Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,31

there with me, and that we had a discussion…if you want to call it that.”

Carter approached her, running his finger down her jaw line.

“Did he hurt you? Are you all right?”

She shifted her face away from his touch.

“No, no, he didn’t hurt me. He’s just concerned and you know why. You both can’t be playing on Team Good and in fact I suspect you are both playing on the Team Very Bad, which leaves me to wonder… Is this like picking the lesser of two evils?”

Carter lowered his gaze to the floor.

“Remember that first night we met. The hot summer night air can make you do crazy things and when I saw you across that room I knew I had to talk to you. Even then I wanted to give you the world, the sun, the stars, the universe and I knew I could never come close to that. Nor did you want any of that, my simple, sweet Anneliese. All you ever asked of me is to just love you…”

“It wasn’t enough, was it, Carter?”

His lack of response screamed at her. She was losing him all over again. Her heart sank in the depths of her hallow body. Carter pushed her numb shell against his dank cotton shirt, burying his face in the crook of her neck, soaking in her scent. Her arms remained weighted at her sides.

“Let’s go away, Anneliese, let’s just…just disappear.”

His plea electrocuted her senses. She was done playing the victim. No more damsel in distress.

“No, I will not run and hide with you. Your guilty conscious is yours alone. You and I vanishing into the night is not the remedy to this problem. As much as I want us to be us again it can never be, don’t you see that? Carter and Anneliese died together that day. We have succumbed to such an entanglement of lies that there will never be a happy ending…not for us.”

Carter embraced her with such might the air from her lungs escaped her mouth with a hiss.

“You will always be my Anneliese,”

Carter whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek. Before she could blink, she was once again alone in her office, but his words lingered through the stale air. Anger rose from where her heart had plummeted.

Returning her attention to the computer screen, she clicked it back on, gazing in disbelief at what she was seeing. Absolutely nothing. All records pertaining to Carter Leeds were gone, as if he had never existed; not even a birth record could be located. It was as if he had been sucked into the cyber abyss and never seen again. How fitting, she thought.

Her email chirped, breaking her novice sleuthing. At first she planned to ignore it but curiosity won in the end.

Anne,

I know you don’t want to see me but I need to tell you something before it’s too late. I deceived you and for that I’m sorry but I did it to protect you. I’m not sorry that I fell in love with you and I’m not sorry that I asked you to be my wife. I don’t know how this will end. Remember everything I’ve taught you; it has all led to this.

I’m not a religious man but I know this means something to you.

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:7

Forever Yours,

Adam

Anne could no longer find breath. Her lungs filled with heat. Curiosity killed the cat, right? She had spoken this verse to him right after they began dating. Adam could see her tormented soul, her sickness, and he pulled her from the darkness. He had saved her from herself. She spent hours searching for answers after her mother died and then after Carter disappeared. Anne couldn’t save them.

“Anne?”

“Jesus!” Anne grabbed her chest. Casey vaporized next to her.

“Sorry, you were so deep in thought you didn’t hear me knock. Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have—he was here.”

Casey’s cherry-red-painted mouth fell open.

“What? Did Shelly see him?”

“No, he snuck through the other door and then I got an email from Adam.”

Anne could see Casey’s bright eyes grazing over his bold words.

“What the hell does that mean—it has all led to this?”

“Adam showed up at the funeral. He was being vague. It’s like this whole thing has been plotted out for the past three years.”

“Gearing up for war,” Casey whispered.

Anne’s brows pushed together as she let Casey’s words sink in. They made sense. It’s been building