Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) (4 page)

“
He
left them,” I said.

“Go on to your rooms, kids,” my aunt told her children, as she didn’t want them to be frightened. As soon as they were out of earshot, she turned back to me and asked, “What exactly happened here?” 

“I-I’m not sure. I was asleep, and I heard a noise out here. I thought it was you, but you didn’t answer, so I grabbed my spear and came to check. He was gone by then, but he left more flowers and all these weird pictures of me.”

“Darn it,” Aunt Sarah said, almost the closest she ever came to cursing. “Walter had better haul his butt down here and change that lock.”

“Mr. Tams said he’d be here in a few days.”

“Well, from the looks of this, I don’t think we have that long.” She wrapped an arm around me. “Honey, why don’t you go back to bed? It’s late, and I’m home now.”

“I can’t sleep. I’m too freaked out.”

“Just try.”

“Okay,” I said, then turned to walk back to my room.

When I stepped inside, I noticed that my drawer was slightly ajar. I opened it and saw that all my underwear and bras had been neatly folded, which was not part of our typical laundry routine at all. A chill shot down my spine, and I felt violated and sick to my stomach. “This freak needs to be dealt with,” I mumbled to myself.

When I opened the next drawer, it was not the way it had been when I’d gone to bed; in fact, the contents of all my drawers had been rearranged entirely.

In the drawer to the right, I found a note, written on a red card very similar to the one that had been left with the African violets while I was in solitary confinement. My heart fluttered as I slowly unfolded it and read it aloud: “You’re marked for death, but I can change your destiny. Your life is in my hands.”

I tossed the note down on my bed. “Aunt Sarah!” I called. “Please come quick!” When she didn’t come immediately, I cried out for her again. “Sarah!”

Finally, she rushed in. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I…he…look!” I stuttered, pointing to my neatly folded delicates and my rearranged drawers. “He’s been here again,” I said in a panic, handing the note to her. “Why would I be marked for death? By who? The strangler? Is
he
the strangler? Or is he friends with the strangler? I mean, why would he…they—”

She let out a long breath and held her hand up to interrupt me from my terrified, wide-eyed rant. “Stay here and lock the door. I need to talk to Mr. Tams this very second.”

“There’s no need to wake him up.”

“He’s awake. I just saw him a little bit ago, on my way back from the lounge.”

“All right.”

“This person has malevolent intentions against you, far beyond a few unwanted pots of flowers. He’s obviously following you around, and that kind of predatory behavior is dangerous and unacceptable, especially in such close quarters. Every single move he makes is calculated and determined, and we’ve got no idea what he’ll do next. This situation needs to be dealt with immediately, and I intend to tell Ted that this very minute,” she said, then stormed off.

Chapter 5

As I walked to the dining room, Brett pulled me aside.

I kissed his lips and smiled, but I could tell something wasn’t right; he simply wasn’t his normal, cheery self. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“A note.”

“A note?”

“Yeah. Seems your secret admirer is trying to get to me now. A little red note was slipped under my door.”

I swallowed hard. “Can I see it?”

“I ripped it up.”

“Why, Brett? It was evidence. We coulda shown it to Mr. Tams.”

“Sorry. I just…it made me so mad. Anyway, what would Tams do about it? You know as well as I do how useless he is.”

“Well, what did the note say?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

His lips pressed into grim lines. “The gist of it was that you and I are basically on our way over a cliff, and only he can save you. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what it meant.”

“I got another note last night too,” I said. “It said I’m marked for death and that only he can save me.”

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me?” he said.

“It was so late. Anyway, my aunt went down and chewed Mr. Tams a new one for dragging his feet on this.”

“Sky, this guy’s nuts, whoever he is. We have to be careful.”

“Yeah, it isn’t exactly sane to go snooping around a girl’s room when she’s sleeping. This time, he even got in my dresser and rearranged my stuff and—”

“And you didn’t hear him?”

“Not until he was already back in the living room. I’m a heavy sleeper. You know that.”

“Yeah,
I
know that, but how would he? Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless he knows you pretty well.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re right!” I looked around the crowded room. “Then again, it could be anyone in here.”

“Don’t be so stubborn, Sky. You just don’t wanna admit that it might be someone you’re close to.”

“I realize that, and I’m not ruling it out. It’s just…well, we’ve gotta keep all options open until we get more clues. I just can’t figure out why he’s saying we’re doomed though.”

“I think you need to learn to keep your opinions to yourself, baby,” he said softly. “Those notes were a warning.”

“You mean my opinions about our elected government?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s that. I mean, you’re not the rebellious type, and that note you got was a warning to you too. It has to be about something else.”

“He’s just talking off the wall. Maybe he’s been down here too long and is going sea crazy.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why we need out of here and—”

“There you go again,” he whispered, shaking his head and putting his finger up to shush me.

“What?”

“Complaining about being locked up down here.”

I blew out a breath. “Do you enjoy being a prisoner, Brett?”

“Sky, we have to play by their rules.”

“I know, but I won’t let them make a fool outta me in the process, and you shouldn’t either.”

“You don’t trust them. I get it.” He ran a hand through my hair and gazed deeply into my eyes. “But I’m trying to protect you.”

“You can protect me anytime,” I said, brushing my lips gently across his.

Chapter 6

“Hey, Brett said you were looking for me earlier,” I said, walking into Rachel’s room.

“Yeah.”

“So…here I am. What’s up?”

“Well, it seems we’re all getting fan mail now,” she said.

“Huh?”

“Apparently, I’m dying too.” She handed me a red notecard.

I cocked a brow and read the note: “Rachel, I’m afraid you’re in the club too. You and Brett will drive over the cliff, but Sky will be saved.”

“What in the heck is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“It’s gotta be some kind of metaphor, symbolism or something.”

“It’s a bunch of cryptic crap, if you ask me. We don’t have cars or cliffs down here.”

“It just means we’re all marked for death, but who’d wanna kill all three of us?”

“The strangler?”

I shook my head. “Uh-uh. That’s not his m.o. He only kills girls.”

“Well, maybe he wants to expand his horizons.”

“No guys have been murdered, Rachel—only girls.”

“Yet.”

“Hmm. Maybe you’re right. Maybe my stalker is our strangler. But the strangler didn’t leave flowers and notes for anyone else, and he clearly wants to save me from something.”

“Yeah, from his delusions of you going over a cliff.”

“If it’s not a literal cliff, I wonder what he wants to save me from.”

“Maybe the government has marked you for death, and they want Brett and me just because we’re friends with you. How’s that for a government conspiracy? Gee, I’m sounding more and more like you every day.”

“So I run my mouth and you guys have to pay the price? I guess that’s one way to convince people to keep their opinions to themselves.”

“Yeah, but it really isn’t fair.”

“Brett thinks the guy’s just crazy. Maybe he is nuts, or maybe there’s something to what he’s saying.”

“Well, if this alleged car is going off a cliff, why can’t he give Brett and me a parachute too?”

“You know as well as I do why he wouldn’t wanna save Brett.”

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m not your boyfriend. Why can’t he save me too?”

“If I ever meet him, I’ll try to remember to ask,” I said with a half-smile, trying to lighten the tension.

“We know one thing,” Rachel said.

“What’s that?”

“He wants to save you from some horrible fate that all three of us are facing. Here,” she said, handing me a notebook.

I looked at her in puzzlement. “What’s this for?”

“I’m playing detective, trying to find your stalker, so I wrote a list of all the men in your life.”

“A whole list, huh?” I said with a smirk. “You make it sound like I’m a madam or something.”

“Very funny. Just look at it, would ya?”

I studied the list, then looked up at her. “Mr. Jarus? He’s, like, seventy years old.”

She shrugged. “I wrote down everyone I could think of, then went back and eliminated the obvious ones. Look at the names with stars next to them.”

“Brett’s dad? Seriously? ”

“He does have access to all the master keys in Asha because he’s the head of security.”

“Brett could easily steal his dad’s keys. Surprised he didn’t make your crazy list.”

“Brett already has you. So why would he stalk you?”

“At least he’s not on the list.”

“We have to look at everyone. Nobody can escape scrutiny.”   

“No,” I insisted, shaking my head. “None of these guys would do it. They’re not the stalker type.”

“Look, whoever sneaked into your room knows you’re a heavy sleeper. No one would have dared do something so risky without knowing that. It’s an inside job.”

I bit my lip, pondering the names staring back at me. “Why does Daryl have so many stars next to his name?”

“Because he’s my prime suspect.”

“Daryl?” I laughed. “That’s a joke, right?”

“Nope. He…fits the bill.”

I raised a brow. “Why?”

“Well, he’s a security guard, for one thing, and he has access to the master keys. Besides that, he knows you well, and he knows it would take a hurricane to wake you up.”

I crossed my arms. “Now I’m beginning to think
you’re
crazy!”

She tapped her chin. “Am I?”

“Yes. Daryl wouldn’t do that to me. He isn’t jealous of Brett or anything. In fact, he’s told me more than once that he thinks we make a good couple.”

“Maybe he’s just a great actor. Maybe on the inside, he’s got a huge crush on you.”

“No, he wouldn’t snap pictures of me in my sleep and sneak around folding my underwear. As far as I know, he doesn’t even own a Polaroid.”

“He could’ve gotten his hands on one.”

“No, Rachel. It isn’t him.”

Her face suddenly gleamed, as if she’d just come up with the best idea of all time. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“Let me guess. You wanna search his room for a camera?”

“And flowers too! If it’s him, he has to be growing them, and I just so happen to know he’s busy guarding the south side of the city right now. He’ll be on duty till five p.m.” She reached into her pocket. “I also happen to have these,” she said.

I blinked at her in awe. “Wow. Swiping keys now? Sneaking into somebody’s room to look for clues? Maybe I am wearing off on you,” I said with a grin.

She flipped her hair back and met my gaze. “That’s what friends are for,” she said.

“And you’re the best one a girl could have, Rach,” I said.

“I’ve gotta get these keys back to him before he notices they’re missing.”

“All right. Let’s do this thing.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

As we walked down the corridor, we continued discussing who my stalker might be. I still found it hard to believe that a friend could be doing such a thing to me, scaring and harassing me that way, but we did have to rule Daryl out; he knew a lot about me, and he had access to all of our living quarters any hour of the day or night. He also knew I was grounded and that Brett wouldn’t be allowed over and that my aunt and cousins would be gone at the movie. On top of that, Daryl was aware of the anniversary of my mom’s death, and he could very well assume that I’d be depressed and would go to bed early that night. All things considered, there was plenty of reason to suspect him, even if I didn’t want to believe it.

I looked both ways. “The coast is clear.”