Home for Christmas: New Adult Holiday Dark Suspense Romance by Emme Rollins Page A

where the bathroom is right? My room is past the bathroom at the end of the hall if you need anything. Okay?”
    She nodded, her body slipping between the sheets, and she sighed and moaned at the luxurious pleasure of it. Her eyes closed of their own volition, and she whispered, “Thank you, oh, thank you,” as he turned off the light.
    He stepped out and started to close the door, but the impending darkness made her open her eyes again.
    “Nick?” she called, voice plaintive.
    “Yes?” He peeked back in.
    She couldn’t form the words but she wanted to.
    Instead, she just whispered, “Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight, angel.”
    In spite of her hesitation, she drifted off to sleep before the door clicked closed.
     
     

Chapter Nine
    “Ginny?” Nick, whispering. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah,” she whispered back, head coming up off the pillow, disoriented.
    “You were crying. Are you sure?”
    “I was?” She put her hands to her cheeks. They were damp. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
    “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay...”
    “I guess.” She drew a shaky breath and stared up at the ceiling. “Yeah... I’m okay.”
    “Well... goodnight then.” Nick went to close the door.
    “Wait.” She found the light spilling in from the hallway inviting and his presence comforting. He stood, waiting.
    “Would you...?” She took a deep breath. “Could you sit with me... until I fall asleep?
    “Sure.”
    He moved back into the room, pulling a soft chair from the corner up next to the bed as she settled back down under the covers. The sound of his breathing was comforting and she noticed how his bulk filled the chair, how he filled out his uniform, so unlike Brody’s wiry frame. Thinking about Brody and the events of the night made her restless again.
    “Nick,” she whispered, looking to see if he was asleep.
    “Hm?”
    “I should tell you something.” She didn’t know why she said it but there it was. He didn’t respond, just waited, his breathing deep and even in the darkness. “I have something that Brody wants.”
    “What’s that?” Nick asked when she didn’t continue.
    “It’s an SD memory card. It has a video on it.” Her hand instinctively reached for the bag next to the bed that was never more than an arm’s reach away. She felt his silence, waiting for her to go on.
    “I was doing a project,” she explained. She wouldn’t tell him everything. Not everything. She wouldn’t tell him that his father was on the tape too. “It was this multimedia thing for art class. I borrowed a video camera from my teacher and I was going to do this whole... never mind, that part doesn’t matter...” She took a deep breath, remembering her own discovery that night. “Brody and a bunch of his friends showed up and kicked me out. I just left the tape running. He... he gets mad when I don’t do what he wants, like, right away...”
    “What did you see when you looked at the tape?” Nick exhaled slowly in the darkness.
    “One of the guys was a dealer,” she whispered, closing her eyes, the darkness giving her more courage to tell him.
    “Go on.”
    “They argued. There was a fight.” The silence stretched and she knew she had to tell him now. “And... Brody killed him.”
    “You have that on tape?” Nick asked, the soft tone of his voice never changing.
    “There was a knife... in Brody’s hand... and the blood... so much blood...” She shivered at the memory. That wasn’t everything, though. That wasn’t all the camera had captured.
    “He knows you have it?”
    “I told him,” she admitted, face burning at the memory. “The day I left, I told him if he came after me, I’d take it to some news station...”
    “Jesus. I’m surprised he didn’t kill you, too.” Nick let out a low whistle.
    “I ran.” She curled up under the covers.
    “I’m glad he didn’t catch you.”
    “Me, too,” she sighed. “Anyway, I just thought you should know...”
    “Thank you