Crossing Lines: A gripping psychological thriller (Behind Closed Doors Book 3) by Erin Cawood Read Free Book Online Page A

solving this mystery, she moves the goal posts again. It seems the subject is not up for discussion. The warmth from a new smile touches her eyes, yet both are absent of her usual heart-stopping bravado. This is the real Krystal, the one I'd only met for the first time three days ago. “Have you found Lisa?”
    “Um, yes. She's fine, home, and tucked up in bed.” Her chest deflates as the relief bursts from her lips in a long sigh. “Thank you.” I appreciate the concern, but don’t welcome the element of contradiction; I don’t need to be analyzing who or what she is tonight. “So, Krystal,” my brow lifts as I look at her again, “something tells me this isn't a social call.”
    She looks away instantly and nerves vibrate in my stomach. Breaking eye contact was something she'd never have done, before our session on Friday. Her composure has never slipped before then and I’m disturbed by the fact it does now. Someone who has always been so aggressive in her approach to the world now lacks the confidence to do or say whatever it is that has brought her to my door.
    I let the seconds drag out while I wait for a reply. She needs time to approach the subject herself. But she doesn’t reply and my patience is too short to wait. I bite the bullet and ask, “Krystal, why are you here?”
    A soft, tinkling laugh escapes her throat and I suspect it’s more from nerves. “I've come to collect my niece.” Swiftly she turns, walks past me and stops by the window. “Macaulay attends an elite girls academy here in New York, but Katrina wants her in LA for the time being and she's still too ill to fly out herself.”
    Did her voice tremble? No, it couldn't have. Krystal was as hard and as cold as ice. She didn't cry. The image of the insecure girl folding paper in my office, fighting the tears collecting in her eyes, flashes through my mind. Krystal did cry .
    “Then why are you here ?”
    “Oh … that.” Her fingers twist together. “I'm running out of time, and I need your help.” She stares into the city street and the darkness beyond as she continues, “I thought it was going to be okay. Katrina was picking up Julia, because I was at the premiere of Dojo Mojo. But somehow he knew what was going on. He came home.”
    Maybe she was used to people catching on to her conversations instantly, but she’s talking in riddles to me. I don't have a clue. I know Dojo Mojo premiered at the end of the summer. The 'are they, aren't they?' rumors about Krystal and her co-star and former lover, Dex Leighton, have teased from the gossip magazines front pages for the whole of summer. Still do, now we’re well into fall. I also know Katrina is Krystal's identical twin sister, but who is Julia? And who already knew their plans?
    “Krystal,” I lift up my palm to stop her, “you're rambling.” I have neither the time nor the patience for working through her cryptic explanations right now. Today, the enigma that is Krystal Valentina does not appeal to me. Now that Lisa is safe and well, all I want is my bed, and to sleep for at least a week.
    I continue to wait as I watch her shuffle her feet and anxiously cast her gaze around the room, toward the doors, then toward the sounds of Caleb brewing coffee in the kitchen. It’s the darkness beyond the windows that seems to make her the most nervous, as though she suspects someone is out there, watching her.
    I don’t like this one bit. She’s nothing like the immovable brick wall I’ve become accustomed to, so facing off with her feels like a bad idea, but I know it's the only way I’ll get her to talk. “I'm not moving until you start to make sense.”
    “Please.” I shake my head and Krystal sighs, her shoulders sagging in defeat as she whispers. “Julia is my best friend.” She continues to stare out into the darkness. “Her husband is abusing her, and no one will believe me.”
    How could no one believe her? This was Krystal Valentina. She was an ambassador for the