‘You’re the police,’ he said. ‘And you didn’t know.’ He flashed me a terrifying grin. ‘And you’re wrong, Emma. It wasn’t another knife I was going for when I saw you last time. After you didn’t die properly last time, I didn’t want to take any chances so I found something more foolproof.’
He went into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. ‘I put it here for safe keeping. It’s just as well that I did.’
I stared in horror as he took out a gun and pointed it at me.
‘You should have made it easier on yourself,’ he said, almost sadly. ‘You should have stayed dead.’
I ran at him. I had no other choice. I held the knife in front of me and aimed it at his neck. As I plunged it into his exposed throat, he released the safety on the gun and pulled the trigger. I heard the noise and felt the force of the impact in my chest but, strangely, there wasn’t any pain.
‘Bitch,’ I heard him whisper, as the floor rose up to meet me. ‘You should have stayed dead.’
Then there was a gurgle and I heard nothing more.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The smell was both familiar and sickening. Rotten eggs. Sulphur. Fire and brimstone.
‘Emma?’
My fingers twitched.
‘Emma? Are you awake?’ The hope and fear in Laura’s voice filled the room.
My hand went to my chest to the very spot where Jeremy’s bullet had entered my heart. There was nothing there but smooth skin. I opened one eye and the bright overhead light made me wince.
‘Hi,’ I said weakly.
I forced myself to sit up. I was at the morgue, in the same room where I’d woken up before and where I’d gazed at poor Tony’s body. It was probably the same damned gurney. I looked down at my body, feeling strangely detached. Even the flicker of dying flames emanating from my arms and legs didn’t bother me.
‘I couldn’t be sure, you know,’ Laura said. She bit her lip. ‘I couldn’t be sure you’d wake up again.’
I shook myself. Instead of feeling confusion and horror and fear, I actually felt invigorated. A new lease of life. I almost snorted.
Laura passed me a sheet and I smiled my thanks as I wrapped it round my body. Then I remembered Jeremy and sobered up abruptly. My shoulders sagged. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Oh no.’ I swung my head towards her. ‘Is he…?’
‘He’s dead.’ Her voice was matter of fact. ‘He bled out on your kitchen floor. You didn’t hang up the phone, you know. I told Dean that if we had any more strange calls, he was to find me. He kept the line open and we heard everything. It’s how you ended up here. I made sure that they brought you to this morgue.’
‘I can’t believe Jeremy did that.’ My voice was barely audible. ‘He was the one person I thought I could trust.’
‘That’s not true.’
My gaze snapped over to the doorway. Lukas was leaning against it. On the surface he looked languid, but there was something about the stiffness in his spine that made me think he wasn’t as relaxed as he was pretending to be.
‘If you’d truly trusted him,’ Lukas continued, ‘you’d have stayed with him throughout all this. He would have been the first person you told about your resurrection. Deep down, a part of you knew all along.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘I didnotknow.’
He pushed himself off from the wall and walked towards me. ‘Your subconscious did.’ His black-eyed gaze searched my face. ‘I wonder,’ he said quietly, ‘what else is buried inside that beautiful mind of yours.’
I blinked.
He shook himself. ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re back with us.’
‘How did you know I was here?’ I glanced at Laura, but she shook her head. She hadn’t told him.
‘Cassidy continued to insist that she hadn’t had anything to do with your death, even when she had no reason to keep denying it. It seemed … prudent to check up on you.’ His jaw tightened. ‘Unfortunately, I was too late.’
I drew in a breath. ‘Where is Cassidy now?’
