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