End of the Road Hotel: A Friday the 13th Short Story
Date: 2022-05-13 07:00:00+00:00
Publisher: Columbine Publishing Company
Rights: Copyright 2022 Peggy McKenzie. All rights reserved.

THE END OF THE ROAD HOTEL

A Friday the 13th Short Story

PEGGY MCKENZIE

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Afterword

About the Author

Peggy McKenzie & Friends

And now more thrills…

The End

Introduction

About the Friday the 13th Stories:

13 different authors each wrote a stand-alone, suspenseful short story in the series, to be released on Friday, May 13, 2022.

Friday the 13th Series Page on Amazon

We hope you enjoy them all and that they bring a chill to your spine. We would love to hear from you. You can find us here: Friday the 13th Facebook Page

Get your Fright on…

Sincerely,

Friday the 13th Authors

Chapter 1

“It’s kinda run-down, don’t you think?”

Felicity Simon studied the mid-nineteenth-century house turned hotel in the day’s fading light. From the passenger window of her boyfriend’s truck, she could admit the place looked a little sad on the outside, but it still held that old-world charm of Victorian architecture. “Maybe, but the lawyer said it used to be a real moneymaker. Maybe with some of the money my great-aunt left me—”

Austin turned to her and grinned. “Maybe that lawyer was as crazy as that old aunt of yours.”

Felicity turned on Austin. “Austin McMahan, that’s a harsh thing to say about someone you’ve never met…and who just happens to be dead,” she admonished him.

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry. I was kidding…mostly.” When she started to pull away from him, he held on tight and offered her a somewhat contrite smile. “You have to admit, rolling up on this place is pretty appropriate, considering what day it is.”

“What day is it?” She frowned.

“Are you telling me you seriously can’t see the humor in this situation? This place is creepy, Felicity. And today just happens to be Friday the thirteenth. It’s getting dark, and there’s a storm rolling in. You seriously can’t see the superstitious coincidences in this place?”

That fact had never crossed her mind, but then again, she wasn’t much on superstitions either. She remained silent and gently pulled her hand away and turned again to stare at the hotel through the truck window. A small sliver of light flashed behind a dark cloud in the eastern sky, followed by a faint rumble of thunder. “Okay, so there’s a rainstorm on the horizon. Big deal,” she groused. “All that means to me is a good night’s sleep, because there’s nothing I love more than sleeping with an open window while rain gently falls on a tin roof overhead.”

Another faint clap of thunder reverberated through the heavy atmosphere. Austin dipped his head so he could follow her gaze out the passenger window. “Well, that about seals the deal I’d say. A thunderstorm growing in the distance. An isolated hotel down a dead-end road. And it’s Friday the thirteenth. Could this day get any more cliché?”

“To hear you tell it, all we need now is a broken mirror and a black cat.”

“That’s about right. And there’s another old superstition that says if a person has thirteen letters in their name they’re bound to have the devil’s luck on this day. I’m sure there’s a reason why there’s a saying like that. Doesn’t it make you nervous that we both have thirteen letters in our name?”

Felicity shook her head in denial. “I don’t believe in such silly nonsense, Austin, and neither should you. Those are things people tell their children around campfires to scare them.”

Austin laughed. “Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, look at this place. It’s supposed to be a hotel, but who in their right mind would want to stay here? It looks creepy. Even worse, it feels creepy. And look where it is. It’s at the end of the road, literally. And it’s not really a road. It’s more like a dirt path at the end of an asphalt trail at the end of a county road, and there isn’t a town within thirty miles. Who on earth would come out here? I mean, for what? It doesn’t make sense. And look at the condition it’s in. The shutters are falling off. The paint on the railing around the porch is cracked and peeling. And there’s a lot more spindles broken and missing than present. It will cost a fortune to fix this place. Besides, what are you going to do with it, anyway? Leave your job and move down here to run a hotel that doesn’t have any customers?” He scoffed. “No, I think you should contact a realtor right away, put the place up for sale as is, and get what you can out of the land. As far as I can see, that’s the only thing of value here.”

Felicity grew frustrated with Austin’s continued comments. He was always telling her what he thought was the best course of action. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t gotten married after seven years of dating. “How about you let me make my own decision for once.”

“You can’t seriously be considering staying here?” Austin’s teasing tone had her even more frustrated. She didn’t answer for fear of getting into an argument with him, but apparently his question was a rhetorical one anyway. He fired off another on the heels of the last. “I think if I were you, I’d question those financial records. There’s no way in—”

“Austin, will you please just stop talking.” She’d listened to him for the last twelve hours on the drive down from Philadelphia. Truthfully, she was tired of the sound of his voice. “Look, I’ve seen the financial statements, and the accounts with the money Aunt Celia left me. It’s real, and it shows this place is profitable. At least it was until she died. How? I’m not sure, but I’m willing to keep an open mind until I find out. Why don’t you give it a try? For a change.”

Austin opened his mouth to say something, but Felicity stepped out of the truck and slammed the door behind her. She didn’t have much hope Austin would change his opinion of this place, but right now, she didn’t really care.

He got out of the truck and followed her. “Felicity don’t be mad. I’m only trying to be practical.”

“Let it go for now, Austin. I’m tired, and I just want to take a look around.” Felicity stepped away and followed the paved stone path from the circle driveway to the wrought iron gate. A little push to open it turned into a tug-of-war until Austin showed up to help. A horrible screeching noise followed. “That’s weird. This gate sounds like it hasn’t been opened in years, but how could that be? I mean, if it’s a profitable hotel, wouldn’t people be coming and going? Besides, Aunt Celia lived here until she died, and it’s only been a couple of months.”

“Well, it is made out of iron. A good rain would have started the rusting process right away, and—”

“Please don’t give me a science lecture about iron rust. I don’t think I could take it right now.” Felicity hurried up the stone path to put some distance between her and Austin. Had he always been so annoying? Maybe. And, maybe it was time to find a new boyfriend.

“I was just trying to be helpful, Felicity. There’s no need to be cranky with me just because I’m stating the facts,” Austin commented from behind her. He was usually took no offense to her frustrations with him, but she was pretty sure that had more to do with him thinking he was Mr. Perfect and right about everything than being the tolerant and forgiving sort. Maybe he was just tired too.

She sighed. Cranky. That was the term Austin used when he was trying to say she was being a moody emotional female without actually risking his life by saying it in those exact words. In this particular instance, he might be a little right. She was tired and hungry and ready for a good night’s sleep. When she remained silent, he changed the subject.

“Should you call someone and let them know we’re here? It looks like it’s going to rain soon, and I’d like to get myself out of the rain before I melt,” Austin said.

When she didn’t respond, he added, “Because I’m so sweet I might melt if I get wet. Get it?” He grinned.

“Yeah, I get it, but I’m not sure I’d agree with that self-assessment,” she groused.

“Ouch. That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Austin lamented, but she knew he was still kidding.

Felicity inhaled a deep sigh, ignoring his complaints about her, and reached for the house’s front door and found it locked. “That’s strange. The lawyer said someone would be here.”

“Well, I think you should—”

“Do you think I’m incapable of thinking one thought on my own?” She rounded on him.

“Well, no, but I was just going to—”

“Stop and listen. This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to do what any rational-minded person would do in this situation. I’m going to ring the doorbell first.” She reached across the door and pressed the antique doorbell button on the door frame. She could hear the shrill ring of the bell inside.

“No, I don’t think you’re incapable of thinking on your own. If you were, you wouldn’t be my girlfriend. I was just asking a question; that’s all.”

“Thanks?” It was all she could muster at the moment. She did have some say whether she was his girlfriend or not, and right now, that fact was questionable at best, but standing on the front porch of a hotel probably wasn’t the best place to decide their future. And, in his defense, she had been very much aware of his many faults before she’d invited him to come on this trip with her. Another low rumble sounded in the distance.

“Don’t mention it.” Austin responded without a hint of recognition of her sarcasm toward him and cast a look toward the skies. He remained quiet for exactly five seconds before he chastised her for not following his advice. “You know, if we had spent the night in Savannah until tomorrow morning like I suggested, we wouldn’t be standing on a porch in the middle of nowhere waiting for someone to let us in to the hotel that belongs to you. It’s almost dark, and with the gathering storm clouds, it’s almost impossible to really get a good look at the place anyway. If we had waited until tomorrow, we could have seen our way around this godforsaken place, and maybe someone would be doing their job here and let us in.”

She gritted her teeth and inhaled a deep breath. “I didn’t want to stay in Savannah, Austin. I wanted to come out here and see what Aunt Celia left me. If you want to go back to town, then by all means go, but I’m staying here.” One last desperate effort to get someone to let them in, she punched her finger into the button repeatedly, holding it in place on the last ring.

“I don’t suppose that lawyer gave you a key, did he?”

Suddenly, Felicity remembered the manila envelope buried in the bottom of her giant purse. In it was a key. It made sense that key would go to the hotel door. Without a word to Austin, she dug around in the bottom of her purse and came up with the envelope. Unfolding the flap, she slid the antique key into the palm of her hand.

“You had the key all along?” Austin sounded a little irritated now.

“I don’t know what this key goes to, but it makes sense it would go to the hotel’s front door.” She stuck the odd-shaped key into the keyhole and twisted the lock. Nothing happened.

“Are you sure that’s the key? It doesn’t seem to work.” Austin peered over her shoulder.

“I have no idea what this key goes to, but it fits in the lock, doesn’t it?” She huffed and tried the key again. Still nothing.

“Well, yes, the key fits, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right key. Do you know how many keys in this world would fit that lock and not open it?”

“I don’t know, Austin. Why don’t you tell me?” She rattled the key in the door, willing it to open so she didn’t have to listen to her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend rattling on about keys and locks and pins and cylinders and how they all work together. She was just about to double up her fist and punch him in his moving mouth when she heard something from inside the house.

“Shut up, Austin,” she whispered and took a step away from the door.

“Felicity, I don’t think it’s necessary to be rude. I’m just trying to explain—”

She turned on him and clamped her hand over his mouth. His blue eyes grew round in surprise.

He reached up to pull her hand away when the noise she’d heard inside the house repeated itself. This time, Austin’s imprisoned mouth made it possible for him to hear it, too.

“Someone’s here,” he whispered and took a step backwards, putting her between him and the door.

“Thanks, Sir Lancelot.” Coward.

Lightning streaked across the sky, and the rumble of thunder grew closer just as footsteps inside stopped on the other side of the heavy oak door. She could see through the ornate leaded glass that someone was moving inside. A metal click indicated the door was no longer locked. That’s a good thing, right? By the time the doorknob turned and the door creaked open, she had almost fainted with anticipation. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Chapter 2

“You must be Felicity Simon. I’ve been expecting you.” The dark-haired man’s sultry voice eased its way through her fear.

“And who are you?” Austin demanded to know.

“Austin, don’t be so rude. Obviously he’s supposed to be here if he knows who I am,” she snipped, but her eyes never left the handsome man standing in the doorway with the sexy bedroom eyes trained on her.

“Won’t you come in? I’ve been expecting you. My name is Theodore, but my friends call me Teddy.” His words flowed over her like molasses. Teddy. She liked his name. It felt comforting somehow. Maybe it was the resemblance to a sweet and cuddly stuffed teddy bear like the one she had as a child. His eyes held her gaze, and she couldn’t look away. “You’ve come a long way, and you must be tired. Please, do come inside.” He stepped away from the door, giving her ample room to enter. “You too, sir.”

Oh, Austin. She’d almost forgotten about him.

Felicity stepped inside and tripped over her own two feet. She admonished herself. It was really hard to walk and stare at the same time.

“Are you all right, Miss Simon?” the man asked.

“Um…yes. I’m fine. I’m just…I’ve been sitting in the truck too long.” She stumbled over her words and walked into the great foyer. Austin followed behind.

“Wow! Look at this place. It’s nothing like the outside. Nothing at all,” Austin exclaimed.

Felicity pulled her gaze away from the charismatic man who let them in and looked around. “It looks like a museum…of sorts. It’s as if we’ve stepped back into time. This place is unbelievable.”

“And creepy at the same time.” She heard the amazement in Austin’s voice. “Felicity, look at this. It’s an original nineteenth-century gilded wall mirror with real gold leaf around the roses. You know, I think I’ve seen this mirror before. Isn’t this the one in the picture of you with your Great-Aunt Celia? You and she must have been standing right there when that picture on your mother’s bookshelf was taken.”

“I remember coming here once or twice as a kid, and yes, I do remember that picture. The one where Aunt Celia has on a bright green dress and pearl earrings in the shape of daisies. And this is where it was taken.” Felicity felt a connection with the past at that moment. Being in this house in front of that mirror made her miss her grandmother’s twin sister even more, though she hadn’t seen or spoken to her in years. No one really remembered the reason for the family rift. Something about a disagreement was all she could remember.

The man called Teddy smiled and nodded toward the mirror. “Miss Simon, this place is just the way your Great-Aunt Celia left it. She was adamant everything remain exactly as you see it here. Its authenticity is part of its charm, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it’s very charming. I just don’t remember all of this being here when I was a child.” Felicity reached back in her memories for clues. She remembered this hotel as being just an ordinary house owned by an eccentric old lady. She supposed as a child of six, as she’d been on her first visit, and then around ten on her second, she wouldn’t have noticed the place was filled with a small fortune of antiques. She just remembered coming here because she loved her Great-Aunt Celia who let her play dress-up in the attic among the many trunks of old clothing. Felicity was reaching up to touch the mirror’s gilded frame when a strong hand gripped her arm.

“I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from touching things, Miss Simon. At least until everything has been decided.” She looked down to where his hand touched her arm and back to his face. Teddy offered a wooden smile and released her arm, taking a step back.

“What do you mean, decided?” She frowned in confusion.

She watched him hesitate for a second and then look contrite. “I’m sorry. What I meant to say is that you will need to learn how to care for these precious antiques. The oils from your hand can damage them.” Before she could question him further, he continued, “I’m sure you’d like to see your rooms. Dinner will be served promptly at eight. And I must insist you be on time. The others get very upset when guests are late for dinner.”

“Others? What others?” Austin wanted to know. Felicity listened for evidence of other people in the hotel, but she heard nothing at all.

Teddy ignored Austin and turned toward her to answer. “This was a very busy hotel, Miss Simon—before your great-aunt passed on, that is. Since her death, things have been a little…quiet, but there are still other patrons who stay here. I believe they like the solitude they receive at this quaint hotel. Now, if you will both follow me, please.” Teddy turned to the winding staircase and ascended to the second floor without a glance backward.

Felicity waited until the man was out of hearing and touched Austin’s arm. “He’s kinda weird, don’t you think?” she whispered.

“I think this whole place is weird,” Austin whispered back. “Who does he think he is, anyway? Ordering you not to touch this stuff? It’s your stuff. Who is this guy?” Austin kept his voice low to prevent their odd-acting host from overhearing their conversation. Leave it to Austin to state the obvious. These were all good questions she probably should have asked herself. And she would—later.

She watched the man disappear over the second-story landing. “I suppose we should follow him to our rooms, but he’s kinda creepin’ me out right about now,” Felicity noted.

“He’s an odd one for sure, but I think it’s just this place.” Just then, a loud crack of thunder and a bright flash of light streaked across the dark sky. “Everything about this place is creepy, but I think he’s harmless. If he shows up to dinner hiding behind a hockey mask, we got problems,” Austin joked.

“Really? You had to put that image in my head.” Felicity shouldered her heavy purse and climbed the stairs two at a time to catch up, but when she reached the second-story landing, Teddy was nowhere in sight. Austin stopped behind her, and together they stood on the rug-covered hardwood floor, looking up and down the halls for any sign of the man.

“So? Where did Creepy Carl go?” Austin huffed.

Felicity shook her head. “Shhhhh, don’t say that too loud. And I honestly have no idea.”

“Well, he obviously didn’t just disappear into thin air. He’s in one of these rooms. Hey, Carl. We’d like to see our rooms now,” Austin shouted.

“Austin! Don’t be so rude,” Felicity admonished. “And his name’s not Carl.”

“What’s this guy doing here, anyway? What makes you so sure he belongs here just because he knows your name? For all we know, he crawled through a window and has been living here since your aunt died. And how did she die? You never said. Maybe this guy did her in, and he’s living here so he can kill—”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous. He didn’t crawl through a window, and he didn’t kill my aunt. She died of natural causes. She was ninety-seven, for heaven’s sake. What else could she have died from at that age?” she joked, but just for a split second, Felicity felt a tiny poke of doubt in her chest. If there had been suspicion of foul play, there would have been an investigation. Police. Newspaper headlines. Instead, her great-aunt’s lawyer had called her with the news that she had inherited everything, and four days later, a package showed up with the will, the deed, and—now she knew—a key that didn’t fit the hotel’s front door.

“Maybe I’m not ridiculous. Maybe your aunt didn’t die of natural causes. Maybe this Carl—”

“Teddy.”

“Okay, have it your way. Maybe Teddy is an escaped murderer from an insane asylum and has been hiding in the attic—or the basement—for the last two months. Why is it you’re so willing to take this total stranger’s word he is who he says he is?”

Felicity shrugged off Austin’s questions.

Austin smirked. “I’ll tell you why. Because you can’t see past that pretty face of his. And don’t bother to deny it. I saw the way you ogled him. You nearly tripped over yourself at the front door.”

She couldn’t deny that fact, but it wasn’t like she was interested in the guy. She was simply a red-blooded American female who happened to appreciate a good-looking male when she saw one, but she was most definitely not interested in Teddy, even if his creepy factor hadn’t had her running for the hills already.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Austin’s words dripped with sarcasm.

“Look…” She started and then stopped to search for the right words. “I won’t deny I think he’s attractive, but I wasn’t ogling him…exactly.”

Austin’s expression clearly showed his disdain, but before he could voice further objections, Teddy had returned.

“Is there something wrong? Don’t you want to see your rooms?” They both turned to see their elusive host standing behind them, and this time…he wasn’t alone.

Felicity gasped when she saw the giant beast of a dog standing by Teddy’s side. At least she thought it was a dog. It was huge and vicious-looking and black as sin with the yellow-eyed look of a creature possessed.

Austin leaned into her and mumbled under his breath: “Who needs a black cat when you have that creepin’ up and down the hallways?” Then he straightened and spoke up. “Yeah, we would like to see our rooms—that is, if it’s not too much trouble for you. I would think as an employee of Miss Simon here, you would be more welcoming to your new boss.”

Austin was being even more sarcastic than normal. She felt his heavy-handed attitude was a little off-putting and unnecessary, and she was about to say something to him when Teddy proceeded to set them straight about his thoughts on the matter.

“Yes, well, that remains to be seen.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Austin demanded.

Felicity would like to know herself. “Yeah, exactly what does that mean? What remains to be seen?”

“I think it would be a discussion best had at dinner. The rest of the hotel occupants can offer their opinions as well.”

Felicity noted he didn’t actually answer her question. What other people were here in the hotel, and why would their opinion matter? She had already been legally awarded the property. What difference could the opinions of a few hotel guests make? This was getting weirder by the minute.

“Now, shall we see those rooms?” Teddy turned and started to head back down the hall when Austin reached out and grabbed him by the sleeve to stop him.

“Look, I don’t know who you think you—”

The beast at Teddy’s side uttered a deep guttural growl and slowly pulled his lips away from his teeth, revealing two very long, very sharp canines. Austin let go immediately and stepped back.

“It’s best not to raise your voice inside this hotel. It makes Lucifer nervous, and when he gets nervous, he gets aggressive.” Teddy reached down and patted the animal fondly on his massive head.

Felicity sent a shocked look to Austin, but he was too angry to notice. Thank goodness Teddy took control of the beast. He pulled on the animal’s collar and headed back down the hallway. She and Austin followed at a safe distance, although by the look of the animal, there really was no safe distance if it truly decided to get…aggressive. She’d just leaned in to advise Austin to calm down a little when Teddy stopped in the hallway, poked an old-fashioned skeleton key into a door’s keyhole, and gently pushed the door open wide.

“Here you are, Miss Simon. Your room.” Teddy’s voice had returned to that mesmerizing smooth-as-molasses tone she’d been so infatuated with on the front porch. Now, it felt fake and suspicious. A chill crept up her spine as she brushed passed the man and his dog. Maybe she should have listened to Austin about staying in town. But the moment Felicity stepped into the room, she was suddenly transported back in time.

“I remember these.” She was shocked when she saw the familiar cabinet full of precious antique porcelain teacups and saucers. “And this bedspread. It’s just as beautiful as I remember.” She turned toward another antique piece of furniture against the wall, where rows of delicate crystal perfume bottles lined the lace doilies on its oiled surface. “I…remember them. I remember them all,” she exclaimed and gingerly fingered the faceted crystal stoppers sitting on top of each bottle.

“They were your great-aunt’s,” Teddy said without emotion. “Again, I have to ask you not to touch them until everything has been decided.”

She saw Austin eye the dog next to Teddy before he backed up a few steps and spoke. “And again, I have to ask what business it is of yours whether she touches this stuff or not. Her great-aunt left everything to her. I really don’t understand your part in any of this. Who are you, exactly, and what is your job here?”

“And as I said before, we can discuss that at dinner. Now, I’ll show you to your room.” Teddy stepped backward, forcing Austin to move out of the way or confront Lucifer up close and personal. She gave her boyfriend a look of warning, but she was fairly certain he ignored it.

“I’m staying in my girlfriend’s room, if you don’t mind,” Austin informed Teddy.

“Mr. McMahan, you and Miss Simon can carry on as you wish. There’s a door connecting your two rooms. This arrangement is for propriety’s sake. Celia preferred things this way.”

“Well, I don’t care—” Austin started in.

“Austin, please just go along. Like he said, we’re in adjoining rooms. What difference does it make whether you go in my door or your door? Either way, we’re going to be spending the weekend together.”

“All right, but I think the whole idea is ridiculous,” he snapped. “We’re adults, Felicity, and the very idea—”

“I know, but just go along for now. Pleeease?”

“Fine,” he grumbled and followed Teddy next door. She heard the clink of another metal key and the faint squeak of ant old door opening. “Thanks, Mr. Personality.” Austin’s sarcastic tone had her rolling her eyes. As soon as she could unpack her legal file, she would call that lawyer and ask a few more questions about this Teddy weirdo. In the meantime, Austin just needed to chill the hell out.

It was then that the man and his beast walked past her open door. Her gut reaction was to close the door, but his eyes were facing forward and he passed her doorway without so much as a nod in her direction. So, what was his story? Was he the caretaker? She didn’t think so, because the attorney’s letter said there was a couple hired to take care of the place until she figured out what she wanted to do with it. So if Teddy wasn’t the caretaker, who was he? How did he know so much about her and her family, especially Aunt Celia? He said she’d get answers at dinner. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was six o’clock. Dinner was at eight. That would give her time to make that call to the lawyer and soak in that luxurious solid copper soaking tub she spied through the en suite bathroom doorway.

A quick peek inside the bathroom verified her suspicions. She couldn’t wait to hop in, but first she needed to get her suitcase and that file. She knocked on their connecting door. “Hey, Austin,” she called out. “I’m going to go get my luggage. Wanna come with me and get yours?” A bright flash of lightning lit up the night sky, and a loud boom of thunder vibrated the pictures on the wall, nearly scaring her out of her shoes. Rushing through the door between her room and Austin’s, she found Austin searching his room. “What on earth are you doing?” she asked.

“Looking for the television. I don’t think there is one,” he said in disbelief. “Who has a hotel room without a TV?”

“Some people read, Austin,” she teased.

“Not me,” he muttered and slipped his arms into his jacket to head downstairs. “I’m more interested in golf or football. Hell, I’d be more interested in a game of croquet on television than reading.”

Felicity laughed. “It’s a hotel full of antiques at the end of a road hidden deep in the remote countryside. I’m guessing most people who come to stay here aren’t coming for the sports channels.” The man was about as single-minded as a man could get. Men. “Maybe when we come back from getting our bags, you can stop at the library I saw downstairs and grab a book on your way back up. Give it a try,” she teased.

“You’ve got to be kidding? Read? Why in the hell would I want to do that?”

“Because it’s fun?”

He rolled his eyes and practically shuddered. “That’s not going to happen. I’ll just grab my iPad and play games. Anyway, no need for you to get wet. I’ll get the bags. You wait here, and I’ll be right back. Have you seen what I did with the truck keys?” He stuck a hand in his jacket pocket, and she heard the metal rattle of keys. “Oh, here they are.” He raised them and jingled them at her. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

A few minutes later, Felicity heard the rain pounding against the leaded glass window and tin roof. “Boy, he’s gonna be soaked by the time he gets back inside,” she mused. She would have peered out the window to witness his progress, but the room’s windows opened to the side of the house, so that wasn’t possible. Oh well. She figured he’d be more than ready to share the trials and tribulations of his jaunt to the truck for the bags and probably remind her he was the one who suggested they stay in Savannah, where the hotel had bellhops and room service…and television sets. She grinned to herself. She had to admit she did like giving Austin a hard time sometimes. Maybe that was the appeal of their relationship. He was more like a brother these days than a lover.

“Ewwww,” she said out loud. Maybe she should think about reevaluating her relationship with Austin sooner rather than later.

A quick glance toward the turn-of-the-century bathroom had her coveting a hot soak in that luscious bathtub when a piercing scream followed by a loud clap of thunder brought her up short with a jolt of adrenaline. At least, she thought it was a scream. Her breath stuttered as her heart pounded in her ears. She waited in silence, hoping to get another listen, but the heavy rain made it hard to decide what she’d heard. For several minutes, she kept her ear focused on any sounds at all, but there was nothing she could pinpoint that was unusual. Just the storm outside and the creaking old bones of this house.

After several more minutes of listening, she relaxed a little. Whatever she’d heard hadn’t repeated itself, and now that she had time to think about it, she was certain it wasn’t a scream. Maybe old water pipes singing or something the wind kicked up outside caused the sound. Whatever it was, she knew there was a logical explanation for it, and she would ask Austin or Teddy about it later.

Chapter 3

Austin still wasn’t back. She should go look for him. A glance at the pendulum clock on the wall suggested she definitely should. “It’s almost six thirty,” she said aloud. “What could be keeping him? If he doesn’t get a move on, I’m not going to have time for that bath or that phone call.” She searched the room for her shoes and was pushing her arms into her jacket sleeves when a knock on the door sounded.

“Finally!” She rushed to the door. “What the heck took you so long?” She jerked open the door, but instead of Austin standing there with their luggage, she found Teddy instead. She looked down the hall and then back to her host. “Why do you have our bags. Where’s Austin?”

“He said he had to run into town for something and he’d be back by dinnertime,” Teddy informed her.

“He did what? But why? He didn’t say anything at all about leaving to go all the way back into town. He was just going to get our luggage in the truck. That’s too weird.” Felicity’s spine tingled at the realization that she might very well be alone with Teddy and his…sidekick. But what on earth would make Austin do something so out of character like that? The rain had nearly reached downpour status, and she thought of Austin trying to drive in this weather. It didn’t make any sense. She recalled Austin’s jokes about it being Friday the thirteenth and all the bad luck he said this day brought to those with thirteen letters in their name. What would make him tempt fate for a drive into town? “It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would he leave now to go back to town?”

Teddy offered a shrug. “You’d know your friend’s behavior better than I would. He certainly didn’t offer any explanations to me, but I don’t think he much cares for me so he wouldn’t tell me of his plans. Do you have reason to suspect he’s not coming back?”

She blinked at his odd choice of words. “Well, no. I mean, of course he’ll be back.” Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion. “I’m just surprised he left at all.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about him until he doesn’t return.” Teddy seemed unconcerned, but Austin’s behavior was odd.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” he said and started to turn away.

“Um, wait a minute.” She stopped him.

“Yes?”

“Um, I was wondering…did you happen to hear something that sounded like a scream earlier?”

He frowned. “A scream? Where?” There was no sign of guile in his demeanor.

“Well, I don’t know for sure that it was a scream.” Now she felt foolish. “It sounded like a scream just before a big clap of thunder.”

He shook his head to dismiss her concerns. “I didn’t hear anything. I can check with the other guests, but no one has reported anything that was of concern to them.” She watched the man’s body language. There was no sign of deceit or guile, but she could admit she wasn’t the best at reading people, so… “But I’ll ask around when I get back downstairs. We had a new guest check in a short time ago. I need to make sure he is well taken care of since he’ll be joining us for dinner.”

“Okay, well…thank you. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about at all. I’ll see you at dinner.” He nodded and left without another word.

“Um, yeah, okay. Until dinner,” she called after him, still confused about why Austin had decided to go to town without saying anything to her. “That’s just weird, but then again, this whole night is starting to feel weird,” she mumbled. Thoughts of Austin’s comments regarding the date resurfaced, but she dismissed them as silly.

Alone on the second floor, she pulled both her and Austin’s bags into the room and closed the door. A bit unsettled by Austin’s odd disappearing act, she locked her room from the inside with the skeleton key. For him to leave without a word was very uncharacteristic for him. If he had to do something, he’d be the first to tell everyone how much trouble he was going to on your behalf. And he hadn’t done that. Why?

Hurrying to her big purse she’d thrown on the bed when she’d arrived, she dug around inside until she found her cell phone. Dead. “Damn it.” She and Austin had been arguing over the phone charger in the truck all the way here. He had wanted to use it to listen to his music playlist. She had wanted to use it to search realtor websites to see what property here was actually bringing. She inhaled and blew out a deep sigh of resignation, threw her purse back on the bed, then rolled her luggage from the bedroom door to stand next to the bed, where she dug through the side pocket to find her charger. Lesson learned. She and Austin didn’t share well, so next time they traveled on a long trip together, she would put hers in the truck, too. That is, if there was a next time they traveled together.

She finally found an outlet behind the bedside table. An old house like this had been built before electricity, which made keeping modern-day appliances more difficult. At first the charger wouldn’t fit, but after a determined wiggle and jiggle, she finally got it to connect. Her phone was so dead, it took a moment for the apple to appear on the screen, but soon the background showed, and the battery symbol was empty and red. Even plugged into the charger, it would take a couple of minutes to charge it enough to make the call to Austin. She would find out what the hell he was doing and what had been so important he would just leave without so much as a single word.

She stifled a yawn and realized just how tired she was after the drive down from Philadelphia. They had left home at the crack of dawn this morning, and it had taken almost twelve hours to drive from Philly to Savannah, then another hour to get through town and out to the hotel because they’d gotten lost twice. She hoped Austin could find his way back in this storm in the dark. Her brain couldn’t make sense of Austin’s weird behavior. It was just…well, weird.

She kicked her shoes off again and threw her jacket on the bed. Another quick glance at her phone screen revealed it was charged enough to make a call while still on the charger. She punched Austin’s contact picture, impatient to talk to him and find out what he was doing, but all she got was a recorded invitation to call again later. A quick look at her phone indicated she only had two bars. “Great,” she lamented. She would have to try her call again a little later.

Felicity dismissed her worry for the moment. She had about forty-five minutes for a good soak in that fabulous tub, but…she hesitated. The bed looked soft and welcoming, too, and she didn’t have time for both. So, maybe a quick power nap would suffice for now, and then tonight after dinner, she could top the evening off with that delicious soak she was so looking forward to.

Felicity pulled back the beautifully embroidered rosebud bedspread she remembered from her time here as a kid and smoothed her hand along the lovely bedcovers. Silky soft sheets and fluffy pillows beckoned to her. She heard the clock on the wall in her room strike the hour. Seven o’clock. She had planned to take a quick shower before dinner, but she was so comfortable now, she decided she’d just spritz the road grim off and fluff her hair instead. No need to get all dressed up for…who, exactly…guests of the hotel? People she didn’t know? She’d rather just lay here and relax. The rain outside was still blowing against the window beneath gusts of wind. It wasn’t the ideal environment for a blissful nap under the cadence of the gentle rain she preferred, but she’d take it.

She reached for her phone to set a wake-up alarm in forty-five minutes. That would give her plenty of time to spritz and fluff. Stripping down to her bra and panties, she slipped between the luxurious sheets and adjusted the pillow. Settled and still, she snuggled beneath the down comforter, and within moments, she began to drift into a boneless state, leaning into the steady drum of rain against the house.

A knock on the door startled her, and she realized she must have dozed off. Austin. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. Her head rose to glance at her phone laying on the nightstand. No. It had only been twenty minutes since she’d laid her head down. So much for a power nap. The knock sounded again. “Damn it.”

She rose and dug through her suitcase to find her robe. “Just a minute,” she called out as she wrapped the silky knee-length kimono around her body and tied the belt at her waist.

Hurrying to the door, she started to open it then stopped herself. “Who is it?” she called through the door.

“It’s me, Miss Simon. Teddy. I have something for you I thought you might want to see.”

Slowly, she opened the door about six inches and offered the man a tentative smile. “What is it?”

Standing in the hallway outside her door was Teddy holding up a garment bag. She frowned at him in confusion.

“I was afraid you and your companion hadn’t brought anything appropriate to wear for dinner, so I brought you these.” Teddy offered a hint of a smile. It wasn’t the smile that bothered her as much as the look in his eyes when he did it. It was the kind of smile that made a woman feel like she needed a shower. She ducked behind the door even more and discreetly placed her foot against it in case he decided to get ideas about Austin’s absence.

“Did you get a chance to ask anyone about the scream I heard—or at least the scream I thought I heard?” she reminded him.

“Yes, I did. No one heard anything at all,” he reported.

“It just seemed so real,” she murmured.

“An old house like this is always making noises, but that’s just its bones creaking. Nothing to worry about,” he assured her and lifted the bottom of the garment bag with his hand, revealing a beautiful lace dress covered in glass beads and beaded fringe. It was the style of dress women wore back in the twenties. Was this a costume party dinner?

“Um…well, I…when you said appropriate attire, you didn’t say anything about formal wear or costumes. And as beautiful as that dress is, I wouldn’t feel right wearing it,” she said, still hiding behind the half-open doorway, one hand on the door as if it offered her some protection from…what? Teddy? She wasn’t sure why her instincts were telling her to be wary of him, but every nerve in her body was on high alert. And yet…he was acting every bit the charming gentleman, so what was it about him that had her nerves on edge?

“Why not? It’s one-of-a-kind, and it belonged to your Great-Aunt Celia,” he informed her.

“But…it’s kind of see-through, don’t you think?” she protested.

“Not see-through. It’s lace. There are solid patches of fabric in all the right places to hide your lady parts.”

Lady parts? What a strange choice of words for a man to use.

“The others will be so pleased to see you in it. I would dare guess to say some of the ladies will be quite jealous when they see how it fits you to perfection.” Teddy’s voice took on a sultry, low-key tone that had her searching his face for answers. He gave nothing away. Prim. Proper. Polite. “Please? It would mean a lot to see this dress on a living, breathing form again.”

She frowned. He had the strangest way with words. Living, breathing form? How weird was that. And downright creepy. He shoved the dress toward her, leaving her little choice but to take it. Their fingers touched in the exchange, and she saw a strange light in his eyes she couldn’t quite put a name to, but it was gone so quickly she couldn’t be sure she’d actually seen anything at all.

“And here are the shoes to match. I assumed if you didn’t have evening wear, you wouldn’t have evening slippers,” he rationalized as he handed her a pair of black beaded slippers to match the dress.

“Um, no. That’s not something I thought to pack on this trip,” she admitted as she took the shoes from him. “But I can’t wear this. Austin didn’t bring anything, either.”

“Not to worry. Behind the dress is a suit for him. I’ll bring up his shoes later…if he returns from town.”

“You mean when he returns from town,” she pointed out.

“Yes, of course.” He nodded and started to leave, but he stopped and gave her that creepy look that made her think he wished he could see through the door. “I can’t wait to see you at dinner, Miss Simon. You will make a lovely dinner companion for my guests. Everyone is nearly beside themselves with excitement. Until then.” He offered her a stiff bow and turned to go when she stopped him.

“I don’t suppose you have any way of checking with county law enforcement to see if there’s been any accidents between here and town is there? I’m really worried about Austin.”

“I wouldn’t worry. The roads out here are not easy to navigate, and the first time or two is bound to lead down a wrong road. A twist here. A wrong turn there. People get lost all the time. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Whatever is keeping him is most certainly out of his control. Otherwise, why would he choose to be away from his paramour?” Again with the strange word. Who used that word these days? And, there was that look again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s Lucifer’s dinnertime. I try not to be late with his food. He gets very cranky when he gets hungry, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t want that,” she agreed and cast a nervous eye through the narrow door opening for the huge dog. No sign of him. Chills crept up Felicity’s spine at the thought of that creature being out of sorts. A hard shiver shook her body as if someone had walked over her grave. She offered a half smile, hoping to relieve some of the weird tension she felt, but Teddy’s cardboard-like expression never wavered. Suddenly, a clap of thunder boomed nearby. She jumped, dropping the shoes to the floor.

“Don’t be so concerned, Miss Simon. We get storms here all the time. Probably our close proximity to the ocean, I imagine. It’ll blow over soon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Lucifer requires his meal, and I must attend to the seating arrangements. Some of the ladies get very jealous if they don’t get their favorite spot next to the host.” He turned and headed toward the end of the hall and the great staircase, but her mind, awhirl with their conversation, lit on his last words. Host? What host?

“Excuse me. Teddy? Who is the host?” she called out after him.

He didn’t answer. Had he not heard her question, or had he chosen not to answer? Maybe she should have listened to Austin about today being Friday the thirteenth. Today had certainly turned bizarre enough since they’d arrived. Austin was missing—okay, not missing yet, but he was gone without explanation—and she was about to get dressed in a borrowed dress for a dinner party full of total strangers. She wondered if this night could get any stranger. She certainly hoped not, but just then a jagged flash of lightning lit the night sky and caused the electricity to flicker for a moment. She sighed. “It certainly doesn’t look promising.”

Chapter 4

Seven forty-five, and still no Austin. He’d been gone for almost two hours. She supposed that was understandable, if the whole trip to town had made sense in the first place, which it didn’t. If he had gone all the way back to town, it was at least a good forty-five minutes to an hour there and the same amount of time back and whatever time in town it would take to do whatever it was he had to do. That could easily run into three hours, which meant he knew he wouldn’t be back for dinner. So why would he tell Teddy he would be? More important, why hadn’t he bothered to tell her he was leaving. It didn’t make sense. She’d tried calling him six more times, and every time she got the same stupid recording to call again later.

To take her mind off Austin’s strange disappearance to town, Felicity rummaged through her suitcase again for something suitable to wear to dinner tonight, but she hadn’t been planning on formal dining, so jeans and T-shirts were all she’d brought. That would be entirely inappropriate if the glittering lace dress Teddy had brought her was any indication of what the others would be wearing. She wished she knew what was keeping Austin. Maybe if he hadn’t left already, they could have made their excuses and headed back to Savannah for the night. Right now, she didn’t care that Austin would have crowed “I told you so” all the way to town. She would have gladly given him his due if it meant she could leave this place tonight. “Okay, now I’m freaking myself out,” she admonished herself. She was letting this old hotel, the storm, and Teddy’s creepy personality scare her. “Get a grip, Felicity. You’re not a kid on Halloween, and you don’t believe in superstitions, remember?”

The clock struck eight, and she was out of time. What now? She glanced at the dress on the bed and the suit Teddy had brought Austin to wear. If Austin were here, she’d be having to convince him to put on that suit so it wasn’t as if Teddy had just brought her clothes for dinner. What would it hurt? After all, if everyone else was wearing similar clothing, she would really stand out in jeans. She decided to blend into tonight’s dinner party.

Quickly slipping into the black lacy number, she stood barefoot in front of the antique full-length mirror against the bedroom wall and studied her reflection. She had to admit, the dress fit her like it was made for her. Funny—Teddy had said much the same thing. He’d said the other ladies would be jealous when they saw how the dress fit her to perfection. Perfection? But how would he know the dress would fit her at all? She shivered at the only answer she could come up with: he had a roaming eye and he’d been checking her figure out way closer than he should’ve been.

Shaking off his creepy vibes, she glanced in the mirror once more, noting it wasn’t as revealing as she’d first thought. All her lady parts were well hidden behind large scraps of flesh-colored fabric beneath the lace, giving the illusion she was partially nude. Lady parts. She supposed it wasn’t such an odd phrase, but it just sounded odd when Teddy said it. Besides, Austin always used more graphic terms when describing the female anatomy. Austin.

Felicity punched Austin’s cell number into her phone again, but all she got was that same recording. Another glance at the reception bars revealed the signal was now at zero. “Must be the storm. I hope he’s all right.”

She knew she was going to be late for dinner, and she didn’t want to be any later, hoping to avoid all eyes on her when she entered the dining room. Quickly, she slipped her feet into the dainty slippers. They fit like the dress…as if they’d been made for her. A shiver rolled over her skin. She did her best to shake it off as she grabbed her large bag. But then she better of it. That was a lot of purse just to carry to dinner. Besides, it didn’t exactly go with the dress.

She’d brought a smaller crossbody bag in case she and Austin wanted to spend some time in Savannah on the way home. Rummaging through her suitcase, she found it and shoved her now-charged cell phone inside, then headed for the door, but that feeling of unease she’d felt all evening returned. Maybe one more accessory would be in order. Turning back to her suitcase, she fumbled in the pocket until she found the item she was searching for. “There you are.” She dropped the small stun gun into the smaller purse along with her favorite shade of lipstick. She was feeling a little silly about the idea of having to shock any of her dinner partners, but she thought about Lucifer and shrugged all guilt aside. “Just a precaution,” she tried to rationalize herself into relaxing. And yet when she stepped outside into the hallway and locked the door behind her, pocketing the skeleton key inside her purse, she couldn’t help but cut a glance toward Austin’s door. It wasn’t like him to just disappear. Not like him at all.

“Are you ready to dine?”

Startled at the sound of someone’s voice so near, she whirled around to see Teddy standing behind her dressed in a luxurious tuxedo from the same period as her dress. “You nearly scared the hell out of me. How do you manage to sneak up on people like that?”

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to sneak up on you. I was simply in my room down the hall and heard you locking your door. I thought perhaps I could escort you down to dinner—that is, unless your companion has returned.” His voice was smooth and even, and now she realized what it was about it that made her uneasy about him. There were no emotions embedded in his words. None at all.

“Um…no. He hasn’t. At least, not yet,” she admitted.

He offered her an understanding smile. It seemed genuine, but…

“I’m sure he’ll be along soon. Are you ready to meet our other guests?”

“Our other guests? Yes, I suppose so. I’m not sure I’m going to be a very enjoyable dinner partner. I can’t help worrying about my boyfriend.” She emphasized her relationship with Austin just to be sure Teddy understood there was no room for any hanky-panky between the two of them. “If I could just get in touch with him, perhaps I could relax a little. Would you happen to have a landline I could use to call him? You know, just to check on him. Make sure he’s all right. My cell phone doesn’t have service.”

“Yes. The hotel has a phone in the library you can use. Shall we?” Teddy stuck out his arm, and she wanted to refuse it, but… “Come now, we wouldn’t want to keep the others waiting, now would we?” He cut a pointed look to his elbow extended toward her, then back to meet her gaze, and waited.

His tone was polite, and yet she felt threatened somehow. She pushed her purse strap on her shoulder, giving her hands something to do besides comply with his request. Her fingers brushed the outline of her small stun gun hidden away inside through the thin layer of her purse, and it gave her a small sense of security. If Teddy did get out of line, she could zap him to the floor. It couldn’t keep him there, but it’d make damn sure he knew she found his behavior unwanted.

“Is there something wrong, Miss Simon?” His tone was still cordial, but for the first time since she’d arrived, she sensed his polite façade was cracking. What would she see between those cracks? Did she really want to know?

“No. Nothing’s wrong. Like I said, I’m just worried about my boyfriend.” She reached out and gingerly grasped the crook of his arm with her fingers. Surprised when his other hand reached out and clamped down over her hand to hold it firmly in place, she started to pull away. When the slight tug of her hand failed to escape his strong grasp, she let it go…for now.

“Shall we go? I can’t wait for the others to meet you. They are going to be so jealous of how beautiful you look tonight.” He gently pulled her toward the great staircase. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I have such exciting news for you.”

“You do?” She was only half interested in his news. She was more interested in putting distance between the two of them and getting to that phone in the library and chewing Austin out for leaving her here alone. She would admit she was wrong and demand he hurry back so they could pack up and get out of this hotel. It was starting to feel a little too Bates Motel-y for her liking.

“Oh, yes. We are all going to play hide and seek after dinner. Doesn’t that sound like such fun?” Before she could answer that she thought it was a childish idea, he added, “I love that game. Don’t you?”

The childlike joy that showed in the man’s eyes had her trying to pull her hand from his elbow, but he just smiled and held her hand firmly in place. She felt as if she was slipping into the twilight zone. No longer torn between his behavior being odd or just seeming odd because of the backdrop of this place in the middle of a violent thunderstorm, she was certain now that Teddy was a step off normal folks. Grateful there were other guests in the hotel, she would keep them close to her until Austin return. Them and her little stun gun. She feared she was going to need the help of both before the night was over.

Chapter 5

Felicity and her unwanted escort descended the winding staircase much like a famous couple in a roaring twenties movie. The house. The décor. The furnishings. And now the clothing Teddy had insisted she wear to dinner Even the faint music that drifted through the house from somewhere downstairs was from that era. When they reached the first-floor landing, she realized the house was still eerily void of chatter from the other dinner guests. Had they already been seated? Probably. After all, she was running late.

A shiver of anticipation crept over her skin, and she rubbed her bare arms with her hand for warmth.

“Are you cold?” Teddy asked.

“No, not cold, really. Just…chilled.” She felt a strange energy coming off Teddy she hadn’t felt before. Excitement? Anticipation? She couldn’t be sure, but she could see he was much more animated than he had been earlier in the evening.

Teddy urged her toward the dining room, but she stopped him. “I need to use the land line to call Austin, remember?” she reminded him.

He hesitated. Or did he? Felicity sensed he was indecisive about her request at first, but then almost immediately he smiled and nodded toward the library. “Of course. Right this way.” He led her to the library down the hall and pointed to an old rotary phone on the antique desk. Did that thing really work? She picked it up and almost fainted with relief when she heard the dial tone. She started to dial Austin’s number with the rotary wheel when she realized she had no idea what his number was. She had him on speed dial in her cell phone contacts so she hadn’t bothered to memorize his number. Quickly opening her bag to retrieve her phone, she saw her stun gun lying at the bottom of the black silk lining. A quick glance toward Teddy standing near the fireplace revealed he hadn’t noticed it. She punched Austin’s contact picture up on her phone’s screen, lifted the ancient receiver, and pointed a finger into the dial, and then—everything went dark.

“What the—” Felicity’s heart stumbled while she stood in the dark library. She dropped the receiver into the cradle and waited until the next flash of lightning. Now Teddy was standing beside her. That was weird. She hadn’t heard him move about the room at all. Something touched her hair. The next bolt of lightning revealed it was Teddy, and he was… sniffing her hair? She pushed out at him, and her fingers fumbled in the dark for her purse. If this was where Teddy was gonna make his move, she’d make damn sure the guy knew she was not gonna be a player.

She sensed he’d moved off again, and the next bolt of lightning verified that fact. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was trying to keep you from falling over the furniture in the dark. Just stand still. The power will return shortly.” His voice was meant to be calming, but she was anything but calm. He had sniffed her hair in the dark. She was almost positive, but—

“Let me get us a light. Stay right there,” he said. A few seconds later, she heard him open a drawer somewhere in the room.

If she had been one hundred percent positive he’d invaded her personal space, she would have already laid him flat on the floor with eighty-six million volts of electrical charge. In less than three to five seconds of contact with Teddy’s body, her little firecracker of a stun gun would cause him to lose muscle control and become totally disoriented, but she really need to be sure before…

She heard the flare of a match and then the soft glow of a small candle in Teddy’s hand. His eyes sparkled in the flickering light. “Here we go,” he held up a small candle holder so she could see it. “Why don’t we go check on the other guests and make sure they are all right. Once the power comes back on, you can make your phone call, how’s that sound?”

When she hesitated, he offered her a sympathetic smile. “It can be a nightmare living out here at the end of the road. It really is in the middle of nowhere. Something a city girl such as yourself should have considered before deciding to come here to live.”

There was a hint of a double meaning in his statement. Or maybe she was just losing it. “I didn’t say I was coming here to live.”

“Oh come now, Miss Simon. This place is so charming, you won’t be able to resist it. Trust me—everyone who comes here feels the exact same way. Once you’re here, the pull of its charm is so strong, you can’t leave. Now, shall we see to our other guests? I don’t want to keep them waiting any longer.” He extended his elbow again, and she reluctantly took it, hooking her bag over her shoulder and clutching it tight. The stun gun resting at the bottom of her bag was a heartbeat away from her grip. They left the library and returned to the main entry. The soft, warm glow of at least fifty candles lit their way. Teddy set his candle alongside the others.

“Were these candles lit before?”

“Yes.” Teddy led her toward the back hall where she assumed the dining room was located.

“But I didn’t notice them when we came downstairs.”

“The lights were on then. Now that the electricity is off…”

“Yes, I guess that’s true. Did you light them all?”

“No, of course not. The hotel employed at least a dozen staff members until recently. Now, there’s but a few left to take care of this grand old dame, and although electrical outages are quite the common occurrence out here, we always have candlelight at dinner. It’s part of the ambiance of the place, don’t you think? We are all transported back in time to when things were less…complicated and people were less duplicitous.”

Complicated? Duplicitous? What did that mean? And had he answered her question about lighting the candles? Not exactly. He’d said the hotel employed staff, but she hadn’t seen another soul in this place since she’d arrived. Before she could formulate a follow-up question, he had guided her just about halfway to the end of the wide hallway where she assumed the dining room would be when she realized there were still no voices. Just soft music playing from somewhere in the house. The notes grew louder, and she recognized the tinny sound of an old phonograph. Even the music was from a different era. Is that why the hotel was so profitable? People wanted to come stay and pretend to be living in more opulent days? That would make sense. Destination vacations were a big thing these days. It wouldn’t surprise her a bit to learn that was exactly the reason why this place was so successful…at least it had been while her great-aunt was alive.

She and Teddy arrived just outside the closed dining room doors. “Prepare yourself for the thrill of a lifetime, my pet,” he announced with all the flourish and excitement of a boxing ring announcer. My pet? She did not like the sound of that, and she was about to say so when he pushed the double doors open wide, revealing a dining room full of people sitting at a long narrow table covered in white tablecloths, crystal stemware and silver place settings all reflecting the flickering lights of a room full of tall pillar candles. Everyone was dressed in black formal attire from the same era as Teddy’s tux and her dress. So, it was a costume party from the roaring twenties after all. And there was a dining room full of people, which surprised her. She’d convinced herself she was here alone with Teddy. Now, she wished Austin was here for two reasons: she wouldn’t have to worry about him, and she could say “I told you so” with a big, wide grin on her face. No one would have been more shocked than Austin to learn there were other people in this place, after all, and she would have enjoyed the hell out of watching him scramble to apologize for doubting her.

Teddy escorted her into the room on his arm with a flourish as if she were a grand lady on display, but the closer she got to the occupants of the table, the more her brain had trouble processing what her eyes were seeing. What exactly was she looking at? It was as if everyone was frozen in time. Literally. No one was moving at all. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet our special guest, Miss Felicity Simon. Felicity, say hello to everyone. They’re dying to meet you.”

She stared hard at the first person she came to—really stared at her—or rather…it. Finally, realization punched its way through her confusion. And then, she screamed until she lost consciousness.

Chapter 6

A clap of thunder tugged at her sanity. Slowly, painfully, she returned to her nightmare. And the horror that came with it.

“Come on now, Miss Simon. I know you’re awake. Don’t be shy. Everyone is waiting to greet you.”

When Teddy’s voice urged her awake, she resisted as long as she could. Aware her right wrist was throbbing, she pulled at it to realize she was tied to her chair. Incredulous at first, she raised her head and stared at the offending rope knotted around her arm. Then, she cast a quick glance around the room trying not to stare too long at any one of the masked faces lining each side of the long dining table. Too soon, her gaze reached the other end, and there sat her mysterious host. Teddy.

Her senses now fully recovered, she stabbed him with a dagger-like glare. “How dare you tie me to this chair. What’s the meaning of this?” she demanded. He gave her a smug smile, but he didn’t answer. Her heart raced with a mix of anger and fear. She tried again. “Let me go, or I’m calling the police.”

“And how will you do that?” he goaded.

He had a point. She glanced around the table, looking for opportunities to help her escape. Teddy’s back was to the wall while hers was to the dining room doors they had entered through. A glance around the table revealed what she already knew. These other diners were simply mannequins dressed up for a party. She knew without a shadow of a doubt now that Teddy was unhinged, although he appeared very relaxed for a nut job. His right hand held a glass of red wine, and his left rested on the giant head of the beast he called Lucifer. And he acted as if he had not a care in the world, but her macabre dining partners lining both sides of the table were anything but carefree. They were…bizarre. She wished now she’d zapped the hell out of him in the library when she suspected he’d sniffed her hair. Even more, she wished she’d listened to Austin and left when they had the chance. Had Austin sensed the danger and left her here? She quickly dismissed that thought. Austin wasn’t exactly a member of SEAL Team Six, but neither was he a coward. Well, not a blatant one, anyway.

“Now, Miss Simon—or shall I call you by your first name, since we have grown so much closer since you arrived.” It wasn’t a question.

She wanted to scream at him, but she knew he wasn’t stable. The last thing she wanted to do was set him off…or his mutt. She glanced around the table, taking in each chilling figure, and kept her reply as rational and calm as possible. “What’s the meaning of this, Teddy? You’re acting—” she stopped short, aware of what she had been about to say.

“Crazy?” He supplied her missing word. “We really should work on your manners, Felicity. It isn’t good form to call your host names. And seriously, that is the most unoriginal name I’ve heard in my entire life. Why, almost every one of these people have called me much more creative names than that at one time or another.”

He was delusional. He thought these mannequins were people. She glanced around the table again, taking each face into close scrutiny. They appeared to be made of plaster. The white surface was marred in several places with a brush stroke here and there dried into its surface. Her mouth was so dry with fear she could barely swallow. “People? You think these mannequins…are people?” She swallowed hard, hoping to quell the knot of fear gathering in the pit of her stomach.

“Of course not. Do you think I’m crazy? Wait, I think we’ve already established that you do. No, I don’t think they are people. Maybe you’re the one who’s…you know.” He twirled his finger around his ear to make the universal symbol for nuts and laughed at his own joke. “No, I don’t think these are people. I know they are. If you knew me better, you would know I wouldn’t stoop so low as to use mannequins as my dinner guests. After all, someone in my family would never stoop to behave in such a low-class manner. It just wouldn’t be done.” His narcissism was showing through his crazy right about now. He was a mental case; there was no doubt about it. So how did he get here, and what happened to the caretakers her great-aunt’s lawyers said would be taking care of this place? She was afraid to ask those questions right now, and yet, she really needed to know. She’d try a less direct tactic to get the information.

“Um, no, of course not. I don’t think you’re crazy at all.” She began searching for a path to get to the truth without setting him off into a psychopathic rage. “It’s just that…you have to admit dining with ten fully dressed people isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence. I mean it’s—” Find the right word, Felicity. Don’t call him weird. “It’s unique. Which says a lot about your individual personality, Teddy. Very original. And creative.” Shut up, Felicity. Now you’re just rambling.

He was watching her with a fair amount of suspicion in his gaze. She kept going. “So, Teddy. You haven’t told me much about yourself. How did you come to be staying here at the hotel?”

She started to reach for her half-full glass of wine to cover her nervousness, but her right hand was halted by her shackle. So, she nonchalantly switched hands, grabbed the glass with her left hand, and took a sip. Her impulse was to down the whole glass, but her instincts told her she would need her wits about her, and a wine-induced haze would not be conducive to surviving if Teddy lost his ability to control his violent impulses.

“Are you trying to distract me, Felicity? It won’t work, you know.” Measured and knowing, his words oozed from his mouth like they had when she’d been so impressed with his manners and good looks. Chalk another one up in the Austin’s right column, she admitted.

“Look. You’ve got me tied up to a chair in front of a chorus of adult dolls if I may use that term. I think we’re past distractions. I just want to know what’s happening. I think that’s a fair expectation. Don’t you?” she snapped.

He grinned. “I like you better when you show fire, Felicity. Promise me you’ll do that later when we play hide and seek. It’s more fun that way.” There was that look again. That look that spelled trouble, but he seemed to be more relaxed when she talked back to him. Okay, I can do that.

“Just answer the question, Teddy. Where did you come from, and where is everyone?”

“Well, if you must know, I’ve been staying here quite a while. Years actually. I was here when Celia died.”

“Years?” Felicity’s mind was spinning, trying to come up with answers before Teddy surprised her with them. “But how can that be?”

“Because we’re relatives. I’m sad you don’t remember me.” He grinned.

“What? Who is relatives?” She was getting more worried by the minute that he was completely out of touch with reality. How was she going to rationalize with a person like that?

“We are. Let’s see—Celia was your grandmother’s twin sister, which makes her your great-aunt. And since she was my grandmother, that makes us…what, first cousins twice removed or second cousins? I can never get that genealogy stuff straight.”

Shocked almost senseless, Felicity grabbed at any words she could wrap her tongue around. “Are you trying to tell me Celia was your grandmother?”

“I’m not trying to tell you. I am telling you that, yes, Celia was my father’s mother. I’ve been living with her for quite a long time since no one else could tolerate my presence. I was quite devastated by her death because we were so close…or at least I thought we were. You can imagine how shocked and disappointed I was when I learned she’d left this entire place to you and not to me, her only grandchild. Such a painful revelation.” His bottom lip pouted like a little kid’s, but the smirk on his face made it clear he wasn’t too tore up about it.

Felicity’s heart punched at her chest to know this person thought he was a relative. She just needed to keep him happy until she could figure out a way to escape. “Look, Teddy, you can have it. If being left out of Celia’s will is what this is about, then you can have it all. I’ll sign the papers right now,” Felicity vowed. “Just untie me, and I won’t say a word about any of this. To anyone. I swear. And as soon as Austin gets back, we’ll leave and never come back here again, I promise.”

“It’s not that simple, Felicity,” he cajoled.

“Sure it is. We’ll call that lawyer Celia used…you know, the one that contacted me and took care of all the paperwork.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Weaver.” She saw him cut a sharp glance to one of the figures in the middle of the table on his right side. She kept her gaze on him and watched while he carried on a conversation with the mannequin. “What do you say, Mr. Weaver? Is it that simple? It certainly wasn’t that simple when you showed up on my doorstep to inform me I had thirty days to vacate this place. This place that has been my home ever since I was released from Bayfield. Granny Celia was the only person willing to take me in after I got out, and now that she’s decided to up and die, she’s kicking me out. Such an uncharitable act if you ask me.” Without warning, he threw a knife from his place setting and hit the mannequin he called Mr. Weaver right in the chest. Before Felicity could gasp, he’d returned to his calm demeanor and had taken another sip of wine as if nothing had happened.

Felicity’s mind searched for the reason why that name sounded so familiar. And then it hit her like a Louisville Slugger against the side of her head. “Bayfield? As in the mental hospital for the crim—” She stopped short, realizing what she was about to say.

“You can say it. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. At least…not anymore. The term you’re searching for is criminally insane, but can one really be considered a criminal when one is simply reacting to ill treatment by others? I think not. My therapist said I have mommy issues, but I disagree. If it wasn’t for my bitch of a mother, I’d have never found religion.”

“Teddy…” Felicity’s mind stumbled over the picture coming into clarity. “Theodore. Bishop. Theodore Winthrop Bishop. You’re the one who stabbed your mother in the throat with a—” Austin’s words to her when they first arrived came rushing back. “Maybe Teddy is an escaped murderer from an insane asylum and has been hiding in the attic—or the basement—for the last two months.” Why hadn’t she listened to him?

Teddy raised his glass to her in a toast and downed its contents. He turned to the closest figure to him on his right. “Charles, pour me another glass of merlot, if you please.” Teddy held his glass out while his other hand pretended to be Charles’s and refilled his glass. When he was finished, he nodded his thanks to the figure he called Charles and returned his attention back to her. “Charles was the caretaker of this hotel for many, many years. If you ask me, I think he and Granny Celia had a thing for each other once upon a time,” he whispered in a conspiratorial tone.

Just keep calm, Felicity. Stay calm. You need to stay calm. She inhaled a deep breath to slow her escalating fears at Teddy’s latest revelation. Survival instincts were urging her to run, but she couldn’t do anything tied to this damn chair, so she had to remain calm. Think, Felicity. Think.

A quick glance toward Lucifer sitting quietly beside Teddy’s chair made her realize she would have a much better chance to get away if that beast wasn’t in the picture.

“Now, where were we? Oh, yes. My mommy issues. Yes, I’m that one. That’s when I found religion.”

“Religion?” She couldn’t wrap her brain around any of this. “You mean you asked for forgiveness?”

“Of course not. What was there to forgive? My selfish mother denied me my wishes, so I stabbed her.”

“I don’t understand. How did you find religion?”

“I’m convinced it was divine intervention. It’s the only explanation how I could have noticed that cross hanging on the wall at that particular moment. That cross had been in that same spot for years and I never gave it the slightest notice, but that day, it was all I could see. If I hadn’t seen it, I might not have killed her, but because it was ordained by God, I used it to shut her up. Therefore, I found religion that day.”

Felicity sat motionless. She was slowly losing her own grip on sanity. She pulled in a ragged breath laced with sheer terror. Speaking of religion, she decided a prayer might be in order right about now. Please, God—

“You’re disappointing me, Felicity. I do hope you are smarter than you are letting on at the moment. It will be a very short game of hide and seek if you aren’t.”

“Theodore Bishop,” she repeated out of sheer shock.

“Yes, we’ve established that my name is Theodore, but my friends call me Teddy. I hope you won’t disappoint me by insisting on using my given name. I hate it. Really I do. It just doesn’t give off that friendly vibe I was hoping for. Don’t you agree?”

Her mind ignored his banter and shrank from the truth even though she knew what he was saying was true. This was the infamous second cousin who had stabbed his own mother to death in the throat with a cross he’d ripped off the wall in a fit of rage because she wouldn’t drive him to town to buy ice cream. He’d been twelve at the time, as best she could remember the sordid details.

“Please, say you will.” She heard Teddy’s voice from her haze of fear.

“I will what?” Her heart was racing so fast, she was certain she was about to lose consciousness.

“There you go again. I really don’t think you’re that dumb, but for the sake of being kind, I’ll repeat myself. I’m asking you to please call me Teddy. I’d really like it if we could be friends. Perhaps even more if you’d allow it.” His voice dropped to that more seductive tone he’d used before. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real girlfriend.”

Her gaze shot up in shock and met his. Two soulless eyes full of lust cut to one of the figures sitting at the table on her right and then quickly returned to her. He watched her every move. Cold and calculating. Canny and cautious. The reality of her situation couldn’t be clearer, and she knew she was in for the fight of her life.

Chapter 7

Perspiration dripped from her armpits and slid down her rib cage. Where in the hell was Austin? A quick glance at the clock behind Teddy’s head revealed it was almost ten. He’d been gone for almost four hours. More than enough time for him to be back by now and a sense of doom drifted over Felicity. A bright flash of lightning lit up the semi-darkness of the candlelit room, and she could still hear rain pounding on the windowpanes. She felt like screaming. This can’t be happening. None of it is real, she told herself. She squeezed her eyes closed tight and counted. One. Two. Three. Counting to ten had often helped her overcome her fears as a little girl. Four. Five. Six. She remembered one such time a bad storm just like this one had knocked all the power out of her family’s home. By the time she and her sister had counted to ten, it had come back on, chasing the scary dark shadows away. Seven. Eight. Nine. But she wasn’t a little girl anymore and the stakes were much higher than back then. She paused counting. Please let all this be a bad dream. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. She wasn’t sure who she was directing her pleas to at this moment since they couldn’t exactly be called a prayer. Just as long as someone answered was all that mattered. Her eyes still closed, she pulled in a lung full of air and mumbled under her breath. Ten. Ever so slowly she opened her eyes, and her hopeful heart sank. Teddy still sat at the other end of the table with those soulless eyes of his watching her like he was about to pounce.

“You’ve grown so quiet, my pet. I can tell you’re dreaming of all the naughty things I will do to you after you lose our little game. It does my heart good to see you are anticipating my talents. I will make your wildest dreams come true…and you mine”

She almost vomited the bile gathering in the pit of her stomach. Her skin crawled at the thought of what he was proposing, and she knew she wouldn’t hesitate to take her own life before she would—could—allow him to touch her. That thought brought her up short. She didn’t want to die. The bastard had no right to scare the hell out of her. No right to threaten her with harm of any kind. He was an unhinged psychopath, and she would fight him with every ounce of strength she possessed. If she died, she would take the bastard with her. Him and that ugly, black, evil creature he kept threatening her with. So, how was she going to get out of this? She had to be smart as hell, that’s how.

“Look, Teddy. I’m not exactly considering it, although I’m tempted.” She saw his eyebrows rise in suspicion. Take it easy. Don’t pour it on too thick. Stroke his ego, she reminded herself. “I mean, you’re very good-looking. I noticed that the moment I arrived. Even Austin mentioned the fact that I noticed how good-looking you were, and he wasn’t happy about it I might add. And you’re certainly in great physical shape.” Interest piqued in his dead gaze. Don’t overdo it. You don’t want to get him excited, you idiot. “But I don’t think a union between us is possible, and I think you know why.”

“Are you trying to flatter me, Felicity? I’m not easily fooled, you know.” His outward demeanor seemed casual, but she knew he was a predator waiting for her to make the wrong move—say the wrong word.

“No, of course not. I was trying to be factual…and truthful, that’s all. I thought you’d appreciate that more rather than me telling you lies.” She inhaled a slow, deep breath hoping to slow her pulse and calm her rapid-fire breathing. If she didn’t, she was going to hyperventilate and pass out. Then only heaven knew what was in store for her unconscious body.

“I like it when people shoot straight with me. And I must admit I’m a bit surprised. You understand me better than most, my pet. Go on.”

She inhaled another breath through her nose. “Well, I was trying to make you understand that, although I do find you attractive…and quite interesting…and beside the fact that I do have a boyfriend who should be back any minute…the underlying reason we can’t be, you know, lovers is that we are related. We’re cousins. I don’t think our relationship would be accepted in family circles. I’m sure you understand that you and I can’t happen.” She dropped her gaze, hoping she looked adequately disappointed she couldn’t take Teddy up on his heinous offer. Instead, he startled her with a humored chuckle.

“Ah, you’re a shrewd one, my pet. I can see you shall be a worthy opponent in our little game of hide and seek after all. But just to be clear on the possibility of our liaison, I am positive that our familial connections are of little importance. I’m not looking for a long-term relationship. Besides, I think we can both agree that I’m not one to worry about other people’s opinions of me. They don’t much approve of my behavior anyway.” He grinned and took another long sip of wine, looking quite pleased with himself. “So you see, I think our time together shall be a blissful respite from the world outside. And it will be a sizzling conclusion to our game of hide and seek. Don’t you agree? Winner take all. Oh, I do love the sound of that because I know I shall win and nothing will give me more pleasure than to heat your blood so hot the fires of hell will pale in comparison.” His excited look conveyed his intentions loud and clear, but he added a few more words that made her physically sick. “I intend for you to burn for me, Baby, burn,” he whispered across the table.

His words punched holes into the feeble amount of calm she’d managed to hang on to during their troubled conversation. He was talking about winning a stupid game of hide and seek as if he was really looking forward to playing it, but she knew he only intended to use the game to get her alone which didn’t make sense. She was already alone with Teddy. “Why do you want to play a game of hide and seek? There’s just the two of us. Not much of a game, I would think.” She offered him a sweet smile, hoping to convince him she was disarmed by his compliment.

“Yes, that’s true, but we don’t need anyone else. Just you, me, and Lucifer here is all that’s needed. Much like the other people I’ve played with in the past—who’ve lost.”

She cast a suspicious glance toward the mannequins sitting around the table. “I thought we were going to be honest with each other.”

“We are. What is it you think I’m being dishonest about?”

“Our dinner guests. They…aren’t—”

“Real? Ah, I see. You are a skeptical woman, my love, but no matter. I’ve got all night to make a believer out of you.” He reached out and took another sip of wine. “Now, let’s see. Where shall we start that will put you on the path of a believer?” He turned to his right, and his gaze stopped halfway down the table. “I know. Let’s start with Mr. Weaver, shall we? Take a glance at his right hand. See that ring on his pinkie finger? That belonged to his grandfather.”

Felicity followed his direction and noted the ruby ring on the figure’s hand flickering in the candlelight. “What does that prove? I’ve never met Mr. Weaver or his ring.” She was acting a lot braver than she felt because she was hoping he would realize this game of his wasn’t going to convince her his imaginary friends were real.

“Ah, that’s a shame. He seemed to be a gentle man. And I hear the man was a good attorney. Too bad he was so loyal to my grandmother. He’ll have plenty of time to think about the error of his judgment for years and years and years to come.”

There was a hint of sarcasm to Teddy’s tone. She still wasn’t buying his cheap parlor tricks. If she could only get him to have just one lucid moment, she might have a chance to—

“All right then, how about someone you do know? Will that convince you my little friends are real?” He sipped his merlot and peered at her over his wine glass.

“Sure. If you insist on playing this game, I’ll bite. Show me someone I know.”

“Very well. Look to your right. See anything that creates a spark of recognition in that sharp little mind of yours?” He leaned forward, as if in anticipation of something. He’s crazy, she reminded herself. Just play his game until you can figure out a way to get free.

She glanced down the right side of the table. There were five figures, each one dressed in period clothing, and each one wearing a mask featuring closed eyes. The masks were so real and detailed, they reminded her of a death mask she saw once in a museum where plaster was poured over the deceased’s face and then bronze was poured into the mold to make the mask. She studied each one in turn. The one sitting next to her was a woman. She looked to be of middle age. Her hair was as dark as the black dress she wore except for a few strands of gray threaded throughout. Her hands were pale white. She wore a beaded necklace. Nothing to note there. Felicity cut a look toward Teddy, who was enjoying watching her a great deal. She moved on to the next figure.

Smaller in stature than the first, this one was blonde. Platinum blonde. A sharp contrast to the dark clothing she wore. Felicity felt a bit like Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole. The masks gave the appearance that everyone at the dinner table was asleep, but otherwise there was nothing to note here, either.

“Teddy, I don’t see the point in this. These are just plastered store mannequins. I don’t know how you got all of them here, but they aren’t real people. Why don’t you let me call someone. Why don’t you let me help—”

“Don’t say it, Felicity. Don’t say you want to help me. I’ve had ‘help’ before, and I don’t like it. Now, shut up and keep looking. I’m sure you’ll see someone you recognize soon.” His tone was void of emotion, and that worried her.

“Yes, of course. I’ll keep looking.” She rubbed her right wrist with her left hand to keep the numbness at bay. She wasn’t sure if she could move her right arm to dig into her purse and operate the stun gun, even if she did get untied. That was a bridge she would have to cross when she got to it. Hopefully, she would get there soon.

Another flash of lightning lit up the room for a half second, hiding the soft glow of candlelight in the blue-white light, followed by a gentle roll of thunder. The storm must be wearing itself out finally. Maybe that meant Austin would be returning soon, although her instincts told her he had left her behind and he wasn’t coming back. That was a side to Austin she’d never seen before. So much for salvaging their relationship.

Turning her attention back to the next figure in line, she noted it was another woman. This one appeared older. Much older. Odd how this one had lots and lots of wrinkles. She’d never seen a geriatric mannequin before, but this one was definitely a much older woman in Teddy’s entourage of diners. She pushed her gaze past the figure when something familiar struck a vague memory. She took another look.

Her eyes searched the figure until they finally settled on the whimsical daisy earrings hanging from its plaster earlobes. They seemed out of place, but somehow they didn’t. She stopped short and cast another puzzled look at the figure. She recognized those earrings. But how could that be? Without conscious thought, her eyes searched for any information that would allow a rebuttal to the answer forming in her brain. Somehow, she knew that face, but—again, how could that be?

“See something you recognize, my pet?” he asked, but by the tone she heard in his voice, she knew he knew exactly who she thought it was.

“It looks like Great-Aunt Celia. How would you get a… Why would you get a mannequin or figure or whatever you want to call these hideous things that looks like my great-aunt or your grandmother? It’s just too bizarre, Teddy.”

“You still think she’s fake? Look at her hand. Her left hand. Notice anything familiar there?” he baited.

Her eyes immediately dropped to the third finger on the left hand. There rested the Simon family diamond. Ten carats of almost flawless stones. She was sure this ring wasn’t real. The family heirloom had been sent to Teddy’s father for safe keeping…hadn’t it? This was a fake to make the figure seem more authentic. How far would he go to keep this fantasy world he’d built intact?

It was then Felicity remembered the silverware—more importantly, the silver steak knife resting beneath the figure’s right hand. Teddy had thrown one earlier and she’d been too stunned for the deed to really register, but now a discreet glance around the table indicated every place setting was equipped with a full silverware setting that included…a blessed steak knife. She quickly cast a glance beside her own plate. She had one, too. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? Maybe because she was scared out of her wits?

Her right hand was tied to her chair, and the knife was on the right side. She would have to figure out a way to grab the knife with her left hand without Teddy seeing it happen. It would be nearly impossible unless she could distract him, but how? She had an idea.

Chapter 8

“Come on now, Felicity. Why are you still not convinced? The evidence is staring you right in the face. That ring on Grandmother’s finger is worth a fortune. Do you really think I’d put a diamond like that on a doll?”

“Maybe if I could see it close up, I could tell if it was genuine or not. Why don’t you get it and bring it to me, or better yet, untie me.” She prayed her pitiful plan could work.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not stupid, Felicity. If you think I’m going to get close enough for you to stab me with that steak knife, you are more stupid than I thought.”

She knew it had been a pretty weak plan and she’d been right

“Now, stop acting like a brainless idiot. Keep looking. The sooner you come to terms with the truth, the sooner you and I can enjoy our little game, and then you and I can, you know, enjoy our night together.”

Frustration mounted. “I’ve already explained to you that you and I don’t have a future. It’s getting late, and my arm is getting numb. Can we just stop this charade? I’m tired of—”

“I don’t care!” Teddy jumped to his feet and screamed. Her heart nearly stopped mid-beat when Lucifer rose, too, and bared his very large, sharp-looking teeth at her. “We’re gonna play this game until I say we stop! Got it?” His face turned several shades of splotched red. Thankfully, he had one hand on Lucifer’s collar.

“Of course, Teddy. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how important it was to you. Of course we’ll play.” She groveled and prayed at the same time.

“That’s more like it. Now keep looking, I said.” His tone and glare left no question in her mind he meant business. “Who’s the next person in line?” he demanded.

She looked past the bizarre figure of Celia to the man sitting to her great-aunt’s right. He was a man of medium build, blond hair and—

Felicity swallowed hard. She looked again at the masked face of the figure, back to the blond hair atop the mask, then back to Teddy, who was grinning wide.

“Ah, I think I finally see a glimmer of despair in those big baby blues of yours.”

She slowly moved her eyes back to the figure of the man and pushed her fears into the furthest recesses of her subconscious. She would not go where Teddy wanted her to go. She would lose her mind if she did. A close study of the man’s mask allowed her to notice the dissimilarities from the others.

The plaster wasn’t as smooth and detailed as the other nine masks the figures wore. And this mask was a darker shade of gray, as if the plaster wasn’t dry. Felicity’s heart stumbled as her thoughts pulled at her fears and pushed them back into her conscious mind where she was forced to confront them. The mask was not perfectly proportioned like the others, either. Not like Great-Aunt Celia’s that looked exactly like her. No, this one was misshapen as if the creator had been in too big of a hurry to care about the lack of perfection to the end result.

“Come on now, my pet. Can’t you see the resemblance? I know it isn’t my best work, but I was in a hurry and I wanted to have everyone in place for this evening’s festivities. Forgive me?” Teddy crooned.

Felicity felt dizzy, and she kept telling herself Teddy was crazy and everything he was saying was crazy, too. Just play along. “There’s nothing to forgive. You can fix him—it later,” she offered.

“Well, that’s going to be quite hard, don’t you think? I’m quite talented, but even I can’t bring people back from the dead.”

“Again, I thought we were going to be honest with each other.”

“I’m trying, Felicity, but you refuse to believe the facts. What must I do to convince you to see the truth?”

She shook her head trying to get the possibilities out of her head. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that it’s hard for me to believe that these mannequins are real people. You understand, don’t you, Teddy?”

“No, don’t be silly. I’m not saying these are real people.”

“Then…I don’t understand. What are you telling me?” Felicity said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Our dinner guests aren’t real people. Well, they were real people. They just aren’t living people. At least not anymore.”

Felicity had known what Teddy was going to say before he’d said it, but hearing him actually say the words pulled her into a sensory overload. She was having a hard time breathing. And thinking. And she felt herself shivering out of control. Then, she heard her own voice speak in a whispered, monotone pitch. “But that would mean—that would mean…that would mean…that would…” She couldn’t seem to get her mouth to say the words.

“That would mean that I don’t tolerate people disappointing me. These people won’t ever do it again.” He said it as if he were discussing the local garden club activities.

“But that would mean that you’re admitting to killing these people and then—”

“And then preserving them in plaster? See, I knew you were a clever girl, my pet. So clever, indeed.”

“But that would mean—”

“That the gentleman sitting next to Granny Celia is someone you are very close with.” Then Teddy’s voice dropped to a seductive whisper. “Were very, very close with.” He laughed. “Oh, wait. My bad. He was your lover, wasn’t he? And isn’t it ironic that he’s so stiff now, and yet he’ll never be able to satisfy your needs ever again. But don’t be sad, because now you have me.”

She forced her eyes back to the misshapen mask sitting below the thatch of blond hair. Austin’s shade of blond hair.

“It can’t be. It just can’t…be.” She tripped over her words, her lungs desperately searching for air while her mind stumbled over the facts, trying to convince herself Teddy was delusional; all the while, her subconscious already knew the truth.

“Remember when you said you were tempted by my charming, good looks, but you had a boyfriend? Well, now you don’t have to worry. Felicity had a boyfriend. Felicity had a boyfriend.” Teddy’s voice sang the awful words in the cadence of a child’s playground song.

Had a boyfriend? Felicity’s ears rang, and even though she had had no food in her stomach for hours, she felt ill and knew she was going to be sick. She cast a horrified look down the table again. “Oh Austin!” she whispered almost reverently before she turned on Teddy. “How could you do this to him?” she screamed.

Lucifer growled, and Teddy grinned. “It was quite easy, actually. When he went to get your luggage, I sent Lucifer to bring him back. Unfortunately, Lucifer doesn’t know his own strength. It got rather messy at the end, and trust me, it was meeeeessy.”

“I don’t believe—” She gaped at Austin’s death mask and plastered figure. With reality fully in charge, she could see the familiar shape of his head and the shape of his build. “Oh my god, Teddy! What have you done?” she whispered.

“I can tell you’re in shock, Felicity, but that will pass quicker than you think. Then, when you’re ready, you and I can get acquainted better—won’t that be nice?”

She tried to gather her courage, but every time she looked over at Austin…his face encapsulated in the misshapen death mask, she thought she might die on the spot. She prayed she would die on the spot, and yet…she didn’t. Her heart kept beating, and her lungs kept sucking in air, but her emotions…were numb.

“I’m sensing a lack of enthusiasm, Felicity. I think you were toying with my affections earlier. You should be thrilled now that you know you don’t have to worry about your boyfrieeeend—” he taunted.

Anger welled up inside of her like the unstoppable rising tide of an ocean wave in the midst of a hurricane-force gale. Fast. Furious. Fierce. “You psychopathic murderer. You—”

“Now, now. Is that anyway to talk to your future lover? I might have to wash out that pretty little mouth of yours if you keep that up.” Teddy’s voice oozed with sarcasm, and he puckered his own lips to demonstrate what he had in mind. She’d cut her own throat with a dull steak knife before she allowed him to…touch her.

She knew if she lost complete control, she wouldn’t have a chance to escape Teddy’s clutches. Between the man’s twisted mind and Lucifer’s jaws, she’d be dead before she got to the door.

“Ah, now you’ve done gone and hurt my feelings,” he chided. “But you can make it up to me. All you have to do is play hide and seek with me. I’ll even let you win.” His eyes were hooded, but she saw the light of warped excitement in them, and it made her angry as hell. She needed to be smart…no, she needed to be cunning and sharp-witted if she was going to survive this.

“Did you play games with everyone at the table?” She had to know what she was up against.

“I did. Well, everyone except your boyfriend there, but the others”—he glanced around the room—“some were better than others. But at the end of the day, they all lost. I’m quite good at finding what is lost, you know.” He sounded like a typical narcissist sociopath who lived at the center of an imaginary world of their own making.

“What about Great-Aunt Celia? Did you make that old woman run from you?” Felicity asked, hoping the answer was no. She couldn’t bear to think of the sweet elderly woman running for her life.

“No, of course not. I didn’t kill her, but had I known about the will, I would have,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I told you I would give it all to you. Just give me the paperwork, and I’ll do it right now,” she told him again.

“And like I said, it’s not that easy. Mr. Weaver there…” He nodded to the plaster figure with the steak knife sticking out of his chest. “He informed me after Grandmother died that she had written an iron-clad will. If you didn’t take her fortune, it would go to a historical preservation society in Savannah.”

“Then doesn’t that tell you she didn’t want you to have it?” Felicity gritted between tense, clenched jaws. “It was her property and hers to do with as she wanted. Why do you think you’re entitled to anything? Wasn’t it enough that she was kind to you when she let you come live with her when no one else would?” Tears burned Felicity’s eyes, and yet she refused to let the bastard see her lose control.

He frowned as if puzzled. “You know, it never occurred to me that it was Grandmother’s decision. I like this place, and I don’t want to leave it. I guess I felt like that was reason enough for me to have it. I thought there’s no way you would ever live in a remote place like this being from a big city. I figured you’d sell it and then someone new would take over. And where would I go? So you see, I really had no choice.”

Felicity guessed being oblivious to reality was the mark of a mentally deranged individual. Teddy had no problem justifying murder to get what he wanted, just like when he stabbed his own mother to death because she denied him ice cream. She glanced around the table surrounded by ten other people who just happened to be corpses encapsulated in plaster courtesy of her delusional host. He had no problem with multiple murders to get what he wanted. One more wouldn’t make a bit of difference to him.

There was no way she was going to let him get away with any of his crimes without being held accountable. She owed Austin that much. What she needed now was a new tactic. One where she was calling the shots.

Her brain was still stumbling all over the place trying to put two coherent thoughts together, and she still felt the urge to vomit, but it was time to play this sick bastard’s game. Win or lose, she wasn’t going down without a fight and she’d make damn sure she left enough evidence to hold Teddy accountable if something happened, and she didn’t—

“You’re so quiet, my pet. Cat got your tongue?”

Rage swirled inside her chest. It was the fuel she needed to steady her nerves and her voice. Felicity stiffened her spine and glared at Teddy right in his soulless stare. “All right, Teddy. I’ll play your game, but on one condition.” She glared at him with as much steel in her eyes as she could muster.

He grinned. “Ooooh, I like your spunk. I get excited when someone fights back. It makes me feel things…naughty things. Do go on.”

She resisted the urge to curve her upper lip in disgust. Instead, she forced herself to offer him a look of invitation. Her courage wavered when he openly licked his lips, his eyes full of lust. Felicity breathed slowly through her nose and swallowed the bile inching its way up her throat. When she felt in control, she continued. “I’m assuming I’m supposed to hide and you find me. And when you find me, you will kill me.”

“Yes. No. Not right away, anyway. I have other ways I plan to spend this night with you.”

Felicity felt her terror rising again at hearing the words. She’d assumed it all along, but he had just admitted he was going to kill her, but not before he—

“I sense you’re stalling again, princess. I don’t like it when a woman plays games with me. Ask Charlotte there on your right. The blonde. She thought she could play me for a fool. Well, who’s the fool now?”

“I’m not stalling, Teddy. I just want to be clear about the rules. It’s no fun to win a game with no rules, wouldn’t you agree?” she taunted back. Before he could reply or give her one of his creepy come hither looks, she continued. “I want an hour head start to hide before you and your”—she cut a look to the beast sitting beside him—“harbinger of death start searching for me.”

“And where will you go in that hour? Tsk. Tsk. You won’t win, Felicity. Why do you insist on torturing yourself with pointless hope?”

“It’s my choice. If I want to entertain pointless hope, then that’s my business. Besides, with Satan’s nose there, wouldn’t it be more of a challenge to give me a head start? Otherwise, the game will be over in fifteen minutes. Isn’t that what happened to most of these people? What fun will it be to claim the prize under those circumstances?” she goaded.

She could tell he was actually giving her suggestion some thought. Hope rose, and she prayed just for a chance to run. To hide. She didn’t have a solid plan, but she could be resourceful and clever on the fly, especially if it meant she had a ghost of a chance to escape.

“All right, Felicity. I like the way you think. Besides, my excitement will only increase with anticipation. And so will my appetite.” He inhaled a deep breath of perverted excitement. “You will literally have to run since I’ve hidden your boyfriend’s truck and the only other car on the place has a dead battery.”

Stone-faced, she ground her teeth together and stared at him as if his words had no effect on her. “Not a problem. I like to run. So, can I cut myself free?”

He grinned. “You may. Let the game begin. You have one hour. And then you belong to me.”

Chapter 9

Felicity slid the steak knife’s sharp edge across the nylon rope that held her wrist captive. She kept her gaze focused on the task at hand, refusing to let Teddy see just how terrified she was. If it was just her and the lunatic playing this game of life and death, she might stand a chance, but add that monster sitting beside him—she drew an uneven breath. She was going to have to be flawless at this game, and living in middle-class Philly all her life didn’t give her much opportunity to learn tactical survival skills.

Finally free of her restraints, she grabbed the steak knife and tucked it inside her purse. She started to rise and then thought better of it. That rope could come in handy for something.

“Having trouble getting free, Felicity?” Teddy’s voice oozed with sarcasm. “I’ll be happy to come and help you.”

“I’m doing just fine. I…cut myself, that’s all,” she lied. She wrapped the cut pieces of rope around her arm for there was no place else to hide it. Now, she wished she’d brought her bigger purse to dinner after all.

“Do you want me to kiss it and make it feel better?” His voice sounded excited, and she knew the sick bastard would get great pleasure in her pain. A shiver crept over her entire body, and goose-pimples dotted her exposed skin.

“No, thanks,” she said. All the while, her mind was silently screaming at the freak she’d like to give a cut of his own. A deep one.

“I can’t say I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. Later, then.”

“There won’t be a later, Teddy, because I’m going to win at this—”

“Then you’d better get moooooving,” he advised in his childish sing-song voice. “Because it’s only a matter of time until I find you, and when I do, I have a whole list of things I want to do with you before this night is over.”

“With me or to me?” Felicity wasn’t even sure why she’d said that. She thought maybe in her own terrified mind she was hoping to get him to see how sick he was and how much he was scaring her and let her go, but deep down she knew nothing she did or said was going to change his psychotic behavior.

“Is there a difference, my pet? As long as we’re together—”

“I’ve gotta go,” she blurted and grabbed her purse and jumped to her feet. Lucifer stood, too, and growled, showing his horrific fangs.

“Easy, Lucifer. You’ll get your chance, but not until we’ve had our fun.” Teddy patted the beast on its giant head. It sat back down, and she hiccuped an inward sigh of relief.

Heart racing and clock ticking, she backed out of the dining room and into the dark hallway. Kicking off her borrowed shoes, she sprinted down the polished wooden floors in bare feet to the entry hall, where lit candles illuminated the darkness. Maybe she should take a few in case she needed light upstairs. Felicity grabbed two of the burning candles and ran up the sweeping staircase two steps at a time. One of the candle’s flames snuffed out just as she reached the second-floor landing, spilling hot wax over her hand. She didn’t have time to worry about superficial burns when her life was at stake, so she didn’t slow until she reached her door. Out of breath, she set the one candle still lit carefully against the wall and unzipped her purse and rummaged around for the key to unlock the door. The clock inside her room struck the half hour. Ten thirty. She had until eleven thirty to escape and hide before Teddy released that animal of his.

“Please, please, help me find the key,” she prayed. Desperate and painfully aware of the time stealing away, she dumped the contents on the floor. “Please, please, please,” she begged again. A clatter on the wooden floor drew her attention to the most important key she’d ever laid her hands on. A gush of air whooshed from her lungs in relief. She fumbled with the lock for a moment that felt more like a lifetime, but she finally managed to get the key turned and the door opened. She grabbed her candle and the contents of her purse. Quickly running into the room, she set the candle inside a bud vase and dumped the contents of her purse on the bed. She grabbed her tennis shoes out of her suitcase, along with a pair of jeans, a jacket, and a T-shirt.

Searching the contents of her luggage for anything she could use as a weapon against the man or the beast, she wasn’t too surprised when she found nothing. She had all the weapons she owned already identified. Her heart raced as she thought about the next hour. Fear pushed reason out of the way until one single rational thought returned. What about clothes as a weapon? Lucifer would be following her scent, but what if she used something of Austin’s?

She unzipped his luggage. A hard twinge gripped her gut. Austin was dead. It was almost impossible to believe. It was just this very evening they were arguing in his truck about this place. She remembered Austin had been the one who said this place was creepy and noted the significance of today—Friday the thirteenth. She didn’t believe in bad luck—at least, she hadn’t…until today.

She grabbed a pair of Austin’s sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a knit cap, and a rain jacket. For once, she was grateful Austin was an avid runner. Come to think of it, she was even more glad he had insisted she run alongside him all the years they’d been together, because now she had good stamina and form thanks to Austin’s insistence she accompany him on his early morning runs. Much more than the average person who might find themselves running from a beast of hellish origin. She could run fast and long. All she had to do was get as far away as she could before Teddy set Lucifer on her trail.

She’d already lost five minutes or more gathering her arsenal. Without one more minute to lose, she stripped naked and put on Austin’s clothes, tying the drawstring tight around her waist. She pulled her hair into a bun and shoved his cap on her head. Socks and shoes on, she dug for her larger purse and stuffed it full of her meager assortment of weapons until the seams were bursting. She collected her phone charger and her taser charger. Just in case she found some place to hole up that had electricity. Maybe she could find a place where she could get her cell signal to work. A high spot nearby. Hopes growing, she grabbed her heavy purse, stuck her head out the door, and listened. The house was quiet. Too quiet. But she knew Teddy could appear at any moment and renege on their agreement. Then the psychopath would send that dog of his after her, and it would take a miracle for her family to learn what happened to her and Austin…and the others.

Felicity grabbed her precious candle and stepped into the hallway. The weak candlelight glow barely chased the darkness a few feet from her door. She needed an escape route that wasn’t obvious. Teddy would suspect her heading for the front door, so instead, she grabbed the key out of her door and headed toward the back of the house. There was one more door on each side of the hallway. They should give her some access to the outside, either by window or by stairs. She prayed for stairs, but if she was forced to go out a window, she wouldn’t hesitate. She couldn’t afford to hesitate.

She checked the last door on the right. A linen closet. She rattled the doorknob on the last door on the left. Hallelujah! It was a large storage closet, and there was a window near the back. Felicity’s heart was racing so fast, she was certain she would hyperventilate if she didn’t calm down. “You can’t think if you’re in panic mode,” she chided herself. Quickly closing the door behind her, she stuck the skeleton key into the lock and twisted it. “That’ll slow him down if he does decide to come this way.” Her bag was heavy on her shoulder, and she decided it would be easier to carry it across her body. Letting out the shoulder strap, she adjusted it until it was waist high. She could run without it hitting against her hip, which would slow her down and tire her out. Satisfied with her cargo, she peered into the darkness. How to get down to the first floor without breaking her neck was the next step in her plan of escape.

Felicity raised the window and looked outside. The rain was still coming down, but not in the same torrential downpour as before. The rain gutters were attached to the house above her head, and the roofline of the two-story house was only a few feet from a giant oak tree in the back yard. Okay, she could make this work. She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out the bits of rope she’d salvaged. Tying the fragments together, she made certain the ends were secure, then tied one end to a heavy shelf and the other dangled out the window. It was a pretty short rope, but she could swing out and grab that big limb closest to the house…she hoped.

Strapping her purse over her body, she climbed onto the windowsill and grabbed hold of the rope, praying the knots she tied would hold. Inch by inch, she slid out of the window, and soon she was hanging from the rope on the side of the house. From this point of view, the tree looked a lot farther away. It didn’t matter. She was wasting time. With a hard push of her feet against the siding of the house, she swung herself sideways, but the rope wasn’t near long enough to reach the branch. Now what was she going to do? Rain dripped in her face, and her fingers slipped on the nylon rope. She glanced down at the ground ten or twelve feet below her. The wet lawn would cushion her fall, and it was her only option. Time was ticking.

After a quick glance around just to make certain neither Teddy nor Lucifer would be waiting on her below, she pushed her feet against the house and let go. The sudden jolt of hitting the ground left her motionless for a few seconds. She’d been right, though. The wet lawn cushioned her fall. She landed on her side so her shoulder and hip sank deep into the grass. Relief flooded her as she pushed with her arms to sit up. Nothing was broken. Nothing was even sprained.

Adjusting her purse, she pushed herself to stand and looked around. The tree line behind the house was just a few yards across the lawn. Once she hit the cover of the woods, she would look for a wildlife path, and then she could start running. She wished now she’d paid more attention to the surrounding countryside when she’d arrived. She remembered seeing a few farmhouses on the drive out, but she had no idea how far they were. Just run, Felicity. Right now, all you need to do is run. And so she did. One foot in front of the other, it took a few strides to get her purse fitted to her body just right, and then she adjusted her stride. Too fast and she would wear out too quickly. Too slow and Lucifer would catch up with her in no time. She set a pace she knew she could handle long-term and began to run.

The edge of the tree line was manicured as part of the lawn, but the deeper she ran into the woods, the more tangled the vegetation became, slowing her down. She needed to find a trail used by wildlife, and she needed to find one quick.

Felicity estimated ten minutes into her run she came across that trail, and soon she was covering much-needed ground. The rain had finally slacked off, but the ground was muddy, slick, and treacherous. Less than a mile on the trail and she took a hard fall over a root stuck in the mud across the trail. She hit face-first and busted her lip. Her first instinct was to cry and feel sorry for herself, but her second impulse was to get up and get moving. She raked her sleeve across her face to stop the blood and planted her right foot on the muddy trail again. Unfortunately, her left foot slipped and that same troublesome root grabbed hold of her purse strap. Before she could untangle herself, she’d slid about halfway down the embankment and her purse was slipping from her grasp. “No, no, no, no. I can’t lose you,” she cried out.

It took a couple more minutes to secure her grasp on a root and her bag, but finally she was able to pull herself up the slippery incline still holding on to her purse.

Felicity caught her breath and stood on shaky legs. She’d lost a good five minutes. Five minutes she couldn’t afford. There was no way she could outrun Lucifer’s keen nose. What she needed was to find a farmhouse or a road or someone along the trail. A hunter, maybe, although she had no idea if hunting even went on in this part of the country. And, if all of that failed, she needed to have some tricks up her sleeve…but she couldn’t think of a single one at the moment. All she could do now was keep moving.

Chapter 10

The air grew more humid with each mile she covered. Perspiration mingled with the droplets of rain dripping from the tree branches. She was hot and wanted to take off her stocking hat and jacket, but she knew carrying them would only slow her down and tossing them away would give Lucifer a clear path to follow. So, she kept them on and pushed as hard as her tired legs and exhausted lungs would allow.

The last of the storm clouds floated across the moon, exposing patches of midnight blue dotted with tiny stars allowing her to see the trail better. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Her feet pounded the soggy ground until miles later, she noticed the terrain had changed. She had reached the edge of the forest. If she continued, she would be in a wide, open field. Maybe she should stay hidden until she got a better feel of where she was. The last thing she wanted to do was walk out of the forest and into the waiting arms…and jaws…of Teddy and his sidekick. A quick glance at her phone, and fear stabbed at her heart’s stammering cadence. She still had no service, and she had exactly twenty-one minutes before Teddy unleashed Lucifer. The size of the dog alone would have him on her heels in less than fifteen minutes after that. By her calculations, she only had about a half an hour before she’d better be long gone or well-hidden.

Able to move at a fast walk along the tree line, she hurried around the perimeter of the trees when something caught her attention. A light. Her heart raced as she moved closer to get a better look. It was a security light in someone’s yard. “Hallelujah.” Without wasting a second of her precious time, she sprinted across the open field and headed straight for it. Dogs barked from somewhere on the property. She prayed they were more friendly than Lucifer. She ran across the gravel driveway between a truck and a horse trailer. Now that she was closer to the house, she could see a row of kennels along the side of the barn. Dogs paced inside each wire cage, barking incessantly at her intrusion. Suddenly, her cell phone rang, and she jumped at the sound. Her cell phone was ringing. She had service. “Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?” she yelled into the phone.

“Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me?” Teddy’s voice crackled through the phone’s mediocre reception. “Time’s almost up. We’re coming for you, my pet, and I can’t wait to show you my many talents. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed.”

Felicity hung on to her last bit of sanity and decided to give the psycho a taste of his own medicine. “Oh, it’s too late for that, Teddy. I’m already gone, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me from getting away. And when the cops come looking for you, they’ll take you away in that special little ambulance you’re so fond of.” She actually managed to laugh before she hung up. Immediately, the phone rang again. This time she ignored the call and quickly dialed 9-1-1.

“Hello? This is the 9-1-1 operator. What is your emergency?”

The signal was weak, and the operator’s voice faded in and out, making it hard to understand her. “Can you hear me?” Felicity called out. “There’s been a murder at The End of the Road Hotel, and the killer’s after me. His name is Teddy Bishop. I need help.”

“Can you tell me your loca—” The call went dead.

“Damn it!” She nearly threw her phone in frustration.

“What the hell are you doing on my property?” She heard a man’s gruff voice followed by the unmistakable sound of a shotgun driving a shell into the chamber. She whirled and saw a man in his thirties standing in the doorway scowling at her.

“Please help me!” she cried out and rushed toward him.

He raised his gun and took a step back. “Who the hell are you—and I’ll ask you again. What the hell are you doing on my property?” His suspicious gaze searched the darkness outside the circle of light provided by his security lamp in the driveway.

“I came from the hotel just over yonder.” She pointed, although she had no way of knowing for sure she was pointing in the right direction. “There’s been a murder, and the killer is after me.”

“A murder? At the hotel? Why, that’s five miles down that road. You tryin’ to tell me you ran through the woods in the rain—”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. I need to call the police in case you didn’t hear me the first time.”

“Shut up!” he screamed, and she thought for a moment she was dealing with another lunatic, but she soon realized he was screaming at his cages of dogs out by the barn. “Shut up, ever’ dang one a ya!” When they did as he demanded, he turned back to her and said, “Why don’t you just use your phone there if you need help so bad?” He nodded toward her cell phone in her fist.

“Because the service down here sucks, and I was hoping you might have a landline or Wi-Fi.”

“And the hotel didn’t have a landline you coulda used?”

“Yes, the hotel had a landline, but the storm knocked out the lines and the electricity.”

The man hesitated, and her frustration and exhaustion reached a boiling point. “Look, mister. You’re the one standing there with a shotgun. What have you got to be afraid of? I’m the one with a madman hot on my trail,” she snapped. “I’ve got a little less than twenty minutes to get help. Are you that help me or not?”

He studied her a bit longer and then dropped the barrel of his gun. “Don’t trust strangers, that’s all. Besides, I don’t have a landline. All I have is my cell phone, too.”

“Great!” Felicity yelled. “Then can I come inside and can we lock your door and hold that gun on it while I try to call the police again? I mean, the killer is coming after me, and when he finds me…he’ll find you… and he’s not going to be very friendly to either one of us.”

“You can come inside and use my Wi-Fi to make your call.” He stepped aside. Felicity hurried inside with a quick backward glance for Teddy. Even if she did get a call to go through, the cops wouldn’t make it out this far in time. She needed to be prepared.

“Look, you wouldn’t happen to have another gun, would you? Something I could protect myself with in case he gets past you?” she half begged while she dialed 9-1-1 again.

“Have you ever shot a gun before?” he asked and disappeared down the hall.

“9-1-1 operator. What’s your emergency?” Felicity heard the same female voice ask the question she’d heard a minute ago.

“Yes, I have an emergency. There’s been a murder at The End of the Road Hotel, and the killer is after me. I’m at a neighbor’s house five miles from the hotel. Please send help! Hurry!” she begged while keeping an eye on the back door.

“What direction?” the operator said.

“What? What do you mean, what direction?”

“Which direction are you from the hotel? North? South? East?”

“I have no idea.” Felicity looked down the hallway and yelled out, “Hey, guy, the operator wants to know what direction your place is from the hotel?” For a moment, the man didn’t answer. She panicked. “Hey, dude! What direction is your place from—”

He reappeared from down the hallway. “North. Tell them it’s Matt Ramsey’s place on County Road Seventeen, just north of the hotel.”

The operator said, “Ramsey’s Hunting Dogs?”

Felicity turned to her host, her brows raised in question. He nodded. “Yep, that’s the one.”

“He said yes, he’s that guy. Please hurry. How long do you think before—” Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out along with the Wi-Fi router, dropping the call. “I think we have company,” she whispered in the dark, too afraid to take her eyes off the back door.

“Nah, it’s probably just remnants of the storm. When the wind blows, the lines move. It happens all the time, believe me. I’ll go check the breaker—”

“Where’s that?” She grabbed his shirt with a death grip to keep him from leaving the house.

“In the breaker box on the back of the house.”

“No! You’re staying right here. And can you double-check the lock on that door just in case it’s something else and not the wind?” she pleaded.

“I locked the deadbolt, too,” he reassured her. “I have some candles around here somewhere,” he noted and started rummaging around in a kitchen drawer.

“That’s all right. I have one right here.” Felicity took the half-burnt candle out of her purse and held it out to him.

“Dang, you travel prepared. I like a girl who knows how to take care of herself.” He smiled, and if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was flirting. Thoughts of Austin returned, and her gut soured. How was she going to tell Austin’s mother what had happened to him? When Felicity didn’t answer, Matt shrugged. “I guess now we wait for the law to arrive.”

“Yeah, now we wait.” She prayed there would be a unit cruising the county roads on this particular night already. A unit pre-dispatched to keep an eye out for pranking teenagers and roaming thieves who would use a night like tonight to camouflage their bad behaviors. And that unit would respond to her call for help sooner rather than—

Less than five minutes later, Matt’s hunting dogs began to bark like they had when she first arrived. She listened for signs of Teddy and Lucifer, but she heard nothing until the faint hum of an engine slowly grew louder. “Is that a motorcycle?” She frowned and turned to her rescuer.

“Yeah, sounds like it,” Matt responded. “somebody on a small motorcycle ridin’ this way.”

“Damn it.” Teddy had told her there wasn’t any cars on the property, but he failed to mention he had a damn motorcycle she could have escaped on.

“Don’t mean it’s your attacker. It could be—”

“Trust me. It’s him.” Felicity knew Teddy and Lucifer had arrived, and help was probably still at least another ten to fifteen minutes away, maybe even more. She had no idea if Teddy had a gun with him or not. Better not to take chances. “So, did you say you have a gun I can use to protect myself in case Teddy…” Her voice trailed off, fear nearly stealing her ability to think rationally.

“So, you ever shot a gun before?” Matt asked again.

“No. I didn’t have a need for a gun in my neighborhood, but I’m a quick learner.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if teaching a city girl how to use a gun in the face of a life-and-death situation would be the best idea. Besides, ain’t nobody gettin’ past me,” he vowed. “Ain’t nobody comin’ on my property and kickin’ my ass. Ain’t never been done. Ain’t gonna happen tonight.”

She prayed he knew what he was talking about.

The house was dark except for the candlelight on the kitchen table. The illumination of the security light outside made it possible to see what Teddy was up to, especially if he got near the house. Suddenly, a shot rang out and the yard went dark. The dogs outside in Matt’s pens were enraged by something. She was certain she knew exactly what that something was.

Chapter 11

“He’s here,” she whispered and then held her breath hoping to catch a hint as to what was going on outside, but all she heard was the frenetic barking of Matt’s dogs along with an occasional gust of wind on the heels of the storm and her own frightened heartbeat. Moments ticked and sweat popped out from every terrified pore on her body. She felt the dampness trickle down her sides from her arm pits, but she hesitated to wipe away the sweat for fear any movement she made would give Teddy her location even though she knew he’d already figured out where she’d come for help.

“That son of a bitch shot out my security light. Does he have any idea how much a light like that costs? I oughta go out there and kick his ass for that.” Matt turned toward the door, and she grabbed his arm to stop him.

“What happened to waiting for the cops to show up?” she reminded him. “Look, I’ll buy you a whole new light. Two of them if you want. Just please don’t go outside. You don’t know what Teddy’s capable of—or that dog of his.”

“Look, I ain’t the kind of man to run scared. I’ve got a gun, and I know how to use it. Ain’t nobody comin’ onto my place and threatenin’ me. If he wants a fight, I’ll give him one.” Just then, a gunshot sounded, and a bullet shattered the kitchen window over the sink. “Get down,” Matt yelled.

Felicity’s heart stumbled. Fear almost paralyzed her, but luckily Matt had his wits about him and he pulled her to the floor. “Go to the first door on the left down the hall past the living room. That’s my bedroom. The pistol I told you about is in the top drawer of my nightstand next to my closet. It’s loaded, and all you have to do is point and shoot. Lock yourself in my bedroom and shoot whoever comes through that door. Except me. Don’t shoot me.” She could tell Matt was going for humor, but at the moment, humor was the last thing on her mind. “Now go. And don’t come out of that room until either me or the cops say so, understand?”

She nodded. He didn’t have to convince her to stay there, but he might have to help her get her fear-paralyzed body moving.

He got up on his knees and pulled her to a crouch. “Stay low and do exactly what I said.”

She nodded again and crawled across the kitchen floor through the living room and down the hall she’d seen Matt disappear down earlier. The first door on her left was open, and she hurried inside and locked the door behind her. Then she scooted a chest of drawers in front of the door and then a trunk in front of that. Scurrying through the dark room, she bumped her shin on something hard. It hurt like hell, but she never slowed until she found the nightstand and the gun in the top drawer. Her nerves were frayed, and her ears were super sensitive to any sounds at all. Even her own heartbeat sounded like a base drum in a marching band. She had to calm down and gain control of her fears or she didn’t stand a chance if Teddy got past Matt.

Matt’s voice carried down the hall as he screamed out the broken window at Teddy. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to get off my property now. The cops are on their way, and they should be here any minute, understand?”

If Teddy responded, she didn’t hear him. Just then, her phone rang. Should she answer it? It was probably Teddy, but what if it was the cops or the 9-1-1 operator needing more information? The phone kept ringing. Finally, she decided to connect the call, but not say anything. She’d let the caller speak first. A push of the red dot on the screen connected the call and she waited in silence. Her luck, it was Teddy.

“I see you found a new boyfriend already—and here I thought you only had eyes for me now. I suppose I’m not surprised coming from someone who sleeps around like you do would jump in the first bed you came to, but now that I know you’re a little tramp, I won’t be so gentle when it’s my turn. And my turn is right around the corner.” She remained quiet and disconnected the call.

“Please, please, please help us. Don’t let Teddy kill Matt. He doesn’t deserve any of this,” she rocketed a prayer heavenward.

Another gunshot echoed outside, followed by the sound of a dog yelping. Matt’s voice bellowed through the house. “You sorry bastard. If you think I’m gonna let you shoot my dogs while I stand by and watch, you’ve got a screw loose. You want a fight. You’ve got one!” The back door slammed against the doorframe, and Felicity knew Matt had gone outside to confront Teddy. And Lucifer. She scurried through the dark and climbed into Matt’s closet burrowing through his clothes and gear like an animal deep underground. Settled against the back of the closet, her grip around her loaded pistol tightened while her eyes peered out between Matt’s clothes and fixed on the locked and barricaded bedroom door.

She heard another gunshot followed by a scream. Was that Matt…or Teddy? She couldn’t tell from her hiding place. Matt’s dogs were barking furiously, and she wondered how much longer before the police arrived. Then she heard the distinctive sound of a shotgun blast. And then another. And then another. Suddenly, she heard the sound of dogs fighting furiously and yelping in pain. Was that Lucifer or Matt’s dogs? She had no way of knowing what was going on unless she left her hiding spot, and there was no way in hell that was gonna happen.

Suddenly, the back door slammed against the wall again. She listened hard, but she couldn’t hear past her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her phone rang again unexpectedly. The sound nearly had her jumping out of her own skin. Then she heard Teddy’s voice call out to her from within the house. “I hear you, my pet. I told you I’d find you.” He was tracking her by her phone’s ring. She quickly switched it off, but Teddy already knew she was in the house somewhere. It was just a matter of time before he found her.

Now what? She wasn’t scared like before. No, that wasn’t true. She was terrified, but now she had a gun. And she still had her taser buried in the bottom of her purse still strapped to her body, but she knew now Teddy had a gun so the taser wouldn’t be as effective as she’d hoped. Clutching the pistol in her hand, she gritted her jaws in fierce determination. If that sick bastard forced his way into this room, she would make damn sure it was the last time he terrorized anybody. Ever.

Breathing through her nose, she listened. Sounds were muffled through the clothing, but she could hear dogs outside still barking. Wait. She turned her head sideways to get a better listen. They sounded fainter, like they were farther away. Was Lucifer chasing them? Did that mean Matt was wounded or—worse? He must be, or Teddy couldn’t have gotten into the house.

“Felicity? Where are you? Our game is almost over. Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Teddy’s sing-song voice called out to her. She remained silent and pushed farther toward the back of the closet, but there was nowhere else to go. All was quiet. And then the bedroom doorknob jiggled. “Ah, I know where you are.” Then a loud pounding on the door revealed Teddy did indeed know where she was. She held the gun in front of her and steadied the barrel on her knees.

The pounding grew louder, and soon she heard wood splinter. He’d broken through the door’s lock. Fear threatened to paralyze her, but she remained steadfast. She heard the screech of furniture against the wooden floor as Teddy pushed it aside, finally gaining access to the room.

“It’s so dark in here. Let me see if I can illuminate the situation.” Suddenly, a wide beam of light flashed around the room. She forced herself not to gasp in shock or shrink from fear to prevent any movement from causing the clothes to ripple and lead Teddy straight to her hiding place. She could tell where he was by his flashlight. Now was when she needed to shoot him. Before he got the chance to hurt her. Carefully, she aimed her gun toward the source of the light bobbing around the room. She inhaled a slow and deep breath through her nose to calm her trembling nerves while her finger slowly tightened on the trigger. Nothing happened. It didn’t move at all. Terror threatened to send her deeper into her hiding place. What was wrong with the gun? She squeezed the trigger again. Faster this time. Nothing. No movement at all. No click. No spin. No bullet ejecting from the barrel and burrowing into Teddy’s chest. Not a damn thing happened. She racked her brain to remember exactly what Matt had said. “Just point the gun and shoot.” She had and nothing was happening. Panic set in.

“I know you’re in here, Felicity. Might as well quit hiding and come on out to play. How appropriate you picked this room to hide in. It has a bed. It’s perfect for what I have in mind.” Teddy’s beam of light lit on the spot in the closet where she hid. She was doomed. Teddy knew exactly where she was. and there was no way to escape. She was trapped. Matt was dead and the gun in her hand wouldn’t work. Holding her breath, she waited. It didn’t take long.

A hand reached into the closet and pulled back the clothes. A bright light blinded her ability to see. “There you are. Surprise. I told you I’d find you. I always do.” He reached in after her. She screamed and kicked at him, trying to escape his grasp, but his strong fingers gripped her arm painfully and jerked her to her feet. The useless gun clattered to the floor. “Oh, look at you. Not only did you find a new boyfriend in the short time since we parted, but you also found a new toy.” He tossed his flashlight on the bed and reached down to pick up the gun while he held her captive with his other hand. “I have to wonder why you didn’t shoot me with it when you had the chance. Could it be you actually have feelings for me and were looking forward to the end of our little game? That makes me crave you all the more.” Lust glowed in his eyes.

“The only reason I didn’t kill you is because the gun wouldn’t work. Trust me, I tried more than once to send you to hell, you sick bastard.”

“Now that’s disappointing.” He grabbed the pistol, turned it toward the bed, and pulled the trigger. Felicity screamed when the gun fired, and she dropped to the floor in shock. She saw Teddy’s grin in the glow of his flashlight. “No, the gun works just fine. I think you want me after all.”

The salt in her tears burned her busted lip. “No, I don’t want you. You’re a murderer, Teddy. You hurt people. You terrify people, and I swear if that gun had worked, you’d be dead right now.” A frustrated sob escaped her throat.

“I see. Well, perhaps if you’d released the safety, it would have fired just fine, which means I’m alive because you’re too stupid after all. Now, what shall I do to punish you for your naughty behavior?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she was done being afraid. “You should shoot me, Teddy. You should put that gun’s barrel against my head and pull the trigger.” She’d rather die than let him violate her while she was still alive. She would force him to kill her if she had to before she would let that happen.

“Oh now, don’t be so dramatic. I’ll do that after I’ve had my fun. Shall we begin?” He threw the gun on the far side of the bed and jerked her off the floor and pushed her back onto the bed where she scrambled toward the headboard. But he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back toward him. He pinned her to the bed with his body, and his hands began to roam. She refused to beg, so she closed her eyes shut and turned her head away from his plundering mouth, but his strong fingers grabbed her face in a painful grip and pulled her back to look into his eyes.

“Now, now. I want you to feel every little thing I do to you.” He bit her on the cheek and reached one hand between their bodies and tugged on Austin’s sweat pant drawstrings. Felicity pushed against him, but he was so much stronger than she was. His body weight pushed her into the bed and suddenly, she felt the bulge of her muddy purse still hanging on her side. Hope soared, since Teddy had discarded his pistol somewhere on or near the bed. But she quickly realized she would have to make a choice. If she stopped struggling against Teddy’s assault to her clothing in order to get the stun gun, he would gain access to her body a lot quicker than she wanted. But if she could get to the taser, she could shoot him full of volts before he could go too far. At least, that was the plan.

“Stop struggling against me, Felicity. It’s only going to make things worse,” he crooned in her ear as he crushed her with his weight. And, so she did.

Fingers fast and furious dove into the depths of her purse and headed straight to the bottom. Immediately, she grazed the hard metal of the stun gun. She needed to hurry. Teddy was gaining ground on the war with her sweatpants. The stun gun fit in the palm of her hand and she kept it hidden until she could find the on switch. She had no idea if the thing was fully charged or not. All she could do was try. Hoping for the best, she spoke out. “Stop it, Teddy. Stop it right now…or else.”

Teddy laughed and pulled at the waist of her pants. “Or else what? You’re delusional, my pet, if you think you can prevent me from claiming my prize.”

Felicity’s heart raced as the moment of truth arrived. Either she would render Teddy incapacitated or she would end up pissing him off and she’d be assaulted and… worse.

He dismissed her warning and leaned down to kiss her again when she looked him straight in his soulless eyes and shoved her stun gun against his neck and said, “Burn for me, Baby, burn.” Then, she pulled the trigger. Instant gratification ensued when the mighty little gun sparked to life and contacted with Teddy’s body. Within seconds, she had rendered him unable to control his muscles. His forearms gave out and the weight of his body fell on her, compressing her chest making it hard to breathe, but she kept her finger on the trigger until she felt him go completely limp. Drool from his mouth and his blank stare declared she’d accomplished her mission. Afraid she might stop his heart if she kept shocking him, she released the trigger and tried to push him off her. She wanted to render the man harmless, not kill him. She couldn’t live with two deaths on her conscious even if killing Teddy would feel like justice for Austin. It wasn’t her place to be judge and jury.

Satisfied he was still breathing, she tried again to push him off, but his muscled body was too heavy. She needed both hands to move him off her. She quickly lay the stun gun beside her and pushed at his dead weight with all her strength. Finally, she managed to roll him over and she was free. Without wasting a second, she rolled off the edge of the bed and groped for her gun just in case Lucifer needed a jolt of his own when she got outside.

“There it is,” she breathed a sigh of relief and reached for it when a strong hand clamped down viciously on her arm and jerked her back onto the bed. “Teddy,” she gasped in horror.

Chapter 12

“You little tramp. I’m gonna make you pay for that.” He shoved her back under him and lay on top of her while he gathered his strength. “Did you think that little toy was gonna render me helpless? Trust me. I learned a long time ago how to recover from years of doctors’ misguided shock therapies at Bayfield. I’ve got it down to a science now. Maybe I’ll write a book someday about it, until then—"

He leaned up on one elbow and stared down at her with those eyes of his, but now they were angry. He reached out with his other hand and wrapped it around her neck. At first, he squeezed gently. “And now look what you’ve done. You’ve gone and made me angry. And I’m not very nice when I’m angry, my pet.” His words were clipped and she could tell he was still affected somewhat by the shock she’d given him. But not enough to render him helpless. Damn it.

She needed to talk to him. Distract him until the police arrived. She’d lost track of time, but if the cops had to come from Savannah, they’d probably be a bit longer before they came to her rescue. Would that be too late for her? She prayed not, but she feared it might. “Teddy, I’m sorry.” She strained her words around Teddy’s fist on her throat.

“Shut up!” he yelled at her, his face inches from hers.

“I’m sorry.” She said it again even though she knew an apology at this point wouldn’t matter.

He tightened his grip on her neck nearly cutting off all her air. She felt her face growing swollen and red. “Teddy,” she rasped. “Please don’t kill me.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to until I’ve had my fun.” He shoved his arm into her neck to brace himself and keep her pinned, while he used his other hand to slip between their bodies and pull on her sweatpants. One hard yank and he had the waistband mid-hip. At this rate, it wouldn’t take him long to finish his business and choke her to death. All she could do now was fight him…until she couldn’t.

His hand tugged her pants again and she kicked out with her knee nailing him in mid-thigh. He slapped her hard across the face. “I’m gonna teach you a lesson and then I’m gonna choke the life out of you a little at a time. You’re gonna remember me until the day you die. Oh, wait,” his words had taken on a sarcastic tone. “That day is today. Not your lucky day is it?” His hand wrapped around her neck again and squeezed while his other hand roamed her body. This was really happening.

Panic goaded Felicity into action. She tried to scratch his face and gouge his eyes, but he was too strong. He just squeezed her neck tighter until she felt her airway constricted. “Teddy, stop,” she squeaked. But she could tell by the look on his face there was no stopping him now. He would do what he wanted to her and then he would kill her. She wouldn’t be around to see whether the police arrived in time to catch him or not.

She fought as long as she could, but soon her oxygen was depleted and her strength was all but gone. He was winning the game he’d set out to play and Felicity was out of options. She was out of tears and out of hope. Resigned to her fate, she prepared herself for the inevitable when suddenly a voice called out from the doorway. “Get off her, you sick bastard, or you’re dead.”

Teddy looked down at her and grinned. “Looks like your new boyfriend is the jealous type.” Teddy lunged for the pistol on the bed, and she watched as Teddy disappeared over the side of the bed.

“Look out, Matt! He’s got your gun!” Felicity screamed and scrambled in the bedcovers desperate to find her stun gun.

“Oh, hell!” She heard Matt curse and saw his silhouette sprint across the doorway then disappear behind the dresser she’d used to block the door before Teddy’s arrival.

Teddy’s voice spoke from the dark corner beside the bed. “So, your new boyfriend’s name is Matt, huh? Hey, Matt, you should know what’s going to happen next. First, I’m going to shoot you with your own gun, but I only want to wound you enough to keep you still so you can watch me have fun with your girlfriend. Then, I’m going to kill the both of you.” A shot fired in the darkness and Felicity heard wood splinter across the room. She knew that dresser wasn’t much protection for Matt. Afraid for Matt, she screamed into the darkness, “Stop it, Teddy! Matt didn’t do anything to you. I’m the one you’re after. Let him go!”

Teddy didn’t answer, but she could feel him moving against the mattress toward the foot of the bed. If he got close enough to where Matt was hiding, a bullet would go through the wooden dresser and then Matt would be—

Another shot rang out. Now she could see Teddy’s silhouette standing at the foot of the bed, and the unmistakable shape of a pistol in his hand pointed toward Matt’s hiding place. She needed that damn stun gun and she needed it now. Frantic, Felicity dove into the bedcovers pushing and pulling until her fingers finally contacted with something hard. She’d found her gun, but now the question was did it hold enough of a charge to zap Teddy long enough to take his gun away? She had no idea, but she had to try something.

Grabbing the stun gun, she turned its switch off and then on again just in case that was what prompted another full jolt. With her pulse pounding in her chest, she turned and leapt off the end of the bed and straight on to Teddy’s back clinging like a rabid spider monkey.

“Get off me, you stupid—”

Her legs holding tight around his waist and one arm clamped around his neck,  she slammed the contact points of her gun against his carotid artery and pulled the trigger.

“Gaaaahhhhhhh!” Teddy twisted from side to side trying to shake her, but she held fast. There was no way in hell she was going to have mercy on him this time. If his heart stopped, that was on him.  He fired two more random shots at the wall before she felt his knees begin to buckle. She kept her finger on the trigger and prayed the juice didn’t run out. Finally, Teddy hit the floor with her still on his back and stopped moving. He was still breathing, but this time she gave him a little extra zap to keep him down.

“Felicity? Are you all right?” Matt’s shadow appeared from behind the dresser.

“Matt, I thought you were dead!” Felicity rolled off Teddy’s still body and rushed to hug her almost rescuer. Her throat was bruised where Teddy had choked her, and her face was raw where Teddy had bitten and slapped her, but she’d never felt better in her life.

“Dead? Nah, he’s a pretty bad shot. I could have shot him right away, but I was afraid of a stray bullet hitting you. Besides, I told you he wouldn’t get past me.” He gave her a look of contrition. “Okay, he got past me, and he kicked my ass a little, but I had a secret weapon he underestimated.” Matt cocked his head and grinned.

“What secret weapon?” Felicity’s brain wasn’t picking up on Matt’s conversation exactly. Her mental state was a little shaken at the moment.

“You are my secret weapon. Look at you, jumpin’ on his back and takin’ him down. You know, for a city girl, you ain’t half bad.”

Felicity let out a long sigh of relief and grinned. “Is that a fact? Well, it would have really helped the both of us had I known the gun had a safety, but then I blame that lack of knowledge on my teacher.”

Matt grinned. “Duly noted.”

Just then, she heard the sirens in the distance. “Looks like help’s finally arrived. Let’s go meet them and make them feel like they done something to help,” Matt teased.

“But where’s his dog? Where’s Lucifer?” Felicity wanted to know before leaving the security of the house.

“Can’t say for sure. Last I seen that big black dog, he was running for his life with about two dozen of my hunting dogs on his trail. I doubt you’ll see that dog again.”

They heard voices at the back door. “Police! We had a call for help. Is everything all right?”

Matt grinned at her and slung his arm around her shoulders. “You’d think the splintered back door would be evidence enough everything ain’t all right.” Then he yelled back to the police officers. “No, everything ain’t alright.”

Together, they met the police officers in his living room. Matt explained what had happened and then two of the three officers disappeared down the hall toward the bedroom while the third one stayed with them and took notes.

Matt did the explaining since he was a local and they knew him. “That man on the floor in there is a murderer and this young woman was on his short list to become one of his victims. Apparently, he killed other people at the End of the Road Hotel and then chased her here.”

“How did he come to be on the floor in your bedroom, Matt?”

“He broke in while I was outside and she zapped the hell out of him with her stun gun.”

The police turned a surprised look toward her. “Is that right? Tell me more, miss. What is your name and what is your relationship with this man?” The officer wanted to know.

“My name is Felicity Simon and I just met Matt tonight when I knocked on his door and asked him for help.”

“And how do you know the man on the floor in there?”

“He’s the grandson of my great aunt so we’re kinda cousins.”

“How did you come to be out here?”

“I inherited the hotel and he, Teddy, was…upset by that fact.”

“What’s his name?”

“Theodore Bishop, but he likes to be called Teddy. He’s spent a lot of time in Bayfield, a hospital for the criminally insane back east. And he’s cunning and unpredictable.  I’d tell your friends in there to get handcuffs on him as soon as they can. You never know what he might do—”

Just then a shot rang out quickly followed by two more. The officer asking questions raced down the hall, stopping just outside the doorway to Matt’s bedroom, his pistol drawn. Felicity’s heart stuttered and Matt pushed her behind him. Had Teddy shot a police officer? Was he escaping again? Fear inched its way upward into her throat. Should she run? Matt held her tight and she clung to him much as one would a life preserver on a sinking ship.

They heard voices and soon all three police officers came back down the hallway. She saw the shock and disbelief on one of the men’s face just before she saw the blood stain on his arm.

“Oh, you’re hurt! What happened?” she whispered, afraid to hear the answer.

“You were right, ma’am. That bastard was unpredictable. We thought he was unconscious until he picked up the pistol on the floor and fired at Henry. Lucky he was still shaken up by your stun gun and his aim wasn’t too steady.”

Matt chimed in. “I heard two other shots. Does that mean—”

“I’m afraid so.”

Matt reached an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “It’s all over now, Felicity. The nightmare is over. You don’t ever have to worry about Teddy Bishop scaring the hell out of you again.”

Relieved beyond belief, she slumped against Matt and wept. It was finally over.

Chapter 13

By noon the next day, Felicity had finished with her statement and collected hers and Austin’s things from her room at the hotel and loaded them in Austin’s truck for the long trip back home to Philly. Alone. She plugged in her charging cord and thought about her and Austin arguing over it on the trip down. Now it felt silly. And unimportant.

The police, homicide investigators, criminal photographers, and people from the coroner’s office were still humming all over that old house, gathering facts and trying to make sense of the macabre events that had been going on right under everyone’s noses since Teddy had come here to live.

Tired and sleepy and hungry, she was leaving this place as soon as the cops said she could go. She had Austin’s truck keys in her hand, but she thought she should find the lead investigator and make sure he had no further questions before she took off for home. She saw him on the porch talking to a man with a camera. “Hello, Detective Winchester. I’m just about ready to leave. Is there anything else you need from me before I go?”

The middle-aged man with graying temples and worry-lined face offered her a faint smile and shook his head. “No, Miss Simon, you’ve been very cooperative, but if we have any follow-up questions, we know how to contact you.”

Felicity nodded. “Very well then. I guess I’d better get on the road. I’m getting a pretty late start and I’m exhausted, so I’ll probably stop somewhere over the Georgia-South Carolina border and get some rest, I suppose.”

“Miss, are you sure you don’t want to call someone? That’s a long trip to make alone, especially after everything that’s—”

“Especially after nearly being murdered and everything else Teddy put me through? Nah, I’ll be fine. It’ll give me time to think.”

“I understand.” He smiled kindly. “Well, you drive safe and if you remember anything else, you have my card.”

“Thank you.” Felicity started to jump into Austin’s truck when another vehicle pulled into the circular drive and blocked her exit.

“Felicity! I’m glad I caught you before you left.”

“Matt? What are you doing here? I thought you were chasing hounds all across the country.” She smiled and waited for him to come stand next to her. The detective nodded and left them alone to talk.

“I was, but I got my buddies helpin’ me. They’re havin’ a great time riding on their quads lookin’ for dog tracks. They’ll have my dogs home in no time. Besides, I couldn’t let you leave until I had a chance to talk with you.”

Felicity frowned. “About what? If this is about that security light Teddy shot out, I told you I’d be happy to pay for it.”

“Hell, no. You ain’t payin’ for that light.” He shook his head and grinned. “Don’t be silly. After all we been through?”

“Then what did you want to talk about?” Felicity watched his handsome face and mischievous eyes sparkle in the bright sunshine.

“I thought after last night, well, I thought maybe we could…” His voice trailed off leaving Felicity a moment to wonder what was up. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Damn it. What I’m tryin’ to say is I like you. I mean you’re a city girl and all and you live a long way off, but…like I said, I like you and I was wondering if you might be open to me coming to Philadelphia for a visit. No promises or nothin’.”

Felicity was shocked at Matt’s suggestion. “Well, I don’t know. I mean…” She wasn’t sure what to say to his unexpected proposition. She saw his disappointment and felt she should say more. “That’s not a no, Matt. It’s just…like you said after last night I’ve got a lot going on. And then there’s the fact that my boyfriend was murdered. It might not look too great if I brought home another one so soon. You understand, right?”

“Oh, sure. Of course. No problem.” Matt stumbled over his words and the silence between them felt awkward. Not the ending she wanted with the guy who literally helped save her life. But apparently Matt wasn’t one to be swayed when he had his mind set. “Okay, how about this? I’ll give you my number and when you are ready, you give me a call. We can talk. You know, get to know each other better before we set off on a road trip.”

Felicity smiled in relief. “I like that idea.” Matt’s grin was contagious and she found herself grinning back. They stood grinning like idiots at each other for another minute or so until she decided it was time to go. “ I’ve got a long road ahead of me, so I guess I better get going.” Without thinking, she reached up to kiss Matt on his cheek, but he turned his face at the last minutes and kissed her full on her mouth instead. “Oh.” She blushed.

His wide, mischievous grin still throwing arrows of attraction at her, Matt opened the truck door and helped her in. When she was settled, he closed it behind her. “Talk to ya soon.” He stepped back to let her go.

Felicity could see possibilities in her future where Matt was concerned, but she wasn’t ready to look any farther ahead than the end of the road in front of her. She started the truck’s engine and put it into drive. Matt stepped away from the truck and gave her a little wave of goodbye as she drove away. She watched him in her rear view mirror until he disappeared around the curve. “Yeah, I’d like that. Talk to ya soon.”

Afterword

“Thanks for reading this Friday the 13th Story!

If you enjoyed it, considering leaving a short review so other readers can enjoy the thrill.”

The End of the Road Hotel

About the Author

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Peggy McKenzie has been in love with stories of happy endings and second chances since her first fairy tales in grade school. Then she became enamored by Miss Kitty and Marshal Dillion’s love story so much she decided to write her own romance stories where she’s sure to have the cowboy ride away with his lady love and live happily-ever-after.

Now living in East Texas, she’s right smack dab in the middle of cowboy country. And she’s more determined than ever to write her stories “where love becomes legendary.”

Come join her and her posse on their next big adventure!!

Click to join her newsletter and fan club.

www.peggymckenzie.com.

Follow Peggy on social media to learn more about this author and her new releases.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Goodreads

Pinterest

BookBub

Peggy McKenzie & Friends

BRIDES OF THE RIO GRANDE

Grace – Book One

Faith – Book Two

Hope – Book Three

Charity – Book Four

Mary - Book Five

Aggie – Book Six

The ALPHABET MAIL-ORDER BRIDES

Olivia’s Obligation-Peggy McKenzie-Book 15

And Twenty-Four other authors

Available at Amazon.com

LANGLEY’S LEGACY SERIES

Finn’s Fortune – Book One – Kathleen Ball

Patrick’s Proposal – Book Two – Hildie McQueen

Donovan’s Deceit – Book Three – Kathy Shaw

Aidan’s Arrangement – Book Four – Peggy McKenzie

Heath’s Homecoming – Book Five – Merry Farmer

Colin’s Challenge – Book Six – Sylvia McDaniel

ANGEL CREEK CHRISTMAS BRIDES SERIES

2018

Charity – Book One – Sylvia McDaniel

Julia – Book Two - Lily Graison

Ruby – Book Three – Hildie McQueen

Sarah- Book Four – Peggy McKenzie

Anna – Book Five – Everly West

2019

Caroline - Book One - Lily Graison

Melody - Book Two - Caroline Clemmons

Elizabeth - Book Three - Jo Grafford

Emma - Book Four - Peggy McKenzie

Viola - Book 5 - Cyndi Raye

Ginger - Book 6 - Sylvia McDaniel

2020

Abigail - Book Twelve - Peggy McKenzie

Grace - Book Thirteen - Jo Grafford

Pearl - Book Fourteen - Hildie McQueen

Rebecca - Book Fifteen - Lily Graison

Charlotte - Book Sixteen - Kari Trumbo

Minnie - Book Seventeen - Sylvia McDaniel

Adele - Book Eighteen - Cynthia Woolf

Victoria - Book Nineteen - Maxine Douglas

Meg - Book Twenty - Caroline Clemmons

2021

Six more feel-good Christmas stories.

Angel Creek Christmas Brides Series

And don’t forget about the new series coming in

December 2022

Mistletoe Falls Mail Order Brides

And now more thrills…

Other Titles in the Friday the 13th Series:

- Tamrie Foxtail How to Trap a Soul

- Anna Kittrell  Deadly Illusions

- Diane L. Kowalyshyn Skadegamutc: Monster in the Mirror

- Callie Hutton The Hotel California

- Alicia Dean Little Darlings

- Mark Edward Jones A Gentleman from the Darkness

- DJ FitzSimons Last Train Out

- Christopher Farris 13 Sessions

- Robert Herold Witch Ever Way You Go

- Krysta Scott The Last Wife

- Stephen B. King Thirteen Past Midnight

- Dex Rivers The New Guy

The End