Hidden Agenda

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

EPILOGUE

Dear Reader

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

ONE (#ub8749acc-9c9d-56b5-99cf-8ee369004dc7)

Bailey Williams froze, the page from her novel half-turned and candlelight dancing across the words. The book slipped from her hands. Instead of retrieving it, she pulled the blanket tighter across her shoulders.

What was that sound?

The raging storm outside had already toppled some large tree branches into the yard. Power had gone out more than three hours ago, and the nighttime—deep and blinding—had fallen in the blink of an eye.

She was supposed to leave today, but there’d been no boats coming or going from Smuggler’s Cove. So she was stuck here, in this huge old house, on a creepy island in the middle of a subtropical storm.

Could things get any worse?

She squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered the events of the past several days. Events that included losing one of the best employers she’d ever had. That involved losing the job she’d held for the past eight months. That comprised the prospect of starting over again. Going somewhere new. Finding another job.

Mr. Carter had died a week ago today. She’d stuck around, trying to get his affairs in order. She’d planned his funeral, cleaned his house and prepared food for guests who’d come into town.

She felt like the only family the man had, yet she wasn’t family. She was simply Mr. Carter’s nurse, someone who helped on occasion with meals and housework and offered a listening ear. She mourned the man as if she’d been his daughter. In a way, the man had come to feel like a second father.

Another crash sounded, and her lungs tightened. What was that? Had the wind sent something toppling into the house? Had one of the shutters come loose?

She tugged the blanket even tighter around her shoulders. The October day had already been frigid before the power had gone out, the heat along with it. She’d tried to start a fire but had been unsuccessful.

Reaching into the drawer of the table beside the padded chair in her bedroom, she grabbed a flashlight. She flicked the switch to the on position. The light waned, blinked, flickered, but finally shone brightly.

Thank goodness. At least that was working in her favor.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, the flashlight went black, the room along with it. A draft must have whispered extinction orders across the candle that burned on the table beside her chair. Two lights in two seconds—it was a double whammy of darkness.

Bailey hit the flashlight against her palm. Tapped the top of the light. Shook the batteries back and forth.

The sweet beacon of illumination wouldn’t come back on.

Perfect. She frowned.

She was going to have to check out the sound, whether she wanted to or not. She couldn’t simply stay in her old bedroom, huddled on the big, comfy chair until the storm passed. For more than one reason. Buckets of rain could be flooding into the house. The bay could have climbed the shores, reaching the porch, in which case she’d need to evacuate. For all she knew, this whole island could be in danger of washing away. The place seemed like little more than a sandbar anyway. Or what if lightning struck nearby, started a fire even? There were so many things that could go wrong, so many reasons not to stay in her room hiding.

Her throat constricted as she stepped into the dark hallway that snaked through the east wing of the estate. She thought her eyes would have adjusted to the darkness by now, but not even a hint of light reached the interior of the house, especially not right here.

In broad daylight, the place was spooky. On a stormy night, it was terrifying.

She first thought about going downstairs. But the idea caused hazy fear to engulf her, making her feel light-headed and unsteady. She changed course and hurried in the opposite direction, away from the massive staircase that led to the front door and instead toward the door at the end of the hallway.

She passed one closed door. Two. Three.

Each one made her tense, made worst-case scenarios flash through her mind like a broken reel from a horror flick. Images of people hiding. Madmen lurking. Danger awaiting.

Her walk turned into a run. She reached the end of the hallway, her destination. Her hands trembled on the doorknob, but finally she managed to twist it.

The moment she threw open the door, purple light flashed from the alcove upstairs. Her heart raced.

Lightning. Just lightning.

No figures lurked in the shadows.

Maybe she shouldn’t have been reading that mystery novel earlier. The story had put too many spooky ideas into her head.

Before she could second-guess herself, her fingers gripped the iron handles of the spiral staircase that twisted upward to the widow’s walk. Bailey would have a bird’s-eye view from there of anything going on outside. Floods. Fires. Downed trees.

She rushed up the steps at a dizzying pace until she reached the enclosed landing up top. The stretch was narrow with windows on each side. There was only one bench and a lonely spider plant. She usually liked to come up here alone, especially when she needed to think. Right now, it would serve as a lookout.

Still clutching the blanket around her shoulders, she took her first step.

The only time she could catch a glimpse of anything in the darkness was when lightning lit the sky. The first strike showed her the Chesapeake Bay. Angry waves roiled there, charging forward before beating against the sandy beaches of the island. The second strike showed her several massive tree branches that now littered the yard.

Where had that crash come from earlier? Had a window broken from the gale-force gusts outside? Had a tree fallen onto the garage? Blown the pier away?

Speaking of which, maybe being up here wasn’t the best idea. Not with this storm raging. All she needed was for the wind to make a projectile of one of those live oak trees lining the walk leading to the front door. She’d be a goner, and it would be her own doing.

Thunder shook the cool, water-dimpled windowpanes. As Bailey stood there, the glass rattled as the deep sound rumbled and rumbled some more. The growl reached all the way to her bones.

When lightning flashed again, something beside the house caught her eye. Her heart leaped into her throat with enough force to jostle her entire body.

Was that...a man?

She stepped closer to the glass and wiped away some of the fog there. She couldn’t have seen that correctly. Her eyes were playing tricks on her.