Closer Than You Think Read Online Free PDF Page A

something inadvisable. Spontaneous. And then he’d get caught. It was inevitable. So he never allowed the agitation to go too far.
    By the time he’d finished with Arianna, he’d be calm, cool and collected once again.
    He’d find Faith Frye and he’d kill her. His troubles would be far from over, but at least they would be less immediate.
    He picked a hotel key card from the lockbox and frowned. He couldn’t remember who’d brought this keycard, but it didn’t really matter right now. What mattered was that Faith possessed one of these. She’d be in a hotel somewhere. It might take a while, but he’d find her, even if he had to call every hotel in the tri-state area.
    On his cell phone, he searched for the hotel chain that Faith always used. Such a creature of habit. He dialed the first location. ‘I’d like Faith Frye’s room, please.’
    ‘Could you spell that?’ the hotel clerk asked pleasantly.
    ‘Frye. F-R-Y-E.’
    ‘Are you sure she’s staying here? We don’t have her in our computer.’
    It would have been too easy for him to find her on the first try. ‘I could have sworn she said she was staying at this hotel. I’m sorry to have troubled you. Thank you.’
    He repeated the call with every location in that hotel chain in the tri-state area, with no luck. He was becoming frustrated again when the girl knocked softly. He flung open the door with a silent snarl to find her standing with a tray in her hands. His supper. He’d nearly forgotten.
    Her eyes were down, her arms trembling from the weight of the tray, and probably fear. He grabbed the tray. ‘Do not spy on me, girl.’
    She kept her eyes down. ‘I wasn’t. I’m sorry.’
    ‘Go to your room. You can wash my tray tomorrow. Go. Now . I’m busy.’ He slammed the door and ate his dinner while he looked up more hotels. He’d have to take a break soon. He was becoming too snippy with the desk clerks. He’d be too memorable if he called them the names that were hovering on the tip of his tongue.
    He pushed his empty plate away and went back to his torture room. He’d vent some of his rage on Arianna before his next set of calls. He’d keep at it all night if he had to, calling every hotel in town until her found her.
    Cincinnati, Ohio, Monday 3 November, 2.45 A.M.
     
    No, no, no, don’t make me! Please don’t make me! Faith screamed as she had a million times before, but no one ever heard. No one ever helped. She stood on the very edge, staring down into the blackness that filled her with dread. She knew what was down there. She wouldn’t go there again .
    It was always her own treacherous feet that moved, hovering over the blackness . . . Lowering until . . . they hit a step. One. She grabbed the banister, wrapped her arms around it and held on for dear life, but still her feet moved, dragging her down another step . Two.
    Crazy . Three. I’m crazy . Four. I’m losing my mind . Five. Six. No, no, no. Please. She moaned now, but it never made any difference. Her feet kept going down . Seven, eight. Nine.
    Ten. Eleven. Twelve. That was all. Now run! But she was always frozen .
    Don’t look. She clenched her eyes shut as her body pivoted against her will. Don’t. Look. She knew what she’d see. Don’t open your eyes. But her eyes always opened.
    One red Ked. Just one, swaying gently, bright white shoelaces dragging lazily through the dirt. Don’t look up. Do. Not. Look. Up. But her chin lifted and —
    Faith bolted upright in bed, the air sawing in and out of her lungs, her ears ringing with her own scream. One hand reached for the lamp on the nightstand, the other for the gun under her pillow. She squinted at the light, her mind desperately scrambling to establish her location.
    She was in a hotel. In Cincinnati. Surrounded by boxes and suitcases. She was all right. She was all alone. The breath shuddered out of her body, now violently trembling.
    The shrill ring of the hotel phone broke the silence and numbly she