Hands closed roughly around her shoulders. Even as dry-mouthed fear enveloped her, she instinctively lashed out with her foot. There was a soft grunt of pain as she connected with a shin. Her attacker released her.
“Take it easy, will you? I’m not going to hurt you.”
A core of remaining sanity placed the voice. A powerful shaft of light emerged from a flashlight in his hand. She was momentarily blinded by the beam before he aimed it away from her face. His harsh features wavered into view.
“Sorry if I startled you,” Bram Myers said quietly.
“Startled?” Her heart raced as if she’d run a mile. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“That would have been a real shame. Not to mention a spectacular problem.”
His wry humor steadied her frazzled nerves. “What are you doing in here?”
“I came to be sure you hadn’t driven your car through a door like you threatened.”
“Very funny.” She couldn’t stop trembling. It had been such a long day, and he was standing too near.
“What happened to the lights?”
“They aren’t working,” she bit out.
“I noticed.” He swung the beam so it spanned the empty hall, causing shadows to leap and writhe. “Are you all right? You’re shaking.”
“Of course I’m shaking. You scared the heck out of me.”
“The way you came bursting out of that room, I have a feeling I’m not the only thing that scared you.”
Flustered, she struggled for a composure she was far from feeling. “There’s someone in there. Whoever it is wouldn’t answer when I called out.”
He tensed. “Wait here.”
Before she could stop him, Bram strode through the opening. Hayley followed on his heels, secretly relieved by his reassuring presence. His flashlight brought the dark room to spooky life. The drapes were of thick, heavy damask. Empty chairs sat in a line in front of them.
“Inviting. I hope you’re planning on having a decorator come in,” he said mildly.
“Cute.”
The beam of light swept behind the desk to reveal the heavy, dark wood double doors that led back to Marcus’s lair. They were closed, sealing off the converted rooms. Her stomach lurched.
“One of those doors was open a second ago,” she whispered.
Bram spared her a look. Crossing to them, he reached for the knob. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
He rattled the handle. “It’s locked now. Want me to break it open?”
Yes, she wanted to shout, but she couldn’t push the word past lips that felt numb. Someone had stood in that doorway only a minute ago. She was sure of it.
“I can force it open if you want me to, but are you sure it wasn’t your imagination playing tricks? It would certainly be understandable. Without light, this room is as dark as the inside of a coffin.”
To prove his point, he shut off the flashlight, plunging them into a total void. Hayley stifled a gasp. Bram went on talking.
“I’m standing right here and I can’t even see the doors, much less tell if they’re open or closed. It would be a shame to kick them in if you’re wrong. They don’t make interior doors of solid cherry anymore.”
Had the door been open? Was it possible her imagination had taken over? It had been a long day, after all. Hayley was tired from the drive and stressed by what she’d found here—to say nothing of how furious Marcus would be if she damaged something.
Why was she worried about that? This was her house, a tiny voice shouted inside her head. Still, she hesitated. Could she have been wrong?
“What happened to the electricity?” Bram asked abruptly. He snapped the flashlight back on, to her intense relief.
“I don’t know.” She cursed the quaver in her voice, but she couldn’t even control the shakes that rippled through her body. “Don’t you sense it?” she whispered before she could stop herself.
He regarded her steadily. “Sense what?”
The wrongness, she wanted to shout. Instead, she shook her head. “Never mind. The house feels…empty.”
“You just said someone was in here.”
“Forget it.” Thoroughly embarrassed, she turned back to the main hall.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we ought to see if we can get some lights on. Do you know where the fuse box is?”
Gratefully, she nodded. “There’s one in the kitchen, inside the pantry.”
“Show me?”
He moved to within inches of where she stood. She’d known he was a big man, but having him this close made her feel small and fragile.
“Don’t patronize me,” she warned him.
“That wasn’t my intention. Would you prefer I leave?”
“No! No,” she said more calmly, drawing a deep breath. “I’m a little rattled. I don’t understand what’s going on here, either. Where is everyone? Mrs. Walsh? Kathy? Someone should be here. Someone must be here. The front door was unlocked.”
“It was?” He appeared mildly surprised.
“Yes!”
He held up a palm. “Okay, take it easy. Are you always this defensive?”
“Only since—” Since she’d gotten the lawyer’s letter, requesting that she come home to discuss a problem. Hayley could hardly say that to a total stranger. “Since I got here and found everything changed.”
“I can see where that might be unnerving. I’m afraid I haven’t spoken with anyone in a couple of days now. I’ve been staying in the old barn by the forge while I complete the work your father hired me to do. I’m afraid I don’t know any of the people you just mentioned. I’ve only spoken with your parents since I got here.”
“My father and his wife,” she corrected. Then, not wanting to explain, and disconcerted from standing this close to him, she turned away. “The kitchen’s back this way.”
His light swept the hall ahead of them as she set off quickly. She wondered if he’d ever been inside the sprawling mansion before, and if he had, what he’d thought of the incredible rooms that stretched up to the huge skylights. Normally, moonlight would have made the interior clearly visible, but tonight clouds blocked the light and the house felt like some vast, empty cavern.
“Was your father expecting you?” Bram asked.
“I
