A Beauty Dark & Deadly (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 1) Read online

  Maybe now wasn’t the best time to bother him…

  “Did you need something?” Jason asked. He appeared at the door before Emmy even noticed and was now staring at her through the open space the door provided.

  Her heart jumped into her throat as she pressed her lips together to contain her impending squeak. She glanced at him, the door now halfway open, as he regarded her with a curious stare. He didn’t appear to be angry.

  “I, uh,” she said, her voice still shaky. Immediately, Emmy closed her mouth and her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She forced a tight smile as she reopened her eyes and looked up at him. “I don’t have any service.” This time, her voice came out a bit smoother. “On my cell phone, I mean. I was wondering if I could use your phone to call my grandfather and let him know I’m alive –all right! I mean all right.” She didn’t need a mirror to know that her face was changing into an unattractive shade of red, much like a chameleon might if he was sitting on top of a big, juicy tomato.

  “Yeah, of course,” Jason said, shaking his head as if the thought should have crossed his mind before. “There’s one down the stairs on the coffee table.” Emmy was about to turn and head down the stairs but Jason stopped her with the sound of him clearing his throat. She waited expectantly and he raised his brows. “This is actually really silly. I don’t even know your name…” He let his voice trail off and continued to stare at her.

  “Oh,” Emmy said, and then due to habit, stuck out her right hand. “I’m Emmy, Emmy Atler.”

  Jason grinned at her, clearly amused, and then took her hand in his before shaking it. “Belmont,” he said in what Emmy assumed was his most suave voice, “Jason Belmont.”

  The young woman had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Her father had been a James Bond fan, and whenever he introduced himself to any of her friends, he would use the same ploy. It had been embarrassing then, but now she missed it.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, breaking out of her revelries.

  She slipped her hands from his. “Likewise,” she murmured, and then turned, this time successfully heading down the stairs.

  Emmy was not exactly paying attention to her surroundings. She only had one goal in mind, and that was to find the phone Jason had told her about and talk to her grandfather. Her grandfather had a voice that could calm her down, no matter how sad or how upset she might be. It soothed her to no end and especially came in handy when she had found out her parents had died. For the two months after she arrived, he would read stories to her before she went to bed, staying with her until she fell asleep. It didn’t matter that she had been eighteen then and storytelling was reserved for children younger than her; all that mattered was that she was comfortable,safe, if only for a bit. Emmy, now, felt as though she needed her grandfather’s voice. She had been on edge all day, every minute of being in this house, and hoped that maybe her grandfather would be able to help her.

  The young woman took a seat on the couch and immediately noticed what appeared to be a groove in the shape of a body that seemed permanently etched in the couch. The man couldn’t even sleep in his bedroom. What Emmy couldn’t understand was, if Jason Belmont was so uncomfortable here, why didn’t he just up and leave? He was a successful author; it wasn’t as though he couldn’t afford it.

  Just like the author said, a beige telephone sat on the wooden coffee table. It was sort of old fashioned; the phone was not cordless or anything. Emmy didn’t really care. As long as it worked, that was all that mattered. However, when she picked up the phone and placed it to her ear, the sound of silence greeted her. There was not even a dial tone. Furrowing her brow, she hung up the phone and then tried again. Still nothing. Her eyes began to search the phone’s surroundings until she saw the cause of the problem. The phone line had been pulled out of the jack and was currently occupying the blue rug underneath the table.

  Well, that was odd. It almost appeared as though Jason Belmont had pulled it out on purpose, as though he didn’t want any phone calls. Maybe the ringing interrupted his writing, but then again, it wasn’t as though he had been writing, from what Emmy could see. Maybe it was something else then…

  It didn’t matter, however. Emmy slipped the cord into the jack and picked up the phone once again. This time, however, the dial tone overtook the silence, much like church bells on a quiet Sunday morning. She smiled as her fingers hurriedly dialed her grandfather’s phone number… her old phone number before coming here.

  He answered on the second ring. Just hearing his voice caused Emmy’s heart to flutter and a smile crossed over her features before she could actually respond to him.

  “Papa?” she asked him softly, hopefully, as though maybe she was just dreaming. It was an odd feeling; she had seen him just this morning, and yet she felt as though she hadn’t spoken to him in quite a while.

  “Emmy?” he asked, and as he continued to speak, she could detect the hint of his notorious mischievous smile. “How’s my baby doll? Obviously, you’re still alive, so that’s a good sign.”

  Emmy giggled at her grandfather’s attempt at a joke and mindlessly brushed errant strands of hair from her face as she felt her body finally relax. “Yes, I’m here,” she murmured almost wistfully into the phone. “I wanted to tell you that I made it and that I did get the job.”

  “Well, that’s not really much of a surprise, now is it?” he asked. “So how is old Tahoe? I haven’t been up there since you were, oh, maybe ten or eleven. I remember I would take you up there to camp, just us two. No parents allowed.” Emmy smiled at the memories but said nothing in return. Currently, she didn’t trust her voice. “How’s that kook-author living up there? You know I’ve heard stories about him, Emmy. Everyone thinks you’re crazy for going up there…”

  “I know, I know,” Emmy said through a sigh, making a conscious effort to keep her voice down. She didn’t want Jason Belmont to overhear her conversation, or worse, creep up behind her and scare the life out of her. “I don’t exactly know what to make of him, Papa. I mean, from what I’ve seen, he’s just uncomfortable. He’s unkempt and he walks around in this old tattered robe and his hair isn’t brushed and he smokes! I get this weird vibe from him, but I don’t know if it’s good or if it’s bad.” Another sigh escaped from her lips as she glanced around suspiciously. Yup; still alone. “But, having said that, he’s been polite. I kind of… I kind of feel bad for him.”

  “You always feel bad for people,” her grandfather said, chuckling, and though Emmy could not see him, she was sure he was shaking his head. “Well, I should let you get going. Now, you be careful Emmy. And you call me if you need anything, day or night, you hear?”

  “Yes,” Emmy replied. “Oh, and Papa; my cell phone doesn’t get any reception up here so I’ll make sure to call you tomorrow and give you the number here if you ever need me.” He chuckled again, and her heart clenched. She knew she would have to hang up soon, despite the fact that she really did not want to. “I, uh…” Her voice came out shaky, but not because she was afraid. She swallowed, trying to collect her bearings. “I miss you, Papa.”

  “And you know I miss you, baby doll,” he told her, his voice growing softer. “Call me when you can.” He paused, and in the silence, Emmy prayed that it might just last forever so she wouldn’t have to hang up. “I love you, sugar.”

  “I love you too, Papa,” she told him and waited until she heard the click of the phone on the other line.

  Emmy released a deep breath before hanging up. She pushed herself up from her sitting position and glanced out the window. It surprised her how dark the night looked, and she decided that now was as good as ever to begin cooking dinner. The young woman padded into the kitchen as she blinked away the tears that had accumulated while speaking with her grandfather, and stopped when she reached the fridge. Upon inspecting the food receptacle, she concluded that it contrasted heavily with the nearby sink due to the fact that the refrigerator was remarkably empty while the sink held numerous dishes. Emmy
idly wondered just how long those dishes were sitting there, but figured she would have to wash them sooner or later.

  Once the dishes were in the dishwasher and Emmy had thoroughly washed her hands, she opened the door to the refrigerator once again. After another brief inspection, Emmy decided that eggs were the best and decidedly only option for dinner. She grabbed four of them and carefully rested them on the counter before rummaging through an assortment of cabinets, looking for a frying pan and a spatula. Once everything had been found, she cracked the eggs into the pan and disposed of the white shells in the nearby trashcan. Scrambled eggs had always been a favorite of Emmy’s, and if there had been cheese, she would have sprinkled some on the finished product. Alas, she knew that she would tire of eggs if she would have to eat them constantly.

  “No,” she muttered under her breath as she grabbed two plates from the top cabinets. “I’ll have to go to the store tomorrow.”

  But for now, dinner was served.

  Chapter 2

  Dinner went as well as anybody could expect. It was silent, something Emmy was rather thankful for. Jason Belmont seemed surprised that Emmy made him dinner in the first place, and for the first few moments, he did nothing, really, except stare at his food and then ramble a string of ‘thank yous’ together. Despite the fact that Emmy was afraid of him, the man was beginning to fascinate her with the little things he did. During dinner, instead of focusing on the plate in front of her, the young woman watched intently as Jason Belmont ate his dinner in a rather peculiar way. His fork was held with the fingertips of his right hand, and he would raise the eggs level to his mouth. However, instead of moving the fork to his mouth and placing the food on his tongue, he would move his head a few inches to the fork, and then dab the food with his tongue, as though he was checking its temperature, before placing it in his mouth. A couple of times he caught her staring at him, and immediately she would look away, blushing as she picked at her food. He never did call her on it, though, and for that, she was thankful.

  It was hard for her to get to sleep that night. The most physical reason for this was because she wasn’t sleeping in her own bed. This bed was stiff and crisp, although not entirely uncomfortable. She kept tossing and turning, trying to find the perfect position to fall asleep in when, for whatever reason, she grew uncomfortable and had to shift. It also didn’t help that the bugs outdoors were rather obnoxious when it came to making noises. Even as she thought about it, she knew it sounded silly, but the squeak of the crickets and the buzzing of the flies seemed much noisier to her than the soft hums of vehicles as they drove by. Yes, she was definitely much more used to the city than… here. And then finally, somewhere deep, down inside of her, she was afraid Jason might slip into her bedroom and do something to her. Suffice to say she did not get much sleep that night.

  When she woke, she woke up tired and sore. She quickly threw on some clothes before quietly heading downstairs. It was deathly silent; not even the bugs outside seemed to be up. No matter; all Emmy was planning on doing was going to the store. She had already spoken to Jason about it, and he had promised he would leave some cash on the sink. Before she left, she quickly fixed up some coffee and poured it into a thermal cup so she could take it along with her. She placed the pot back in the machine and contemplated for a moment whether to turn it off and let it get cold, or keep it on, assuming Jason would wake up sometime soon. Finally, she decided that he might like some coffee and ultimately left it on.

  After grabbing a hoodie and slipping it on, she pocketed the cash Jason had left her, grabbed a purse, her wallet, and her coffee, before heading out into the morning. The cold surprised her; it was much brisker than she had originally anticipated. The cold pinched at her skin so hard that her cheeks reddened, and she quickly placed her lips on the thermal cup and took a long sip, selfishly downing the hot liquid in hopes to warm her insides. While it worked initially, the feeling was temporary, and Emmy had to make do with walking the mile to the main road rather quickly. Once the first ten minutes had passed, she began to get used to the temperature and even found herself enjoying the walk.

  Once Emmy hit the main road, the young woman turned right and headed down the side of the street until she found the next trolley stop. She glanced at the times listed and then pulled out her cell phone to compare. She had a good twenty minutes until it would show. She sighed and took another sip of the coffee; it had grown lukewarm during her walk, but she didn’t want to drink it all while it was hot. Oh well. She didn’t necessarily mind lukewarm coffee anyways.

  The trolley came a few minutes late, and Emmy made a mental note to bring her iPod and some sort of book the next time she decided to venture into town. She took a seat in the middle and yawned as the trolley began to ascend up the curve of a hill. Tahoe had many different hills and mountains, and while one could argue the adventure of traveling up and down these hills, Emmy was somewhat paranoid about it. Some of the mountain roads were rather high, some of the turns were rather sharp, and some streets had little to no guardrails, allowing for the opportunity of driving off the road. Emmy swallowed as she glanced out of the trolley and at the scenery. The fact that she was on an open trolley really wasn’t helping either; she could feel the wind in her face, blowing through her hair just as it blew through the leaves of the trees.

  Just don’t look down…

  To keep from doing such a thing, Emmy straightened up and began to focus on the occupants of the trolley. One could easily spot a tourist in Tahoe; they were always wearing bathing suits under their clothing, either flip flops or hiking shoes, and there would be at least one person in a party who wore a ridiculous hat. They were always loud when discussing plans, would hold their cell phones out rather obnoxiously looking for service that wasn’t there, and reek of sunscreen. Most were also burned because they were unfamiliar with the fact that because they were in the mountains, they were actually closer to the sun. Tourists usually annoyed Emmy whether they were in Tahoe or Frisco, but they served their purpose as a good distraction from her paranoia until she reached her intended destination: Raley’s.

  When she walked into the supermarket, the first thing Emmy noticed was the Halloween decorations. She pursed her lips in a tiny frown at the thought; it was only mid-September and already they were thinking about Halloween? Her grandfather, on the other hand, would wait until Halloween day to buy to buy his candy, and still used the same outdated Halloween decorations he had bought back in the late eighties. The thought cheered her up a bit and caused her to chuckle, and she grabbed a basket before heading into the heart of the store.

  Now, what was she looking for? What did he like, exactly? Maybe she should have asked for his input about what he wanted. It was, after all, his residence, and she was supposed to be cooking for him. She stopped in the middle of the cereal aisle and pulled out her phone. Should she call and ask? Would he even be up? Did she want to wake him up? Who knew how he would react if he felt that he didn’t get enough sleep. Plus, she quickly remembered, that she didn’t yet have the number to his home. Okay… then she would have to use her best judgment and hope that she was correct.

  There were a couple of other women in the cereal aisle, and as Emmy silently made her way down, her eyes skimmed over the brand and store names of the cereal. Would he get upset if she bought brand name, and thus, more expensive cereal, or did he actually prefer the cheap store knockoffs? Her head was swimming with unanswered questions, causing a very soft but very noticeable pulsing in the temples of her head. Great, she was going to have a headache on top of all top of things. She stopped finally and decided to get some Raisin Bran. Raisin Bran was always good; it was one of her favorite cereals.

  This isn’t about you, Emmy, a little voice reminded herself and she frowned once again.

  Okay, so then what would Jason Belmont want? Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Cheerios? Everyone loves Cheerios. What about Honeynut Cheerios? She began to tap her index finger on her chin and decided that she would grab a box
of Honeynut Cheerios as well. As she began to walk down the aisle, she began to feel an impending stare burn in her back. She continued to walk, this time more slowly, to make sure that her paranoia concerning her new living arrangements wasn’t merging over to other aspects of her life, such as simply shopping for food. But the feeling continued to follow her until she reached the very end of the aisle. One glance wouldn’t kill her… She physically stopped in her tracks, and then, very slowly, she arched her neck so that she could glance behind her. Sure enough, the two old women sharing the aisle with her were staring intently, and when Emmy caught them, they immediately looked away and started chatting, as though nothing happened.