When Twilight Comes - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,48

worse part of her marriage. Her husband used to kick her butt, but Charlene had always come back fighting.

She pulled into a spot in the parking lot near the trees, where she figured her car wouldn’t be that noticeable, and turned off the engine.

The rain seemed to fall harder, with gusts of wind blowing it sideways across the windshield. She debated waiting to see if it was going to let up. Yeah, right. She wished she’d thought to grab an umbrella. Or at least a rain jacket. But she’d been thinking of sunny beaches, because she had no intention of ever going back to Seattle unless it was to catch a plane to a warmer clime.

She sat for a minute just gawking at the hotel. Never in her life had she ever stayed at anything more than a cheap motel, let alone a place this fancy. Maybe after she got the package from Jenna, she’d stay the night. What would it hurt to make Lorenzo Dante wait?

She knew the answer to that one. But there was little that scared Charlene anymore. She’d seen the worst of it in other men like him. Nothing could scare her now. Not even Lorenzo. He could hurt her physically, kill her, make the last few minutes of her life pretty miserable, but in the end, he couldn’t take anything else from her because she had nothing worth taking. Death would be a welcome relief.

Not that Charlene had any intention of dying anytime soon. Nope, she’d put away any money she came across. Hidden it. She had added to her nest egg with the money Lorenzo had been giving her to spy on Jenna.

And now she had a car and was about to add twenty grand to what she called her “freedom fund.”

She was a lucky woman, she thought, as she waited for the rain to let up. She had overcome obstacles that would have killed most men. And with no education or a husband or many prospects, she’d found ways to take care of herself.

Not that she was proud of spying on Jenna. She liked the woman, related to her. But this was about survival. And Charlene Palmer was determined to survive—no matter what she had to do.

It was a lesson that Jenna Dante still had to learn.

“PICKING UP SOME WIND,” the pilot said as Raymond Valencia’s helicopter neared the hotel. The chopper began to shake, buffeted by the gale. Fog rushed by, and suddenly rain splatted off the helicopter like bullets off bulletproof glass.

Through the rain and fog, Raymond Valencia caught a glimpse of Fernhaven and was instantly filled with an unexplainable dread. He’d read about the hotel being rebuilt on the same spot where fifty-seven people had died in 1936, after a fire had swept through the original hotel. This place was said to be identical.

A fierce cold seemed to envelop the helicopter. He shivered and looked over at the young pilot, wondering if it was only his imagination or if Harrison felt it, too.

Harrison was frowning, seemingly intent on flying the chopper, and having some difficulty.

“You should be able to put it down in the parking lot,” Raymond said. Thunder cracked, so close he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Right behind it came a loud boom.

The pilot had to yell to be heard over it. “No way are we putting this baby down up there. The chopper’s too light for the kind of wind coming down off that mountain. It would be suicide to try to land up there.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Raymond demanded when Harrison started to turn the chopper around and head back the way they’d come. Raymond could see the clearing. They were too close to turn back.

He pulled his gun from the holster and pointed it at Harrison. “Fly this chopper as if your life depended on it and take me to the hotel.”

Harrison looked from Raymond to the gun in his hand and smiled, while still fighting to keep the chopper in the air. “I knew when I woke up this morning this wasn’t going to be my day.”

Raymond looked out. He couldn’t see the lights of Fernhaven through the pouring rain. “You think I won’t shoot you?”

There was a loud thunk and the engine sputtered. “Shooting me might be the kindest thing you can do right now,” Harrison said as he fought the controls.

You’re going to die. The thought seemed to come from outside Raymond as the