Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbia #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,53

turned in a circle, taking in the whole room. I even crouched down and looked under the kitchen table. "Noah?" My voice kept sounding shakier and shakier.

The basement. I should definitely start in the basement. Maybe he hadn't moved at all. Maybe he was scared I'd kill him, not the other way around. For the first time in days the basement door was wide open. And I knew that I could be getting myself in a pickle by walking down those stairs. He could easily lock me in if he was up here. But I didn't know what else to do. So I lifted up Snuggle Muffins again and used him as a shield as I walked down the creaky stairs.

"Noah? It's safe to come out. The detective's gone." I stepped down onto the concrete floor and waited a beat for a response.

The only one I got was a grumble from Snuggle Muffins. He was probably annoyed that I'd taken him away from his food and kept using him as a meat shield.

First I checked the window. The lock was still in place. He couldn’t have gotten out that way. I glanced over at the crawl space. I really, really didn't want to have to go over there. I didn't want to die today.

I pulled on one of the light cords to illuminate the basement even more. But somehow that just cast shadows and made the crawl space look even darker and more sinister.

"We'll be okay," I said to Snuggle Muffins. Noah wouldn't hurt me when I had a dog in my hands. Yes, he was a monster. But animal abuse? That was a whole other level of evil. My feet shuffled closer to the crawl space. "Noah?" I could barely even hear my own voice. "Please just come out."

No response.

Fuck my life. I tightened my grip on Snuggle Muffins and my taser as I pressed my back against the wall beside the crawl space. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I just needed to get it over with. It was tempting to throw Snuggle Muffins inside the crawl space and wait to see what happened. But I wasn't a monster either. And I liked the little guy more than I wanted to admit.

"Save yourself," I whispered into his ear before setting him down. "And don't eat my body."

He just sighed and sat down next to my feet.

Here goes nothing. Before I could chicken out, I hoisted myself into the crawl space and reached forward to grab the cord. After flailing my arms around for what felt like an eternity, I finally made purchase. I pulled the cord and the crawl space was illuminated. The very empty crawl space. The only thing in it was a pile of rope.

I swallowed hard. It was the rope I'd used to tie Noah up. He had been up here watching me and Detective Torres. So why hadn't he come out? I sat down for a second. What the hell was his game? I was worried I wouldn't live to find out, because my chest felt like it was about to explode. I wasn't sure my heart had ever beat so fast.

All I knew for sure was that Noah had a chance to turn me in. And he hadn’t done it. I lifted the rope. He also wasn't in the basement, unless he had dug a hole to China somewhere. I tossed the rope out of the crawl space.

Snuggle Muffins yelped.

I leaned out of the crawlspace to see him maneuvering through the rope.

"You're fine." I jumped down and scooped him up. "And we're not crazy. See, Noah was definitely here. I'm not crazy." I hugged my dog closer to my chest as I made my way back upstairs.

The first thing I noticed in the kitchen was the plate in the sink. The same plate that had once been filled with my torture bacon. Had Noah seriously put the dish in the sink? That hadn't been here a few minutes ago, had it? "Noah, stop it. This isn't funny. Come out."

Silence.

Snuggle Muffins was shaking in my arms again as I walked over to the garage door. That's where I would go if I was planning on murdering my captor. There were so many things in the garage he could use to overpower me. Not that he needed anything other than his muscles. He was freaking ripped. The way his muscles bulged when he was sitting in that chair...why am I thinking about