Unraveling Sarah Cresley, Marisa Maichel [thriller books to read .txt] 📗

took off my clothes. I soaked my jeans and jacket in warm water in the bathtub and went downstairs. I threw on a pair of pajama pants and an old shirt and went downstairs. When I sat on the couch, Shadowfang jumped onto my lap. I scratched him and looked at my phone.

Father: I can't do this anymore. My son will find out, and we're losing money way too fast anyway. I can't keep lying to Reese. Call me

"Father?"

"Yes, Reese?"

"Are you breaking up with someone?"

"WHAT?! LET ME SEE!" Father, in his overdramatic fashion, grabbed my cell phone out of my hand. "How did...I didn't mean to send this to you..." He gave me back my phone. "Reese, delete that. Never speak of it again."

"You know what, screw this!" I said angrily, throwing my phone down. It cracked the wood floor.

"Reese, I'm sorry! I can't tell you. But to answer your previous question, I wasn't dating anyone. I swear on my mother's ashes."

"One of these days, I'm going to run away. And you're going to forget about me until you stumble across my ashes in the middle of the Black Forest."

"Don't talk like that!" He wrapped himself around me. "I can't lose you. I would be devastated. Reese, what has gotten into you? You used to be so cheerful and energetic. Now I can barely talk to you without you getting upset over something."

My vision got blurry, and then a tear fell down my cheek.

"Baby, please don't cry."

"Daddy, what's happening to me?"

"Your hormones are all out of whack. Try to sleep, love."

"What did that message mean?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with it. Don't worry about it. Sleep."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a painful dream that Sarah forgot about me and married another. I woke up in the middle of the night and sobbed, a hole forming in my chest. Father came into my room and held me for a long time.

"Shh, Reese, everything's all right," he said. "Hush, my young one." I fell asleep again within minutes.

When I woke up again, Father was purring and rocking me. I moaned and cuddled closer to him. I was comfortable and warm. When he stood up, I whimpered a little.

"Shh, my little one. It's almost nine thirty in the morning." I looked outside. The sun was shining bright, causing the freshly-fallen snow to glisten like glitter. I was laid in bed, where I slept for another hour and a half, and then got up, feeling energized. I was starving.

I drank two glasses of blood, texted Sarah "good morning", and went to sit in front of the television in the living room. I turned on a death metal music channel. Uncle Soren snatched the clicker away and turned on the news.

"Uncle Soren, you of all people love that kind of music as much as I do. What gives?"

"Well, you're in a good mood. And I switched it to the news because there's been another attack."

"Attack?" I asked, as the news reporter started speaking.

"Another body was found in Moore Park, completely drained of blood and the heart torn out of the chest. This attack is akin to the attack on Michael Nales late last month. Nales, who had been found guilty of raping a sixteen year old girl a few weeks prior, was later found dead, his blood missing and his heart removed from his chest. Authorites are still baffled as to what could have caused the death of the boy.

"The new victim, Aaron Visi, was also recently accused of raping a fifteen year old girl. Could these attacks be related? Or is someone taking a cue from the previous murder?"

"Oh, fuck," I cursed. "This is all my fault. I asked Father to kill Michael."

"Reese, it's not your fault," Uncle Soren said, still eyeballing the beautiful reporter.

"And what about the girl?"

"She's a minor. They cannot disclose any more information on her at the moment."

I wondered how Sarah would react when she heard the news. Would she feel relief, or be scared out of her wits? I had to protect her. I had to keep this information from reaching her ears. What if she's watching this right now?

Crap. I couldn't control what she watched or saw on her phone. I could only keep my mouth shut, and beg my family not to mention it in front of her.

"Reese, you know none of us would do that," Father said, a magazine tucked under his arm. I glanced at the magazine. Men's Health. Huh. Father was healthier than a well-cared-for horse. A lot stronger as well. Like I've said previously, he can crush diamond into dust. He opened the magazine while I briefly admired the biceps on the hottest male celebrity at the moment.

Louis sat on the other side of me. Uncle Soren affectionately ruffled his hair, earning a dirty look from his son.

"She's a hot piece of ass," Louis commented on the newsanchor, who was speaking with Nales' parents. Well, she tried. Claire, Mike's mother, slammed the door in her face, and Brian, his father, begged the media to leave them alone and stop harassing them with phone calls and door visits.

"Women are not toys, Louis," I said. He ignored me. I wondered if he got his womanizing habits from Uncle Soren. Uncle Soren never cheated, though. If he was done with a woman, he was done. He didn't play games. If he was only playing the field, he would let her know. Louis was a jump-'em-and-dump-'em kind of guy. He probably got it from Alga, although he didn't remember her.

I laid across the couch, putting my head in Father's lap and my feet on Louis' lap. Yes, I was deliberately trying to annoy Louis. He pushed my legs off his lap, nearly hitting Shadowfang. Louis scooped up the cat.

"Hey, pretty boy," he cooed. "Did you get fed today?"

"I gave him some wet food earlier," Father said.

"I gave him some treats," Uncle Soren said. Louis purred, petting the feisty feline. Shadowfang decided he didn't like Louis' lap and crawled onto my stomach, briefly stepping in a very sensitive spot.

"Ouch!" I clutched myself and moaned in pain.

"Don't be dramatic, he didn't mean it," Louis said. Shadowfang flicked his tail in haughty defiance and started washing his own privates.

"Should we get him fixed?" Uncle Soren asked out loud. Shadowfang stopped licking himself and glared at my uncle. Louis looked horrified. Uncle Soren grinned. "Just a thought, dear kitty cat." He batted his eyelashes playfully. Shadowfang's frown got deeper and he went back to cleaning himself. Louis picked him up, and despite the cat's protests, and held him like a baby.

Shadowfang reached out with his claws, scratching Louis' arms up. Louis smartly put him down, and he jumped back onto me and curled up. Louis frowned.

"I'm the one who rescued you. Why don't you like me?"

"Because Reese didn't like him at first," Father said. "That's how cats think." My phone vibrated.

Sarah: Good morning. How are you?

Reese: I'm good. How are you?

Sarah: Morning sickness. All I can eat is hashbrowns, bacon, and fried eggs. That's all the baby seems to want these days.

Reese: I'm sorry. I wish I could do something for you.

She needed me. I got up, much to Shadowfang's annoyance, and went into the kitchen. I started rummaging for human food.

"What are you looking for?" Father asked.

"Nothing," I said. "I'm going out."

"Be back before seven. Any later, and I'll come looking for you myself."

I shuddered at the thought as I pulled on my jacket. I grabbed my keys and wallet as I walked out the door. I hurried down the steps.

"Don't fall!" Father called through the door.

"I'm the most graceful creature on the planet," I said back.

"Still, don't get hurt. If you see Alexander, leave and come straight to me. I'm going to the store in a few to start opening it up."

I reached her house in record time and went to knock on the door. Sabine answered, snapping her gum.

"Hey," she said. "She's upstairs." She moved to the side to let me through, and I was promptly greeted by Spunk and Coffee. Coffee wagged her tail, smelled me, and then ran into the other room with her tail between her legs. Spunk, on the other hand, greeted me as if I was an old friend. He jumped up onto me and tried to lick my face.

Sarah came downstairs, wearing sweatpants and a tank top. Her hair was tied into a side braid this time. It nearly reached her abs. She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. I turned to capture her lips with mine, but wound up with a mouthful of hair instead. Embarassed, I followed her upstairs.

She untied the braid and let the brown curls fall naturally. It was rare to see her with her hair down. I liked it.

"Can I brush your hair?" I asked.

"Sure," she said, handing me a boar bristle brush. I sat behind on the bed and started brushing. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to see if you wanted to get breakfast. I know you don't feel good. I figured a trip to a diner might help. Are you craving grease?"

"Yes," she said. "Over anything else, I want grease and salt and potatoes. We could order delivery. There's a place downtown that delivers breakfast. Or we could go out. Either one works for me."

"Okay, start getting dressed," I told her. "And dress warmly. It snowed again." She pulled on a thick coat and pink Ugg boots. She grabbed her purse and started counting out the cash in her wallet. "I was planning on paying," I said. She ignored me. She stuck her little pink wallet back into her purse and stood up. She tied her hair into a loose bun.

"Why do you always tie your hair up?" I asked.

"Habit, mostly," she replied. "And the ends of my hair suck right now. They're dry and splitting."

"Well, maybe we can get your hair trimmed as well," I said. "And don't worry about the cost. I'll pay."

"You know, Reese, you don't have to pay for everything."

"Instinctively, I feel the need to provide for you. And money isn't an issue for me." At least, I hoped not. I would have to talk to Father and wrangle the full story out of him. Nervously, I quickly checked my bank balance. Two hundred million dollars in my private checking account alone. I was suddenly glad that I hadn't checked it in a while. I would have to transfer some of that money to savings.

Sarah bit her lip. I knew that she constantly worried about her own finances. She had paid back her debt, paid everything anonymously, but she was still always worried about it. That was why she got a job as a waitress. While she went to look for a scarf, I glanced at the papers on her desk. Resumes and job applications. Soon enough, she could forget about getting a job.

"My father opened his movie and music store," I said.

"Oh? Good for him."

"Yeah. I'm gonna be working there sometimes. We might need extra help, especially if the rest of our days are as busy as the first one."

"Yeah? Any ideas who you'll hire?"

"Not yet. You're welcome to apply there if you wish it. I'm sure he'll hire you." Sarah bumped her head on a rack coming out of the closet. She rubbed the sore spot. "Sarah, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. How'd you know I was looking? I don't remember telling you."

I bit my lip, and my stomach tightened. I couldn't tell her that I'd snooped. She glanced at her desk.

"Oh, did you see those papers?"

"I kind of did," I answered truthfully.

"Well, yeah, I'm kind of looking for another job. I was thinking about applying at my aunt's hair salon."

"Well, you can always apply at my father's store, too. He'd hire you in a second."

"Really? I didn't think he was that fond of me."

"How could you think that?" I asked, horrified. "He adores you! He just doesn't want to