What Lies Beneath: Romantic Suspense by Lila Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

for the day. I felt guilty sending him to school like this. He was a handful when he wasn’t loaded with sugar. He was practically bouncing off the walls now. Aiden stopped in his tracks.
    “Mommy, your leg,” he said with awe.
    “I know. Mommy got a little ouchie that’s all.”
    He stared at me with wide eyes.
    “I’ve got good news though,” I added. “You’re going to school with Bella and Theo today.”
    He brightened up at the mention of their names.
    “I thought that would make you happy.”
    He nodded vigorously and jumped in a circle. I shuddered to think how much sugar he’d poured on top of his cereal. His teacher was going to kill me.
    “Go get dressed.”
    “I am dressed.”
    He was wearing dinosaur pajamas.
    “I don’t think so. Put on something that’s appropriate for school.”
    “Mom this is appro- approz-”
    “No it’s not. Now go get dressed.” I pushed him towards the door. “And don’t forget a jacket. It’s cold and wet out.”
    “Okay,” he called.
    I stared down at my throbbing knee. How was I going to get to the doctor? I refused to call Maddie. I did not want to be interrogated by her. Madly, I considered calling the woman who’d helped me last night. She was tough, but I could tell she cared in her own way. She’d helped me before, after all.
    No, it was ridiculous. Besides, I didn’t even know her name. How would I get in touch with her? I would have to call a cab, or maybe see if I could manage to drive myself. There was a knock at the door.
    “I’ll get it,” Aiden screamed.
    I caught a glimpse of him as he ran past my door. I was relieved to see he was wearing his raincoat and jeans. I heard the sound of him talking to Bella. Theo asked where I was.
    “Back here!” I called.
    Theo came into the room with Aiden and Bella in tow. When he saw my leg, he dropped to his knees before me to examine it. He touched my thigh, squeezing it. I jumped. It was painful, but there was something else hiding beneath the pain. It had been a long time since a man touched me.
    A small shiver of excitement passed over me. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I was wearing nothing but a robe. I tightened it around me and cleared my throat.
    “It looks worse than it is,” I said.
    “How’d you do that?” Bella asked. For a second, I’d forgotten the kids were in the room.
    “I slipped on the patio steps,” I lied.
    “How?” she asked.
    “They were wet.”
    “Why were they wet?”
    “There was a storm,” Aiden offered. “Mommy was gone.”
    I shot him a sharp look. How did he know I was gone last night? Did I wake him up when I was sleepwalking?
    “There was thunder. I got scared,” he said. “I came to your room but you were gone.”
    Theo was watching me very closely.
    “I stepped outside for a second. That’s all,” I offered lamely.
    The kids were satisfied by my weak excuse, but I could tell Theo wasn’t buying it.
    “You’re going to be late for school,” I said, trying to get them out of the house.
    Theo checked his watch and frowned. “Go get in the car,” he said to the kids. They took off running. “Don’t move,” he said to me. “I’ll be back in a flash. I’m taking you to the doctor.”
    I opened my mouth to protest.
    “No arguments,” he said. “I think your knee is broken. You need to see a doctor. I’ll be right back. Don’t put any weight on it while I’m gone.”
    I nodded my assent. Once he was gone I laid back down. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. My hair was a wild mess of curls and I had circles under my eyes. I looked terrible.
    I tried to straighten my hair by running my fingers through it, but only succeeded in adding more volume to the curls. I looked like Medusa. I gave up and threw myself down on the bed. I watched the time on the alarm clock tick by for a few seconds then found myself drifting off to sleep. A few minutes later a hand was gently shaking me awake.
    “Sabine?” Theo said.
    I