam across the kitchen at the unexpected bump in the dark. Had that noise come from the bedroom? Had Anna been here the entire time trying to figure out how to fix the lighting? Had she even checked the fuse box?
Some innate awareness had Remy remaining silent, when what she wanted more than anything was to call out to her sister. What if someone else was here? What if there was a burglary in progress that she’d just wandered into it by mistake?
Remy was torn. Should she continue into the garage to gain access to the fuse box, or should she go in search of Anna? She listened to nothing but her own breathing, until finally reaching a decision. She wouldn’t be one of those women in the movies who didn’t use the brains they were born with.
She peered around the doorframe of the laundry room, immediately catching sight of the lone moonbeam angled through from the clear transom window into the kitchen. It didn’t offer much in way of light on the situation, but that’s why she had the flashlight. All she needed to do was reach her purse. Her cell phone was tucked away inside.
A propitious call into the police regarding a possible intruder would be the wisest choice, just in case. It was always better to be safe than sorry. It was too bad she switched purses this morning and left her pepper spray at home.
Remy tried to examine the dark archway that led to the dining room on the far side of the kitchen, but this crappy rechargeable flashlight wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the darkness beyond it to make anything out. She weighed her options and still came up with only one valid choice.
Coward. Go, already.
She didn’t like the fact that her heartrate had accelerated to the point she couldn’t distinguish between the blood rushing through her ears and any indication that would denote someone was close by. It left her little choice but to make a dash for the front foyer.
Remy managed to quickly make her way across the kitchen in record time without running into the island or another countertop, which she was certain would end her life. Her hip was still smarting, and the residual pain reminded her of stubbing her toe in the middle of the night. Was there a worse pain? There was no doubt in her mind that a bruise had already formed.
She tried to tell herself she was being ridiculous about calling the police, but she’d definitely heard a noise. Anna would have called out to her had she been here. So what or who had made the noise?
The moonlit beam was like a beacon, leading the way to safety in her irrational mind. She was just grateful that Anna hadn’t arrived home to this nightmare, for she would have most likely investigated the noise without taking time to consider her own safety. Her baby sister was nothing if not impulsive, and a bit naive.
Remy was no more than four feet from the table where she’d set her purse when her eyes suddenly acknowledged the large silhouette shrouded in multi-colored light as someone crouched below the front door’s leaded glass transom. Without thinking, she raised the flashlight’s beam directly into a man’s face from the path she’d taken toward the foyer.
He never once looked away as he held her red shoe against his face and rubbed the leather against his cheek as he would a lover. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. She blinked to dispel the bizarre image, but the man hadn’t disappeared. Her stomach churned when he turned his head slightly and licked the heel with his tongue. His eyes were as black as the shadows she’d just walked through.
Malicious.
Evil.
Deadly.
She involuntarily held her breath when he stopped moving. She braced herself to get ready, her mind frantically figuring out where she could run to safety. She couldn’t just stand here. She had to do something. She’d either be dead within the few meager minutes she had left to her, or she’d be successful in escaping whatever sick and twisted motive this monster had for breaking into her sister’s home.
Remy fought off the nausea as her reflexes listened to her subconscious. She wasn’t even sure what prompted her to do it, but she pressed the button on the flashlight that would descend them both into darkness. It suddenly wasn’t as obscure as she’d hoped for, but she had no doubt it would take a moment for his eyes to adjust. She used that element of surprise to her advantage and quickly retreated into the kitchen without hesitation.
She frantically reached for the block of standard cooking knives she remembered were located next to the stove, wincing in momentary regret when the long, heavy blade made a hissing sound upon being removed from the wooden block.
Where was he?
Remy hadn’t stopped retreating into the darkness, desperately searching and listening for any sign that the intruder was near. As a matter of fact, she didn’t stop until she’d rounded the small enclave off the kitchen that led to the garage. She brought herself up short, quickly turning so that she wasn’t taken by surprise.
Somehow she remembered that the garage door squeaked when it was opened. It would only give away her location in their maze of darkness. Did she have enough time to hit the button and make a run for it? Her thoughts were running at a high rate of speed, and she forced herself to swallow the sob that was trying to escape her throat.
Remy didn’t want to die with his image in her mind’s eye. She didn’t want her sister to come home to find her lying dead in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor. Anna would be left all alone in this world, just as they’d been when their mother had died from ovarian cancer many years ago.
This couldn’t be happening right now. Remy’s mind refused to accept that her life could end like this—subject to the whims of a madman’s desires.
The softest rustle somehow cut through the blood pounding through her ears. She immediately held her breath, straining to hear anything else that would indicate the intruder was approaching.
Remy sensed him through the veil of darkness and tensed. The vile impression of his malevolent strength was overwhelming, and she almost gagged at the thought of what she would have to do to survive. Tears stung her eyes as she gripped the flashlight in her left hand and the knife in her right.
Why hadn’t he run at the first sign someone else was in the house? Wasn’t that how burglars reacted upon being seen in the light? They ran. Why hadn’t this creature run?
“Anna didn’t tell me she was expecting company.”
The rasping whisper was so unexpected that Remy screamed and reacted without thinking. She lunged around the small corner, gripping the handle of the knife as tight as she could while she drove it forward. She would never, ever forget the sickening sensation of the blade finding a home within human flesh.
Her momentum was so straightforward and swift that the two of them backtracked several steps before the man stumbled, most likely realizing that he’d been stabbed below the ribcage. They started to fall and the most nauseating thud resounded through the kitchen. Within an instant, they both crashed to the floor. Their limbs practically tangled together as Remy desperately fought to get away.
Remy had managed to shift herself backward across the cold tile until her back was up against the soft cherry-finish of the lower kitchen cabinets her sister had so lovingly restored.
Where was the flashlight? She must have dropped it when she attacked. She had nothing in her hands except…stickiness. Was it blood? Was it his blood or hers?
Oh, my God. She just killed someone. Another sob rose inside of her and stuck in her throat as she retched at what she’d done.
Remy pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to keep from making a sound. What if he wasn’t dead? What if he was just lying there, thinking of ways to kill her with the knife she’d just stuck into him?
Anna…
He’d mentioned Anna by name.
“Anna?” Remy whispered, looking frantically through the large arch and into the dark dining room. Her sister’s bedroom was on the second floor of the house. Had this man done something to her sister? All thought left her mind as she feverishly crawled on her hands and knees toward the darkened abyss. “Fuck!”
The flashlight. Remy needed a light if she was going to find her sister.
“Anna!” There was no answer. Remy had no choice but to backtrack and search for the flashlight, so she used her hands to cover as much space as she could while giving the body a wide berth. Panic took hold as she eventually encountered the man’s legs, but he still didn’t move. She took advantage of his stillness and—there! Her fingers wrapped around the metal handle of the flashlight, and she quickly pressed the button. “Oh…”
Remy gagged and covered her mouth with the crook of her arm. Blood. It was everywhere. In her search for the flashlight, she’d succeeded in spreading the sticky mess across the kitchen floor. There was a pool of blood underneath the man’s head as well, just as there was a massive reddish-brown stain on his blue dress shirt where the knife had done its horrible work. Would the police believe her story? Would they trust that she’d had no choice but to take a man’s life as he pursued her?
Doubt. It was malevolent as it crept inside Remy until she was questioning her own choices. What if she’d misunderstood his intentions?
“Anna! Anna, where are you?” Remy hadn’t misheard her sister’s name being spoken from this man. He’d said it. She was sure of it. “Anna!”
Remy ran through the darkness with only one beam of solitary light to guide her, but it finally delivered her to her sister’s bedroom after climbing the stairs. It took every ounce of effort to try and keep her blood-covered feet from slipping and falling on the polished wooden floors. She came up short in the doorframe, her mind not accepting what her eyes were taking in. Every muscle in her body cramped painfully and a silent scream fell off her lips at the sight of her sister’s lifeless body lying on the bed bathed in red.
Only Remy couldn’t accept the evidence before her.
Anna wasn’t dead.
Anna wasn’t staring sightlessly up at the ceiling.
Anna wasn’t dead.
Remy forced her trembling knees to move forward. She never once wavered the stream of light from her sister’s beautiful face.
“Anna,” Remy called out in a voice that wasn’t her own. It sounded like that of a child. The strangled, weak sound couldn’t have come from her. “You can stop pretending. He’s gone. I made him go away forever. Please, Anna. Stop this now.”
Only Anna didn’t answer. She couldn’t, because she would never speak again.