Watching.
Staring.
Yawning.
His gut churned uncomfortably, and he didn’t know why. So he was going inside.
LAUREN KNEW Jason would show up soon. All she had to do was bide her time. And hope that Brody didn’t turn the gun on Jason when he arrived.
She shuddered at the thought and kept her focus shifting between Brody, who stood near the bedroom door, and Beth, who was immersed in reading the diary.
“Well?” Brody voiced the question on Lauren’s mind. “Anything in there that’ll lead us to the diamonds? We have to get the hell out of here fast.”
Beth shook her head in frustration. “So much of it is ruined, but on the same page it mentions the curse it mentions an offering-in the heart of the house.”
Lauren knew better than to remind her sister she’d already told her as much.
Beth glanced up, a dazed look in her eyes. “Think, think,” she said, pounding her hand against her head.
“I say we take whatever money she’s got on her and get away while the getting’s good.” Brody leveled his gun at Lauren’s heart.
Panic washed over Lauren. She looked beyond Brody toward the door and caught sight of Jason standing there. His eyes locked with hers, conveying all his strength in that one look before he backed out of view once more.
“Well? She’s no good to us anyway,” Brody muttered.
Suddenly, Beth shrieked at Brody. “You won’t threaten my sister again!” She dropped the diary and grabbed the poker beside the fireplace, stunning both Lauren and Brody.
Before either could react, Beth brought the metal down on Brody’s head, the poker connecting with his skull. A sickening crack reverberated through the room and Brody fell to the floor.
Nauseated and stunned, Lauren stared at her sister. A stranger she didn’t know and probably never had.
“I warned him to leave you alone,” Beth said in a monotone voice.
Lauren swallowed hard. If this was how Beth looked after her, Lauren wanted none of it. She spotted the gun lying next to Brody and started for the weapon.
“No!”
Beth barked out her command and Lauren froze.
Slowly, Lauren straightened, her hands spread out in front of her. “Relax,” she said to her sister. “See? I’m not moving.”
“But I am.” Taking advantage of the chaos, Jason chose that moment to silently make his entrance. He couldn’t get near the gun, but he bolted across the room and grabbed the diary, the one thing Beth desperately wanted.
With a shriek, Beth raised the poker over her head, her gaze narrowed on Jason, who visibly braced himself.
For the blow?
Or to take Beth down?
Lauren knew he could probably handle Beth. He outweighed and outmuscled her, but Lauren didn’t want either one of them hurt.
“Beth, don’t!”
At the sound of Lauren’s voice, Beth paused. “Why not?” she asked, as if it were a reasonable question. “He’s standing in the way of everything. And besides, he’s a Corwin.”
“Because I love him!” Lauren yelled without thinking, her sole focus on stopping her sister.
Her words had the opposite effect. Beth screamed as if she’d been attacked and ran for Jason, poker in hand.