Forbidden Guest House novel · Chapter 21 of 32

Chapter 21: Who Took It

I stood in the doorway and stared at the empty desk.

Forty-five years of Gran's blue pen.

The red line that tore the paper.

"It was here last night," Leif said. "I saw it when I changed my shirt for the party."

I went through the room anyway.

Nothing.

My hands went to my pocket for my phone.

It wasn't there. I'd left it charging on the kitchen counter all night.

I ran down the stairs and grabbed it off the cord.

I opened my photos.

The album I'd made the night we opened Room Nine was gone.

I checked recently deleted.

Empty.

Deleted, the phone said. 3:12 a.m.

I sat down on the kitchen floor with my back against the cupboards.

Leif came down and crouched in front of me.

"Who had a key?" he said.

"You," I said.

It came out before I could stop it.

He didn't flinch. He just waited.

I looked at him. At his hands, which had planed sixteen tables out of his grandfather's dock.

At the man who'd sat in a cell so I could walk out with a stub in my bra.

I closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said. "That's not a real question. Where's your key?"

← Chapter 20 · All chapters · Chapter 22 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend