Page 40 of You'll Be the Death of Me

“Um...” Cole said, and looked around as if the answer hid in the polished office.

In another life—a living one—shredding the document wouldn’t have mattered. But seeing as they couldn’t talk to anyone or touch a computer to find a digital copy, the one on Mr. Sterling’s desk was their only shot.

“We have to stop him!” Dell burst out in a panic.

Mr. Sterling rolled back to his desk, phone still pressed to hisear and listening to instruction from Evelyn. When he reached for the document, a brazen idea struck Dell.

Her fury at Tommy had allowed her to pick up the lamp in their entryway. Maybe more strong emotion would allow her to grab the page they needed.

She closed her eyes and thought hard about how mad she was. How utterly betrayed she felt that her own fiancé had some evil plot—apparently with his mother—to do her harm. She let the rage boil inside her like a saucepan of caramel—the culprit behind one of the worst burns she’d ever received in the kitchen. When the rage was ready to burst out of her, to explode like a supernova, she channeled it into her hands and shoved the potted orchid off Mr. Sterling’s desk.

The ceramic pot hit the floor with a dull thud and cracked, drawing Mr. Sterling’s attention, and leaving an opportunity for Dell to snatch the page off his desk.

She folded it in half and lunged for Cole, grabbing his hand. “Think of my house!” she cried.

He didn’t miss a beat despite the look of stunned wonder on his face. He gripped her hand, pulled her to his side, and in a second, they were being sucked backward through another tunnel.

Chapter 8

They landed back in Dell’s entryway, where they’d been standing not long before. Tommy was sweeping up the broken lamp. Nikki must have left.

Good, Dell thought. She’d be less tempted to use her ghostly powers for evil.

“Seriously, how do you do that?” Cole asked from beside her.

She let go of his hand and turned to him. “We just traveled through some physics-and logic-defying wormhole, and you’re wondering how I managed to pick up a piece of paper?” She held it between them and wondered if it would look like it was floating to anyone from the other side. “Much more pressing matters at hand.”

“Right,” he said, and followed her when she ignored Tommy and beelined for the kitchen. “But I’m still curious.”

“I got really mad, I told you.”

“Interesting. I wonder if the ability to breach planes is tied toanystrong emotion or only anger.”

“Well, once we unravel the mystery of what’s in section three, clause C, we can experiment with the full spectrum of feels,”Dell said, and went to set the paper on the island. On second thought, she kept it in her hand in case she wouldn’t be able to pick it back up without blowing an emotional gasket.

“What does it say?” Cole asked. He stood behind her, once again close enough to feel his warmth and catch a hint of that minty-fresh smell.

Dell scanned the dense little paragraph, holding her breath and preparing for more rage. “It says ‘in the event of my death...’?” She trailed off as she kept reading. When she got to the critical part, she gasped loud enough to make Cole jump.

“What? What is it?” he asked.

Dell was reeling once again. A wave of shame washed over her that she hadn’t paid enough attention to notice this glaring issue—an addition her family’s lawyers surely would have shut down if she’d taken the time to have them review, like she’d said she would. “It says in the event of my death, my trust goes to Tommy, not charity like it’s supposed to.”

Cole stared at her with wide eyes. It wasn’t a smoking gun, but it explained a lot.

Dell felt pieces sliding into place. If she died, Tommy would get all her money. Had this been the plan all along? All the way back to that night they’d met at the fundraiser?

“No wonder his mom is so nice to me,” she said bitterly. “And no wonder she was so concerned about his involvement in my death this morning and wanted this prenup destroyed.” She held up the piece of paper like a flapping sail. “It would have looked pretty suspicious if I signed over my trust to him on condition of death, and then died the next day, even if he had nothing to do with it, and even if we weren’t married yet.”

They stared at each other, silently agreeing, and neither ofthem giving voice to the elephant in the room.Had Tommy been planning to kill her at some point?

Dell looked over at Tommy still sweeping up the broken lamp and tingled with a giant feeling she could only describe asick. She knew he didn’t have it in him to straight up murder her. But something that looked like an accident... A kitchen fire. A slip and fall with a sharp knife. Getting locked in the freezer—a restaurant really did provide a bounty of opportunity. But she was rarely alone in her restaurant. There would be witnesses. He’d need to get her by herself. A dark huff of a laugh popped out of her. “Maybe he was going to stage an accident on our honeymoon.”

Cole cast her a look that made her realize their honeymoon was actually the perfect opportunity. She gripped Cole’s arm once more, making him jump. “Our honeymoon! He was so insistent on a boat. I don’t even like boats! Oh my God!” She released her grip and ran off for the hallway.

“Where are you going?” Cole called after her.

“My office!” she shouted, and kept running. Her blunted bare feet smacked off the hardwood as she flew around the corner and dashed toward the back of the house.