Chapter 2

That didn’t mean his hand didn’t tremble as he pressed the doorbell. Alec shook it out as if that would banish his nerves, before shoving it into his pocket. He was screwed if his father—What am I going to call him? Will he expect me to call him Dad?—wanted to shake hands in greeting. On top of the shaking, AlecArsquo;s palm was greased in sweat. He wanted to make a better first impression than that.

Seconds ticked by without a sound. Alec pressed the doorbell again, this time listening closely to make sure he heard it ring inside. Sure enough, a low gong emanated from deep within its walls.

When another minute went by without a response, his mood sharpened, anger bleeding around the edges of his excitement. No way he’d messed up the time or date. He’d printed up the e-mail and then looked at it half a million times to make sure he didn’t make a stupid mistake like that. Whipping out his phone, he checked his e-mail in case William—Yep, first names. An asshole who can’t even show when he says he will on his own damn invitation doesn’t deserve to be called Dad.—had sent him a last minute message changing the specifics.

The only new message was a coupon from Redbox.

This time, he knocked. Well, pounded was probably more accurate. Maybe there was a basement or William was in the backyard and hadn’t heard the bell.

His gaze slid to the gate at the side of the house. Should he check to see? He’d been invited, after all. If a neighbor came out and said anything, he had the e-mail and a driver’s license proving he had the same last name to show he had a right to poke around.

As far as justifications went, that was good enough for him. He hadn’t driven all this way to turn around empty-handed.

Nobody stopped him as he let himself through the gate. The wooden slats of the fence reached over seven feet high with carved stone cats and birds mounted on each of the vertical posts. It lent the backyard a sense of privacy that felt out of place in the middle of suburbia, like each of the figures guarded against unwelcome visitors. Alec kept his eyes averted although he would’ve sworn one of the cats tracked his every step as he passed.

The yard was deserted. The fence cast shadows along the ground, creeping onto the cedar deck that stepped down onto a small patch of well-trimmed grass and nearly hiding a prefab shed in the far corner. Upon inspection, the shed was shackled with three different locks, forbidding anyone entrance unless they had a heavy duty crowbar and maybe a stick of dynamite. What he’d thought was an innocuous apple tree had arcane symbols etched into its bark, climbing from its heavy roots to disappear into the branches.

Most telling of all was the shattered glass that littered the deck, blown out from the now-useless patio doors.

Panic overtook him, and he bolted forward. “Dad!” Who cared about what to call him now? Something serious had gone down here. Nomenclature meant nothing compared to ensuring nobody was hurt.

Glass crunched beneath his tennis shoes when he raced across the deck. More clung to the frame of the patio doors, making it too narrow and too dangerous to climb through. The door itself was locked, and he had to consciously slow himself down to reach through the jagged edges to open it from the inside.

All the while, his heart pummeled his ribcage in a desperate bid to get out.

The kitchen was dark, the counters spotless. Everything gleamed in stainless steel, not a fingerprint or smudge to be found. Either his father was a neat freak or this room never got used. One exit spilled into an equally dim dining room while another seemed to lead into a hallway that looked to go to the front of the house.

Alec chose the hall. His steps slowed, his newfound urgency losing the battle to common sense. The house sounded quiet, but that could mean someone was simply lying in wait for him. He clenched his jaw to stop from yelling again. Call him an idiot for running headfirst into the unknown, but he didn’t need to make the situation worse by acting like every moron from every horror film ever made.

He grimaced. Probably not the best comparison to make right now.

The corridor led straight to the foyer and an open staircase to the second floor. Alec paused, cocking his head as he strained to hear anything that might be happening within the house’s walls. Nothing. His pulse thundered loudest, and he was pretty sure he was the only one aware of that.