Plain Target Read online

  “Jess, as much as I want to tell you no, I really think you’re in trouble. Whoever this jerk is, we have to assume he’s dangerous. He didn’t hesitate to start a fire at the stables, did he?”

  The last expression he expected to see cross her face was a smile. It was no more than a slight upward curling of her lips, but it was there. “What?”

  She glanced down, heat staining her pale cheeks. “It’s been a long time since I felt like someone was on my side, other than Rebecca and her family. Even the other workers at my stable aren’t really people I feel I know. Cody hired them, not me.”

  That surprised him. “What about your parents?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “My parents were killed in a car accident the summer I graduated from high school. My brother became my guardian.”

  Seth groaned. “He was all you had.” Reaching out, he snagged her into a hug. She resisted for a second, then accepted the embrace, leaning against him. But only for an instant. When she started to pull away, he let her go.

  “I wasn’t alone, Seth. I had the Lord to lean on. And Rebecca’s family was great. They have been checking on me constantly.”

  “What about the people at your church?” he asked. “Surely, you feel some sort of connection with them?”

  Even her ponytail seemed to droop as she shook her head.

  “No, not really.” Furrows appeared on her forehead. She brought one hand up and rubbed at them, as if she could massage them away. “To be honest, I didn’t give them much of a chance. At the funeral, I could see people staring at me, and couldn’t deal with their pity. So I changed churches. I drive to Erie each Sunday and attend there where no one knows me. Well, except for Ernie. But he doesn’t pry.”

  He blinked, but didn’t ask any questions. He was anxious to move the conversation away from the topic of God. He had an itchy feeling whenever she mentioned her faith. There was even a brief moment when they arrived when he had been tempted to say a prayer. Just to see if it worked. Tempted. He didn’t succumb. That didn’t stop the feeling that he was on a slippery slope. There would be no point to it, he knew. His mother had trusted in God all her life. And she ended up cheated on and betrayed by her own husband. Not just once, but over and over. No, he was just fine as he was. God was okay for others, but he didn’t see the need for himself.

  But he was saddened to see Jess abandon her church community. His mother had found support in hers.

  Jess tilted her head. Probably wondering where he had gone mentally.

  The flickering lights reminded them both of their situation.

  “I will be back.” Seth retreated to the hall and pulled the door shut behind him. He waited until he heard the door lock click. Then he made his way down to the kitchen, hoping he wouldn’t run into anyone along the way. Answering questions or fending snide comments about Jess was not high on his list of things he wanted to do. For the first time in his life, he found himself grateful that his uncle had inherited his family’s taste for ostentation. The house he had built in the middle of nowhere, in addition to having enough bedrooms to rival a modest hotel, had two staircases leading down to the main level. Seth took the back stairs, which ended in a short hallway right outside the kitchen. Which was empty. His uncle had gone all out and had the event catered, so all the food and beverages were displayed in a fancy buffet line in the dining room. Music and laughter pounded in the air.

  Efficiently, Seth put together some sandwiches and grabbed some bottles of water. He nabbed a couple pieces of fruit from a basket on the counter. Where did his aunt keep plastic bags? Opening the cupboard under the sink, he found one and stuffed the food inside.

  Turning back to exit, he was dismayed to find he was no longer the sole occupant of the kitchen. The man standing in the doorway was watching him with cold eyes, a distinct sneer on his face. Great. First the man on the stairs, and now this guy. As far as Seth could recall, he had never seen him before. He was a bulky man, his beefy arms crossed over his barrel chest as he scowled at Seth.

  Seth moved forward. He had done nothing wrong, and he was in his uncle’s house. This man wasn’t going to keep him from Jess.

  “Where’s your girlfriend, boy?” the man growled, an ugly edge to his rough voice.

  “Excuse me.” Seth made to move past the man. But the guy just wouldn’t let him pass. Instead, he planted himself firmly in Seth’s path.

  “How dare you bring that little crook here? She and her brother cost me thousands of dollars. And a prize horse. Spreading tales about honest folk.” Fury oozed from him. Quivering, he took a step toward Seth, nostrils flaring. Seth had no idea what the man was talking about. “I’ll bet she’s here to spread her brother’s lies, isn’t she? Thinks good ole Ted Taylor will be on her side? Well, I won’t let her get the best of me again. She’d better watch who she messes with.”

  He probably expected Seth to back up. Seth wasn’t about to give in. Instead, he took a step closer to him.

  “You need to let me pass,” Seth stated, keeping his voice low. “Whatever happened, it had nothing to do with Jess. And from what I know, you don’t even have solid proof that it had anything to do with her brother, either.” He took another step forward. And another. Satisfaction filled him when the man’s eyes widened, confusion on his face. Seth managed to keep his expression and voice clear of all emotion. Years of dealing with his father had taught him that the best way to get a reaction was to show no emotion. “You don’t want to do this. Not in my family’s home.”

  The sneer returned to his opponent’s face, although Seth noted he did step aside to allow Seth to move past. Still, he managed to get out one last taunt before Seth could walk away.

  “I would be careful who I hung out with. She’s going down.” He swung around and stormed back toward the other guests. Seth watched him, filing away in his mind details about the man’s appearance and what he said. That was definitely someone to keep a close eye on.

  Carrying his cache of food, he returned back upstairs the same way he had come. He breathed easier when he arrived at Jess’s room without further incident. He rapped sharply on the door, then grimaced. Deaf girl. Could she hear the knock? Maybe he should slide something under the door...

  The door swung open, causing him to jump. Color flooded his face as she observed him, her eyebrows lifted, an amused expression on her face.

  “Didn’t you expect me to answer the door?” she queried.

  “I wasn’t sure if you could hear me knock.”

  Jess nodded, making her brown ponytail bounce. “It depends on how low the sound is.”

  A thought occurred to him. “We should have found a way to signal you, so you would know it was me.”

  When she shrugged and reached for the food, he recalled the meeting in the kitchen. Casually, trying not to seem too concerned so she wouldn’t worry, he mentioned the confrontation and described the man.

  A disturbed look came into her eyes. Lowering her chin, she sighed. He wished he could have waited before telling her something that so clearly upset her, but she needed to know. For her own protection.

  “It sounds like Bob Harvey. He and his wife Lisa are very involved in breeding racehorses. They have been the loudest voices against us.”

  A sharp, sizzling sound made Seth jerk his head up. It was followed by a pop. A transformer had been blown. The room was pitched into darkness.

  * * *

  Jess froze. Her entire body grew tense.

  She’d never told anyone, but she was afraid of the dark. And closed-in places. Had been ever since the incident in high school. A cold sweat covered her body as she remembered the feeling of cobwebs brushing against her skin. The musty smell of a wet mop sitting in a bucket of dirty water. The smell was so pungent, she could taste it on her tongue. Clenching her
fists, she folded her arms across her chest and shoved her fists under them. She could still feel them shaking. The trembling spread to her legs.

  Breathe, Jess. Breathe. Spiders are NOT crawling over you. You are not locked in a room. And you are not alone. Stranded for hours and hours. Getting colder...

  No! She wouldn’t think about that! She was a grown woman now. Surely she could get past this irrational fear. The fear that even now was holding her paralyzed. After a few deep breaths, she baby-stepped her way in the direction of the window, grunting as her shin knocked into something. At the window, she felt around until she located the cord to the blinds. Tugging on it, she sighed in relief as light drifted into the room. It pooled in the center of the room, leaving the edges in shadow. She shivered. Creepy.

  Light? Where on Earth was light coming from? It was pouring outside. Glancing out the window, she saw a row of solar lights. The kind that only come on when it is dark outside. Ah. She hadn’t noticed them before, probably because there had been other sources of light.

  Seth stepped into the light, and she shivered again. For a very different reason.

  “Jess, are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Fine.”

  He folded his arms. Clearly she wasn’t convincing enough.

  “What do we do now?” she asked him. Focus, Jess. Yes, he’s handsome and being kind. And yes, she was enjoying his company. But there was a maniac in this house waiting to get her and this power outage—whether accidental or deliberate—might give her attacker an opportunity. She needed to deal with that possibility. Attraction to Seth was a complication she couldn’t afford.

  “I’m not leaving you alone to deal with this tonight.”

  She shook her head, frowning. “You can’t stay in my room. It wouldn’t be right.”

  Did he just roll his eyes? Was he mocking her convictions? Drawing herself up to defend her beliefs, she paused when he raised his hands.

  “I’m not suggesting that I stay in your room. But I do intend to camp outside your door.”

  Something soft and melty nudged her heart.

  “But you need to rest, too,” she argued. “Your room is just down the hall. You’d be close by if I needed you.” It was a token protest at best. The idea of him going so far away in this hostile environment made her feel vulnerable.

  Seth scoffed. “Like I’d rest in my own room? Sorry, Jess, but I’d be coming out to check on you every five minutes. There’s no way I’d be able to sleep not knowing if you were safe.”

  The tension which had locked onto her neck loosened and rolled off her shoulders. He wasn’t leaving her.

  Jess squinted and looked at him. Really looked at him. His jaw was clenched and he was glaring at her. Like he was daring her to argue. A smile tugged at her mouth. He had no idea how unappealing the idea of staying here alone was. Deciding to let him think he’d won, she nodded. He nodded back. And although he didn’t smile back at her, she sensed that her response had eased his belligerence.

  “Good. Now that that issue is settled, I suggest we eat.”

  Gingerly, she lowered herself to sit cross-legged on the floor. Seth followed her example, then handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water. The darkness surrounding them made the room feel oddly intimate. Her cheeks grew warm, and she became aware of the subtle scent of his aftershave.

  In complete silence they ate. The moment they were done, Seth excused himself to clean up. He made quick work of it, she was relieved to note. Then she scolded herself for being anxious just because he had left her side.

  “I will be right outside the door,” he promised. He used the flashlight app on his phone and pointed it so he could look around the room. What was he looking for? He strode to the desk and grabbed the plain wooden chair. Dragging it out into the hall, he placed it firmly in front of her door. She retreated back into the room. Even in the dim light, she could make out the bed. And if she remembered correctly...yes. There was an extra blanket on the end of it. Silently, she handed it to Seth. He smiled his thanks.

  “Lock the door.”

  “Seth...”

  She stopped when he shook his head. The weariness on his face tore at her, but she knew he wouldn’t give in. One thing that she remembered clearly about Seth was that he had always been stubborn. It was no use trying to get him to change his mind. And frankly she was too tired to bother. Closing the door, she left him in hall—locking the door, as he’d ordered. Grabbing her bag, she changed into sweats and a T-shirt. With a prayer for their continued safety she moved into the room and lay down on the bed.

  Turning on her side, she tried to get comfortable, but her hearing aid was pressed into the side of her head. It wasn’t painful, but the sensation bothered her. Should she take the hearing aids off for the night? She always did when she went to sleep. It drained the batteries to wear them constantly. But she was almost completely deaf without them. At least with them, she could hear voices and environmental noises, even if she couldn’t make out what was being said. When had she last changed the batteries? Was it really only this morning? Calculating, she figured even if she left them in tonight, she had another three days. And she had spare batteries in her overnight bag.

  That settled it. They were staying in.

  Flopping over onto her back, she sighed.

  She didn’t expect to fall asleep, but soon found herself drifting off.

  She woke suddenly and bolted upright, heart pounding.

  Grabbing her phone, she checked the time. She had been asleep for two hours. What had wakened her? Sliding her legs over the side of her bed, she stood up and glanced around the room for some clue. Thunder rumbled and shook the house. The storm was directly overhead. That must have been what had startled her from sleep.

  While she was relieved to have an explanation, she still felt anxious and unsettled. Rushing to the door, she opened it and peered out. Darkness enveloped everything. She knew the shadow in front of her was Seth, but dread filled her. She needed to see his face, to make sure he was safe.

  “Seth?” she whispered. Her hand reached out and touched his face.

  His phone light flashed on. He brought it closer to his face, probably so she could see his lips better. Standing, he stepped just inside her doorway.

  “What’s wrong?” he said, signing at the same time.

  “I don’t know. I just suddenly felt something was wrong.”

  He started to answer her, then abruptly stopped. His head swung around to the left, and he used his phone to peer into the darkness.

  “What?”

  He made a shushing motion. Bringing the phone close enough so she could see his hands again he signed, “I think someone might have just walked out of my room.”

  “Why didn’t you notice them going into it?” she signed back.

  “I fell asleep. The storm just woke me.”

  He stood up, every movement careful, and motioned that he was going to check his room. She grabbed his arm. Was he crazy, going after some maniac by himself? Using his phone for light again, he signed. “We are trapped. We’ll be safer once we know. Wait for me in your room.”

  She wasn’t so confident that confronting her attacker would make them any safer, but it did make sense to figure out who they were dealing with. But as for waiting for him in her room... She looked back into the dark cavern beyond her doorway. Uh-uh.

  Decision made, she stepped out into the hallway and started to follow him. A frown crossed his face. But he didn’t argue.

  They crept to his room, but didn’t enter. He pointed toward the stairs and signed. She nodded to show she understood. Someone was arguing downstairs. Possibly whoever had left his room. She needed to keep close. He began to creep down the stairs, his steps exaggerated. For a second, she hesitated. She could make out the sounds of muffled voices below. The voices were too
low and garbled for her to decipher much more than that. There were at least two voices, but she couldn’t even tell what gender they were.

  Seth was getting ahead of her. She watched his shadow creep down another step. She went after him, using her hands to guide her along the wall. Fortunately, there was enough light coming in from the windows on the outside wall that she could make out the outline of the steps. She took care to step as gently as she could, fighting panic, knowing she wouldn’t hear it if the stairs creaked. But whoever was at the bottom of the stairs would.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Without knowing why, Jess knew something was wrong.

  A hand grabbed her shoulder. Jess jumped, starting to turn. For a brief instant, she was aware of a slight aroma that she could not quite place. A second hand touched her back. A single hard shove propelled her toward the edge of the stairs. A scream ripped from her throat as she crashed downward into the darkness.

  FOUR

  Air whooshed past her ears as she fell, tumbling into the darkness. She pitched forward, flailing her arms, desperate to catch the railing, or anything that might break her fall. Her fist clipped something.

  Seth’s chin.

  He must have turned toward her. She landed against him.

  Unfortunately, instead of stopping her fall, he was knocked off balance, as well. His arms closed around her, and even in her terror she realized he was trying to shield her as they continued crashing down the stairs.

  But the crashing thankfully only lasted for another second.

  Their downward spiral came to an abrupt halt. Seth’s whole body shuddered as his back slammed against the wall on the landing. Inertia had her thudding hard against his chest.

  “Oof!” Seth’s breath puffed against her ear. His arms tightened around her. Lying so close to him, she could feel both their hearts racing. Briefly, she dipped her head and pressed her forehead to his chest.

  They were alive. Someone had deliberately pushed her down the stairs, but they had survived. But for how long? It wasn’t likely that whoever had pushed her was going to give up. On the contrary, the attacks were escalating.