The frantic, sharp panic in her voice made him freeze instantly. Brian halted right at the edge of the threshold, his head turning back toward the bed.
Lucy scrambled up against the headboard, pulling a heavy velvet duvet tightly over her shoulders. She let her hair fall wildly around her face, her eyes wide and filled with a desperate, manufactured terror. She looked exactly like a haunted child who had just escaped a nightmare.
"Please... don't leave me alone in the dark," she pleaded, her voice trembling softly as she reached a hand out toward him through the dim light. "The house... it’s too quiet. Every time I close my eyes, I see those reporters breaking through the doors. I hear the screaming. I can't... I can't be alone right now, Brian. Please."
Brian stood completely still in
