Page 87 of Wicked Promises

Robert is on the couch, flipping through television stations, and he waves to us. “Hello, boys. I’d get up, but…”

“Please don’t stress,” I say, going over to shake his hand. “You look better.”

He laughs, and it turns into a cough. “Better than what? Being at death’s door?”

I shrug.

“I’ll take it.”

Eli nods at him, and Theo waves.

Liam’s eyes are wide. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” He walks farther in, peering into the kitchen. “This is new.”

Margo tilts her head. “Why are you acting like…”

“My family used to live here,” he says. “Although there used to be a wall here.” He mimes a wall that would’ve made thekitchen a lot smaller. “And the dining room didn’t open up onto this porch.”

We follow him as he wanders.

He goes up the stairs, pausing on the picture of Lenora and Robert, then into the bathroom. “That’s the same.”

He comes out and points to her door. “Your room, Margo?”

She grimaces.

“Caleb and I practiced sneaking out of here quite a bit in our youth.” He winks at me. “Dare I say that’s helped him out quite a bit in recent months.”

“Whoever did this came in through the window, too.” She shoves the door open.

My mouth drops, and I step into the room. My friends follow me, while Margo stays in the hall. Honestly, I don’t blame her. A tornado of fury went through the room, destroyed every good thing about it. The walls will need several coats of paint to cover the red, and the writing…

Pretty bird, broken wings.

I narrow my eyes. It’s chilling, but… wholly unfamiliar.

“What the hell is that?” Liam points to something on the floor.

“It looks like…” Oh God.

I cover my mouth. I’ve never been one to have a weak stomach, but this…

A white bird sits just below the words.

Dead.

Oh, what a glorious fall.

“Fucking hell,” Theo growls. He herds us out of the room, slamming the door closed. “Did you see it?”

“See what? The writing?”

“The fucking dead bird,” he says, eyes narrowed at Margo.

She blanches. “Excuse me?”

“It’s a threat,” I declare. “Calling you a pretty bird, then giving you a dead one?”

She bursts into tears.