He groaned. “Of course, I can see that. But it’s the truth. We were in a fight, yes. And she did say that she would leave me, and it made me very angry. I did grab her arm, but not hard. She pulled away, and that’s when she slipped and fell down the stairs. She was mad at me, and she told the first responders when they arrived that we had been in a fight and that I had grabbed her arm and that she fell down the stairs. She never said I pushed her. They just assumed that’s what happened. That’s how she explained it to me. Then, once the police came to take her statement after she had been through surgery on her broken ankle, she was able to tell them the truth—that the EMTs had misunderstood her. I am telling you, Eva Rae. I never meant to hurt her. I beat myself up every day over this.”
I sighed and rubbed my face. Owen was sound asleep on my arm, and I didn’t want to put him back in his crib since I felt he needed closeness, which was why he was so upset all the time. He needed his mother, and right now, I was the closest thing to that. But my arm was getting tired from carrying him, and I would soon have to attend to my own baby’s needs. I wished Amy would come back and take him, but I had no idea where she had gone. Hopefully, she had just taken a long walk and would be back later.
“Scott, I have a lot to deal with these days. I’m not sure I can…”
“You don’t believe me,” Scott sighed resignedly, throwing out his arms. “You’re just like everyone else.”
“You gotta admit, it sounds odd,” I said.
“I wouldn’t do something like that. You know me, Eva Rae.”
I looked up at him, and our eyes locked. I felt a pinch in my stomach and was overwhelmed with emotions I thought I had forgotten. There was something intense in the way he stared at me that went straight to my heart, and I felt myself ease down. A memory of us kissing flushed my mind and filled me with warmth. I shook it. I couldn’t think about those things again. Now was not the time to revisits those old emotions. It was all in the past, and it was best if it stayed there. I couldn’t afford to open up the old wounds. I simply had to suppress it.
“Do I?” I asked. “Do I really?”
“I thought so. I mean, we were, after all….”
“I’m gonna stop you right there, Scott. We weren’t anything. You made that painfully clear, remember?”
He sighed. “It was a long time ago.”
“That we can agree on,” I said, fighting to breathe properly—those eyes. I never could resist them or the way he looked at me.
Like he could love me.
A silence followed, and his eyes avoided mine. I placed a hand on his arm.
“Scott? Are you okay?”
“I…I don’t know what else to do, where to turn, Eva Rae. I thought you would be different. I thought I could trust you. I guess not.”
Now, it was my turn to go quiet. There was something in his voice, a sincerity I couldn’t escape. What if he was telling the truth? It would only be a matter of time before the police found him, and then he was toast. No one would believe him.
Did I think he was telling the truth?
I rubbed my tired eyes again, then exhaled deeply. It all seemed so blurry and so confusing. I needed more coffee.
“All right, Scott. I am all for second chances. But no more secrets, okay? You have to disclose everything, or I can’t help you. No more surprises.”
His face lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
“Of course. Of course.”
“Good. Now there was something else in the report that had me thinking—an angle we might be able to use.”
Part II
TWO WEEKS LATER
Chapter 16
The heavy door squeaked, and a ray of light hit Sarah Abbey’s face. She groaned and squinted, blinded by the sudden brightness. Shuddering, she covered her head and turned her face away, her chains rattling against the pipes while she pushed herself up against the wall behind her.
“Please,” she said as the figure moved closer. “Please.”
The figure kneeled in front of her. She felt a hand reach for hers. It caressed the top, letting the fingers run over each of her fingers like the person was studying the shape of each and every one of them. The figure then kissed her hand gently while mumbling, “Your skin is so soft.”
Sarah shivered and tried to pull it away, but the grip was too tight.
“Please, just let me go.”
The other hand reached for her face and caressed her cheek. “You are home, my love. You are finally back home.”
The remark made Sarah burst into tears. She was so tired, so hungry, and her entire body felt like it was aching in pain. She had been sleeping on the cold floor for days and had lost count of how many had passed. Was it several weeks? It had to be, right?
She had cried, she had screamed, she had slept and hoped she’d wake up, and this nightmare would be over. But as she opened her eyes, again and again, it was all still there. She was still in that awful small room with no windows and no lights: nothing but time to wait for someone to come.
“Why are you keeping me here?” she asked.
The figure tilted its head. “Because I love you. You know that.”
It had been the same answer she had received every time she asked, and it made no sense to her. Why, if this person said they loved her, would they treat her like this?
Please, someone must miss me; someone must be looking for me. Please, help me, someone? Anyone?
She had waited and hoped that people would come looking for her, but now she was beginning to lose confidence that they would. She had cut all ties to her family and her past, all her friends when she left her hometown. No one would miss her.
“Don’t you love me anymore?” the figure asked, voice cracking.
It was the same every time. She had been asked this very question so many times, and every time, she said she didn’t. The figure had slapped her until she finally caved and said that she did. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
“Of course, I do,” she said, sobbing heavily. “I love you so much. You know that. But you can’t keep me locked up like this.”
The eyes grew weary, and the figure ran a hand through Sarah’s hair, holding it, letting it slip slowly through their fingers like every strand had to be admired.
“Do you think I like it? Do you think I want to keep you down here?”
The figure caressed her hair gently while giving her a loving look. Yes, she believed the figure enjoyed keeping her like this, holding her prisoner. She thought they enjoyed that very much. But she wasn’t going to say that. She had to keep playing this little game if she wanted to survive. She knew that much.
“It’s for your own sake,” the figure added. “You know it is. It’s what’s best for you. You just can’t see it. That’s why you’re lucky to have me.”
She nodded, biting back tears and the devastating fear. “Yes, I am very lucky.”
That made the figure smile.
“That’s my girl.”
The figure leaned forward, grabbed her chin, and placed a kiss on her lips. It made her want to gag, but she suppressed it. The figure looked deep into her eyes and gently stroked her face while Sarah struggled not to whimper in fear.