Since the kitchen was tucked away just off a small nook for the round table that never got used, it offered just enough light to prevent a stubbed toe while keeping her comfortably concealed within the room’s shadows.
Unable to shake the uneasy feeling she’d had since arriving back home, she pulled the smooth lapel of her robe together while watching the rain as it fell from a blackened sky. Hard. Heavy. And with no signs of stopping.
Sounds a lot like your mess of a marriage.
Cassie released a humorless laugh as she turned to head back into the kitchen. She was halfway between the large glass accordion doors behind her and the end of the granite-topped bar when a sudden—and very loud—pounding sounded from the front door.
She gasped, her hand flying to her chest with a start. Her first instinct was to check the time, but when Cassie glanced down at her wrist, she found it bare.
Your watch is upstairs charging, remember?
Her gaze swung to the microwave mounted beneath one section of cabinets. “Nine-thirty?” she whispered to herself.
Who the heck would be stopping by unannounced at this hour? And in this kind of weather?
Only one name came to mind, and while she loved Lori like a sister, Cassie found herself wanting to strangle her well-meaning friend. Muttering beneath her breath as she walked, the sound of her slippers sliding against the tile filled the air on her way back to her front door.
“Dang it, Lori,” she sighed. “I missed you, too, but I really just wanted to drink my tea and go to bed.”
Barely resisting the urge to slam her foot down in a childish stomp, Cassie passed by several high-priced paintings, a half-bath that barely got used, and the office where she spent most of her time when she was home.
Her footfalls grew silent as her slippers hit the thick runner leading to the door. Reaching for the keypad on her left, she tapped in the four-digit security code to avoid activating the ear-piercing alarm.
Cassie’s fingers had just started to curl around the brass handle the color of aged bronze when another round of loud—and totally unnecessary—pounding began again.
“Okay, already.” She started to pull open one of two solid wood doors. “Geez, woman. What’s the big emergen?—”
The rest of her words became lost with a slight gasp of surprise.
“Hey, babe.” Light blue eyes she used to get lost in stared back at her.
“Russ?” Cassie looked out into the dark with confusion, half-expecting to see someone else there. “W-what are you doing here?”
At nine-thirty at night…in the middle of a storm.
“Can I come in?”
Her guarded heart gave a hard thump, but she schooled her expression and gave a curt shake of her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” In fact, sheknewit wasn’t. “Besides, my lawyer said I’m not really supposed to?—”
“Come on, Cass. I won’t stay long. Promise,” her soon-to-be-ex hurriedly assured her. “And I’m not here to cause any trouble, I swear. I just…”
A hand that had once been so tender and loving moved to unzip the top portion of his expensive black windbreaker. Reaching inside, he’d just started to pull out something when Cassie’s pulse spiked with a massive dose of unexpected fear.
The hand reappeared with something clutched tightly in its grasp. On reflex, she took a step back and raised a defensive palm.
“Russel, wait! What are you?—”
“What?” The man’s square, chiseled face twisted with confusion. Half-a-beat later, he rolled his eyes in that frustratingly arrogant way only he had. “Jesus, Cass. What’s the matter with you? It’s just the divorce papers.” He unfolded them for her to see.
Heat crept into her cheeks, and she instantly felt horrible for letting her mind go where it had just traveled. Russ may be a cheat and a liar, but he was no cold-blooded murderer.
Said every wife whose husbands killed them.
Though she probably should cut back on her DVR recordings ofDatelinefor a while.
“My attorney and I looked them over this afternoon,” Russ spoke again. “He wanted me to keep holding out for more, but I?—”
“More?”Anger replaced fear, leaving Cassie’s brows shooting sky high. “Are youkiddingme right now?”