Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

I drop the spoon and hurry over to the door to make sure it’s locked. When he said all that stuff
about the men and syringes, I told myself he wouldn’t really resort to such drastic—and illegal—
measures, but who know? Maybe he would.
The lock on the door is secure, so is the deadbolt and the chain lock. I lean against the door and
try to listen, but I don’t hear anything on the other side.
Maybe it was my imagination.
Hell, maybe it was someone else who lives in this building just walking by.
I’m too afraid to open the door and check.
I wait for a few minutes, then peek through the peephole to make sure there’s no one in the
hallway.
If anyone was there, it seems they left.
I hope they left. I’m terrified to open the door, so I unlock the knob and the deadbolt, but leave
the chain lock secured so the door can only open a teeny bit.
I’m tentatively relieved when the door cracks open, and no one pops up and tries to shove it
open the rest of the way to force their way inside my home. I peek out and don’t see anybody, but I do
see a box on the floor.
A delivery. Did I order anything?
I didn’t, but it’s not impossible Charity ordered something for me. I’m still cautious as I unlock
the door. I open it, grab the present quickly, and then slam the door shut and lock all three locks with
shaky fingers.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I look down at the big gray gift box with a silver bow on top.
Nordstrom is subtly embossed on the lid, which is another good indicator that it’s probably a gift
from Charity and not a severed head or something else horrendous from Calvin.
I haul the box to the kitchen and put it on the counter. When I draw off the lid, I see a note lying
on top of the tissue paper.
Hallie,
How unfortunate you weren’t able to make our date this evening.
I’ve taken the liberty of rescheduling for tomorrow.
My driver will pick you up at six o’clock.
You will be wearing this.