Circle of Fire (Damask Circle 1)

“Good thinking. Help me up,” Jon whispered back.

She pulled him upright, then put a shoulder under his good arm, wrapping her other arm around his back.

She slid the wardrobe door open with her foot, then helped Jon inside. As he lowered himself down, she reached up to the shelf above and grabbed the spare blankets, shaking them out over him.

Jon touched her hand lightly. “Be careful.”

Maddie nodded and covered his face with the second blanket. She slid the wardrobe door closed, then pulled off her bloodstained sweater, kicking it under the bed with one foot. Her shirt still looked mostly okay.

“Miss Smith?” the man called again, his voice sharp.

“Coming!” she yelled back.

She grabbed a wad of tissues and pre

ssed it against her bleeding palm, then ran to open the suite door, tugging at her remaining clothing to make it look hastily donned.

“Miss Smith, are you all right?” the man asked as she opened the door. His gaze brushed over her body again, as if confirming her story, and she found herself flushing.

Furious at herself, Maddie pushed the damp ringlets out of her eyes and forced a bright smile. “I was about to call you … I’m so sorry. What did you say your name was again?”

“Hank. Hank Stewart.” His dark eyes met hers, and for an instant, seemed to delve deep into her soul. She clenched her fingers against the door handle and tore her gaze away. Her imagination was taking a field trip again; there was no way on this earth he could see into her soul. Too many late nights and horror movies, for sure.

“And as I said, I’ve been checking for broken windows.” The warmth in his voice belied the coldness in his eyes. “Have you had a chance to look around yet?”

He was lying to her. How she knew, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the twitch near his thin mouth. But what did it matter? She had no choice but to let him in.

She forced a smile and nodded. “Yes. I was going to come down and tell you that the bathroom window was indeed broken as soon as I got the bleeding stopped.”

“The bleeding?”

She held up her palm. “I was on my way to have a shower when I slipped and cut myself on the glass. I guess that’ll teach me not to walk around in the dark.”

There was nothing in his tone or his eyes that hinted at suspicion, yet she felt it wrap around her. She squeezed her fingers together and remained silent. It was obvious he wouldn’t believe her, no matter what she said.

“I’ll have a quick look around then, if you don’t mind, and see if I can repair it tonight or not.”

Maddie minded very much but stepped back, allowing him to walk past her. He paused at the bathroom door, surveying the room.

“There’s a bit of blood on the floor,” he said. “Should I call for a doctor?”

She flushed again and pulled the tissues off her palm, flashing him a glance at the wound. “It’s nothing serious, really. Just a scrape.” And realized, too late, that her ragged wound looked nothing like the straight, clean edges of a glass cut.

He looked at her blood-covered fingers and frowned. Yes, he had noticed. And he also clearly knew, as she did, that there was more blood on the bathroom floor than the cut on her palm and fingers would account for.

“I’ll get some plastic and cover the hole until morning,” he said, walking past her and out of the suite.

She watched him leave, then hurried to the wardrobe, cracking it open. Jon pulled down an edge of the blanket and looked at her, but she held up her hand. She found herself wondering how he had gotten into her bathroom in the first place. Even she, as slender as she was, couldn’t get through the bathroom window.

She closed the wardrobe door again, then turned and smiled as a cat sauntered through the bedroom doorway.

“Hi, kitty,” she said softly, walking over to it.

She bent down and held out her good hand. Did the sleek black creature belong to the inn or to Hank? Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Hank with a pet, although the cat must have followed him to the room.

The cat stopped. The look in its jewel-like green eyes was oddly contemptuous, and Maddie frowned. The cat in the forest had had eyes just like that—eyes that could chill a person’s soul.

The cat regarded her for a moment longer, then snarled and lashed out. Maddie snatched her fingers away and stood up. “Be like that, then. See if I care.”