From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,86

next to her ear. “The monster will hear you.”

Casey’s heart had been pounding too hard to hear anything but the rush of blood careering through her veins.

She wanted to push the woman away, but Megan was still brandishing the blade in front of her face. She told herself that the young woman was just trying to scare her. It was working.

“You can’t—”

Megan silenced her with a hand to her mouth.

They stayed like that for a long moment until Casey had had enough.

She’d pushed Megan away, angry enough to have not cared about the knife. “What kind of stupid game are you—”

“You know about the monster, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Megan eyed her for a long moment, eyes narrowing with anger. “How could I have forgotten? Of course you know. This is your hotel.”

Was the woman delusional? Or just toying with her?

“They’re waiting for this wine,” Casey had said, realizing that she didn’t care one way or the other about what was wrong with Megan. The woman had been mean to her since day one.

But as she’d reached to unlock the wine cellar, she’d seen that the hand holding the knife was shaking, and there were tears in Megan’s eyes.

“Stop pretending that you’re the one who’s scared.”

Megan let out a snort. “I’m not scared of you, pip-squeak. I hope the monster gets you.” She wiped at her eyes and stormed off.

“Put that knife back in the kitchen where you found it,” Casey had yelled after her.

“This should get it open.” The sound of Finn’s voice made her jump. “Sorry. You all right?”

She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. Megan had been genuinely afraid. Why hadn’t Casey seen that? Why hadn’t she questioned her further? Because she thought it was one of Megan’s stunts.

“Step back,” Finn said and went to work on the door to the sound of splintering wood.

Casey watched him cut away wood next to the lock and begin to pry. The lock broke with a crack that was like an explosion in the enclosed space. Casey watched him remove the rest of the large padlock and reach for the handle. He stopped and turned back to her, thinking he would need the key. But as he turned the handle, the door creaked open.

She was almost afraid to look beyond it for fear of what she would see. A stale but familiar scent rushed out. He felt inside for a light switch, and a moment later the wine racks were illuminated—along with the wine bottles.

Finn let out a low whistle. “I did not expect this.”

“Me, either.” Whoever had put the padlock on the door had kept anyone from raiding the wine. “I knew that when my grandmother fell ill, she closed the hotel, paid to have it boarded up and left everything as it was because she’d thought she would be back. Lars must have done this to keep anyone out.” She shook her head, surprised at how much wine was still here as she glanced inside. The wine cellar was large from a time when the many shelves had been full. Now most of the shelves were filled with only dust, and yet there were still a lot of wine bottles.

“Why don’t you grab some, and we’ll take them upstairs? You can pick,” she told him, feeling ill at ease.

He nodded, handed her the flashlight and started into the room but stopped.

“What is it?” Casey moved to look past him. He was staring down at the dust marks on the floor. What she saw sent her pulse into overdrive. Her throat had gone dry. She tried to swallow. “What is that?” she asked, voice breaking as she thought of the animal he’d thought had been digging down there.

“What would make a track like that?” he asked. He shook his head, but she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. Something had been dragged through the dust.

She stared at the concrete floor and the misplaced dust. The marks went from the doorway deep into the wine cellar. What had been dragged back in there? “Be careful.”

“You might want to stay out there for a minute while I check.” He didn’t have to ask her twice. His tone made goose bumps ripple over her flesh. What did he think might be back there?

She stepped away from the door and crossed her arms as she fought off the chill. The basement was starting to get to her. She desperately wanted out of here and found herself looking