Page 64 of Ice Covered Heart

“Hunter…”

“I want to sleep in the bed with you. You’ll sleep better with me beside you.”

Oh, but he sounded so confident on that one. Shelby was equally confident of the fact that, “I’ll fight you in my sleep.” This night would not end well.

“I can handle you.”

“No.” Her turn for a hard, one-word response.

He tilted his head. Studied her.

“You’re not getting in the bed with me, Hunter.” Because…no. Just no.

“Fine.” He nodded. “Floor it is. Glad we came to that agreement. I’ll bunk down on the floor beside the bed.”

Shelby realized that she’d just fallen into a trap. “You always intended to sleep on the floor near me, didn’t you?”

“I would have preferred the bed. And, just so we’re on the same page, I’m pretty sure that’s where I’ll end up before dawn.”

“Don’t count on it.”

But Hunter just smiled.

Chapter Fourteen

Kali is dead. Kali is dead. Kali is dead.

Her friend’s throat had been slit open, almost from ear to ear, and a hysterical scream bubbled in Shelby’s throat as she rushed from the den and toward the kitchen.

Kali is dead. Kali is dead. Her dark hair soaked with blood. Kali is dead.

Shelby shoved open the kitchen door and hurtled forward. Her bare feet slipped—slipped in something wet and warm—and she fell down, right into the pool of blood. Her knees hit. Her hands. And her head came up as she stared at Jenna. Jenna, sprawled on the floor, eyes closed, blood all around her.

Jenna, Jenna, Jenna!

The scent of burnt popcorn filled the air. Popcorn. Blood. Death. Oh, God, Jenna!

“Jenna?” A hoarse whisper as Shelby staggered to her feet. Blood was on her hands and legs. “Jenna…please…”

Jenna didn’t speak. A bowl lay shattered next to her. Popcorn spilled everywhere. Popcorn red with blood.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Shelby tried to dart around Jenna, wanting her feet out of the blood. The counter bit into her back, and Shelby’s hand flew out. Her fumbling fingers hit the knife block that always sat on the counter, right near the microwave.

The microwave door was still open, and two knives were missing from the block. Two empty slots in the knife block.

But she grabbed another knife. Not a big, butcher knife. That one was gone. The carving knife—gone.

Her fingers curled around the handle of a smaller knife as she eyed the back door. Wide open.

But…

A phone. On the other side of the microwave. On the counter. Jenna’s phone? Shelby knew Jenna’s passcode. It was Jenna’s mom’s birthday.

She could…could use the phone. Call for help.

One hand kept her grip on the knife. The other reached for the phone. Got it. Her gaze darted back to Jenna even as her thumb flew, and she typed in the code on the phone’s screen.

Jenna wasn’t moving. There were slashes all along her arms. Her torso.