look in the direction of the light and, hopefully, believe that Sophia would be hiding in the bathroom or in the loft above. But she would be nervous and probably armed with that horrid stun gun. This time, though, Sophia would be ready!
But, she reminded herself, she would have to play it perfectly, to time her leap from above so that she would be able to knock Julia down, somehow turn the tables on her, steal her damned Taser, grab her keys, and lock her inside this prison.
All in the dark.
“God help me,” she whispered, her palms sweaty at the thought of it.
But it was time for Julia to see what it felt like to rot up here in the mountains for a change! Let her be the one who couldn’t escape, who would be dependent upon her own damned sister, who had to fear that Sophia might never return. Julia would see what it was like to feel as if she were slowly going out of her mind.
At that thought, Sophia actually smiled.
The trouble was, Sophia had no clue as to when—or if—Julia would deign to return. She gnawed on a fingernail, then realizing what she was doing, quit.
“Get it together,” she whispered. She was never exactly sure when Julia would arrive, but so far it had been about every other day—but now, it had been several days longer, and Sophia was beginning to worry. Her stomach curdled at the thought that she was almost out of supplies. “Don’t freak out.”
Crap! There she was talking to herself again, having conversations not only with herself, but others as well. Not just with Julia but James as well . . .
As her mind wandered to James again, she caught herself and ignored the painful ache in her heart, the lump in her throat. She didn’t have time to dwell on him right now.
“Oh, James,” she whispered in a moment of weakness, then shoved thoughts of his handsome face from her mind. Right now, she had to concentrate.
Julia had to return soon. Even she couldn’t be so cruel as to let her sister—her damned twin—die a slow, torturous death of dehydration or starvation.
But then, something could have happened to her. What if Julia were injured? Lost? Killed in some freak accident? Arrested?
Would anyone know Sophia was imprisoned here?
Gus Jardine? Well, maybe. But would he care?
Not at all. Gus only cared about himself.
So who would find her?
The answer was as bleak as the surrounding hills: no damned one.
Sophia’s throat closed in fear again, and she had to force herself to back off the worries, to slow her suddenly panicked breathing. Eventually, her parents would start to wonder, despite the fact that they’d been estranged.
Oh, what a fool she’d been to trust Julia.
She closed her eyes.
Waited.
In the dark.
Alone.
As she had been for days.
Time ticked slowly by, and Sophia could only keep her panic at bay for so long before the questions that had plagued her started repeating, over and over again, in a never-ending loop.
Would Julia ever know the angst of . . . ? Wait!
Sophia froze, her ears straining.
Had she imagined the noise, the whine of a struggling engine?
Her heart nearly stopped.
But there it was again.
The rumble getting ever louder.
She shifted on the ledge, stared out the windows as her lungs constricted.
Oh, please!
A flash of light caught in the surrounding firs, and the sound of the engine grew closer.
Julia!
Sophia licked her lips.
Come on, Sister! Let’s do this!
The engine stopped.
Once again, the night was quiet.
Sophia swallowed against a dry throat.
A car door slammed.
Oh. God. Oh. God.
Her every muscle tensed. Her every nerve was strung tight as a bowstring.
And then, over footsteps, the faint growl of an engine—
What?
Had the car started again? Panicked, she strained to see out the small windows, but the engine was moving, coming closer, and sounded larger. Oh, crap, was there a second vehicle?
What?
Craning her neck to view more of the surrounding landscape through the window, she caught a glimpse of Julia, visible in the reflection of headlights on the snow, standing stock-still, facing the lane.
She brought someone with her? In another vehicle?
Why?
No good reason.
Julia took a step backward, more visible now. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a gun, aiming directly into the light.
A pistol? Not the stun gun? What was she doing? Holy shit, was she really going to shoot someone?
Sophia thought of Megan. “No!”
Bang!
Too late.
Julia fired, a flash showing in the muzzle of the gun just as Sophia caught a glimpse of Rebecca Travers, being hit, stepping