My teeth were grinding now. "Will youpleasestop that?"
He practically snorted. "Why?"
"Because it's making me nervous." At this, I almost winced.What an asinine thing to say.My nerves should've shattered the moment he'd busted through the door. And maybe they would've, if only I hadn't become numb to nasty surprises.
Today had been way too full of them.
"Good," the guy said.
So he was happy that I was nervous?What kind of sicko was he, anyway?With a sound of annoyance, I said, "And why is that good?"
"Because," he said, "you're inmyhouse. And you're gonna tell me why."
Chapter 2
Arden
His words hit like a hammer.Hishouse?
My stomach twisted with new despair. So the househadbeen sold out from under me?To him?
In spite of the evidence, I didn't want to believe it. Over the sounds of the shower, I called out, "Says you."
"Yeah," he scoffed. "Me and the deed."
Crap.
I didn't know the guy, but he didn't sound like he was lying. Plus, his bold claim meshed all too well with everything else I'd seen ever since rolling into town – on a Greyhound bus, no less.
When I considered everything I'd gone through to get here, my fingers tightened into fists.Jason – that lying rat-fink bastard.
I was gonna kill him.Already I could think of several ways to do it,slowly.
The guy said, "What, you wanna see it?"
The deed?
Hell no.
What Iwantedwas to light the stupid thing on fire and watch it burn. But that sort of thing was hardly productive – as I'd learned the hard way back in high school.
"No," I snapped. "What I want is for you to get out."
He shifted his stance, making his muscles pop enticingly under the wet fabric of his shirt. "Did you miss the part where you're inmyhouse?"
"I don't care," I told him. "You need to step outside, likenow."
With a laugh, he said, "Forget it."
"What?" I sputtered.
"It's raining buckets out there."
Well, that explained the wet shirt.Through gritted teeth, I clarified, "Imeantout of the bathroom."
No response.
No movement either.
