I squeeze her tightly, as tightly as I did when we were children and I crawled into her bed after a nightmare. I cannot believe she’s here. ‘How did you find me?’
She pulls away. ‘Long story. We need to call Christopher.’ She is sliding into organisation mode. Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she puts it on loudspeaker.
‘Who’s Christopher?’
She shushes me. A man answers.
‘I’ve found her,’ says Ada breathlessly. ‘I have Elodie.’
‘What?’
‘I have her.’
‘Are you—’
Ada gestures for me to speak. ‘It’s true,’ I say. ‘I’m here, I’m—’
‘Elodie?’ He sounds shocked.
Even though he can’t see it, I’m nodding to this stranger. There’s a lump in my throat which rides out on a sob.
Ada grins at me, her eyes shining.
‘Ada,’ says the voice on the other end of the phone. ‘Where are you?’
‘Wisteria. I was right. Jack had her this entire time. He—’
‘You need to get out of there.’ The snapping urgency in his tone erases Ada’s smile and sends dread skittering across my entire body. ‘We called Jack into the station for questioning and—’
‘I know,’ I offer. ‘He left already. He’s gone.’
‘He called a few minutes ago and rescheduled for tomorrow. Jack’s on his way back to Wisteria. You need to get out of there, you need to—’
But I don’t hear the rest because the sound of a key in the front door rings out like an alarm. Terror slides icily down my spine. Ada is wide-eyed and mute with fear. She spins in the direction of the noise, but I grab her arm. We won’t make it out of the utility room and into the hallway before Jack’s inside the house. If we run now, we’ll cross paths with him. The only way for Ada to stay hidden is to come down into the basement. Pulling her inside, I reach past her to close the door.
‘What’re you doing?’ she whispers as though I’ve lost my mind.
‘Lock it,’ I say. ‘Lock it now.’
She thrusts her phone at me and does as I say.
We clatter down the stairs. ‘Elodie, what the hell are you doing?’
‘There wasn’t enough time to get past him. If he sees you, he’ll kill you.’ The panic is so ferocious, I feel like I’m breathing through a crushed straw.
She takes her phone from my hand and presses it to her ear. ‘Christopher? Christopher?’
‘No signal,’ I tell her. ‘Hide.’ I start shoving her towards the bathroom. My mind is spinning. I need to breathe. I need to calm down.
‘It’s the second time I’ll be forced to hide in a bathroom because of Jack.’
‘What?’
She shakes her head.
Then I’m struck by a terrible thought. ‘Ada, your car, if it’s parked out front Jack will see it and he’ll know you’re here, he’ll—’
‘I hid it. It’s parked a little way down the hill in the trees.’
I exhale. ‘Good.’
‘We need a weapon,’ she says. ‘Something to defend ourselves.’
‘There’s nothing down here and Jack locks away all the kitchen knives.’ Knowing he’ll be here any second, I start corralling her into the tiny bathroom. ‘When he comes, you must stay hidden. No matter what happens, don’t come out. He might take me upstairs – if he does, you leave, okay?’
‘Elodie—’
‘I’m serious, Ada. If he takes me, you get out of Wisteria and you run. Get help. Call the police.’
‘Christopher is the police. He’s going to come. The roads are icy so it may take a while, but the police are on their way. They—’
She doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because Jack’s key is turning in the basement door. I shove her into the bathroom, pull the door closed, then step away quickly and hover beside the bed. Jack descends. He stops on the stairs when he sees me. His eyes run hotly over my body, wrapped in a slip of white silk. The slow curve of his mouth tells me he approves.
He prowls towards me. Then his hands are on my skin, running up my bare thighs and moving around to cup my arse.
‘You’re back,’ I manage.
‘I’ve waited too long for this.’ And I know he won’t wait a second longer because I have finally promised to give into him. His mouth closes over mine and he slams me back against the bedside table. I glance towards the bathroom door, praying Ada doesn’t come out. Jack kisses me like he is suffocating, and I am air. It’s desperate and hungry. But I can’t let him do this with my sister on the other side of the door.