Page 62 of Ice Covered Heart

A call she still did not clearly remember making. Even though she’d heard the recording of that nine-one-one call during the trial.

“We need help…” Her voice had been hushed. Whispering. “They’re dead…Help me…” That was all. So short. But she hadn’t hung up. The line had remained open. It had sounded as if she dropped the phone on the recording. There had been a clang. Then…nothing.

The dispatcher had traced the call to the sorority house.

“The front door was wide open,” Jonah recalled. “I walked inside. Found the girl on the couch first.”

Kali.

“Then the girl in the kitchen.”

Jenna.

“Then the others, upstairs, one after the other…”

Pain squeezed her heart.

“I didn’t make it outside before I started vomiting. So much blood. Everywhere I turned. I thought everyone in that house was dead. I was sure of it. Until I saw you.” Jonah’s Adam’s apple bobbed again. “Walking like a ghost from the darkness.”

“She’s not a ghost.” Hunter’s hard denial. “She’s not going to become one, either.”

Jonah’s lips pressed together. He gazed at her with emotions she couldn’t fully read swirling in his blue eyes. “I really wish you’d just leave town. You survived. Put it all behind you. Walk away.”

Her spine stiffened even as Shelby’s goosebumps got worse. “A woman died tonight. Her throat was slashed open. She was murdered in the same spot where my friends lost their lives. There is no way I am leaving. I am finding out who did that to Tiffany.” She’d run long enough. Hid long enough. “And I’m closing all those dark spaces in my mind.” She was certainly damn well trying to close them all. “I want to know exactly what happened that night.”

“You already know.” Jonah’s hands remained fisted. “Your boyfriend couldn’t handle losing you. You broke up with him, and he went on a killing spree. That’s what happened. You and I both have to live with the guilt that we carry.” Jonah turned on his heel. Stalked away.

“I didn’t take the laptop,” Shelby called after him.

Jonah stopped at the door. He glanced over his shoulder, his stare sweeping toward Hunter.

“Neither the fuck did I,” Hunter informed him. “Pretty sure that means the killer did it. You find the laptop, and you’ll find the perp.”

“You’d better do your job, bodyguard.” Jonah’s voice was grim. “You brought her back here, now you keep her safe. If she dies, her blood will be on you.” He yanked open the door and marched out.

“Well, that was certainly a dramatic exit.” Hunter headed for the door. He glanced through the peephole.

Her gaze drifted over his broad, tanned back. Strength. Power. Scars.

Hunter flipped the second bolt into place on the door. “You neglected to tell me a few important facts, Shelby. Not cool. I really need to know everything in order to be prepared for this case. I like to be ready for all eventualities, you see.” He turned toward her, propping his shoulders against the door.

Her attention wanted to dip down his chest.

We were having sex ten minutes ago. And now…

She wrapped her arms around her stomach. Now she felt chilled to the bone. “What facts did I leave out?”

“Oh, let’s start with a big one. How about the important fact that Jonah Campbell is in love with you?”

A laugh sputtered from her.

Hunter’s face didn’t lighten. In fact, his expression just became even more intense. “This isn’t some joke, Shelby. I can see it when he looks at you. He was jealous as hell, enraged to find me here with you, and he one hundred percent knew that I’d just fucked you.”

She really, really hoped that Jonah had not been able to tell that she’d just had sex with Hunter. Surely, he hadn’t?

“No denial,” Hunter noted. “That means you knew, too. You knew how he felt all along.”

“He’s not in love with me.” There. Was that denial good enough? Adamant enough? But, “He…might have developed feelings for me. A long time ago.”