TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,46
into the cheese and filled her mouth, eating the heavenly bites, savoring them. Who would have thought that pizza could taste this good?
“Sis?”
She chewed, avoiding his eyes.
“Sis? Did someone try to hurt you? You look awful.”
Sarah swallowed the bite, then looked at him. “Can I borrow a bed? I’m exhausted.”
He nodded, eyes deep with concern. “Of course. Stay in the spare room as long as you need to. We’ll talk in the morning then.”
She smiled, then kissed his cheek, thinking a good night’s sleep would give her a chance to come up with a good enough lie.
Chapter 48
“You’re telling me you’re going to help him again tomorrow?”
Matt sat on the bed; his eyes were dark and angry as he looked at me. I told him everything that had happened and that I needed him to take care of the kids the next day while I went to Winter Park.
“Are you insane? Have you completely lost it?” he asked.
I was getting undressed and took off my shirt, then threw it in the hamper. “No, Matt. I have not gone insane. I promised to help him find his girlfriend, and now we have a chance at doing so.”
Matt shook his head in disbelief. He scoffed. “But if she’s not in trouble, what’s the point?”
I gave him an angry look. It felt like we had the same argument repeatedly, and it was tiresome.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Why does he need your help at all? I could remotely understand it when you thought something had happened to her, that she had been kidnapped or maybe even killed. That, I could understand. But now? Police officers saw her in a restaurant. It doesn’t sound like a crime has been committed at all.”
“We don’t know that. I’ve been searching for this girl for weeks; I want to help Scott find her and make sure she’s okay. See it with my own eyes. People don’t just disappear for no reason. She could still be in trouble.”
“Okay, how about this?” Matt said and sat on his knees. “Maybe she just doesn’t want to be with Scott anymore. Have you thought about that? What if she just left him?”
“She would have left a note or something, or at least called. You don’t just leave without a word.”
“What if he was abusive and she left to get away from him, and now you’ve led him directly to her? How’s that for a theory, huh? I mean, after what you told me about that girl on the bridge, I am sorry, I don’t buy that excuse even for a second.”
I exhaled. Part of me worried that Matt was right, but I didn’t want to let him know that. I trusted Scott and believed him.
“Her boyfriend was murdered,” I said, trying to cut him off. “She feared for her life. She told Scott to look for her if she ever went missing. That sounds like someone worried something might happen to her. I need to see for myself that she’s all right and hear it from her own mouth. Can’t you give me that?”
“You want me to ruin my only day off this week? I’m exhausted from work and the lack of sleep. And now you want me to take care of two babies all day long?”
“I do it every day,” I said, almost hissing. “Chances are, it won’t even be the entire day, just a few hours. I think you can manage that.”
I opened the drawer and took out my PJs, then slammed it shut angrily. I got dressed, then walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I returned, Matt’s side of the bed was empty, and he had taken his pillow and blanket with him to the living room downstairs.
Chapter 49
Sarah slept like a rock—the best she had in many weeks. When she finally woke up, it was with a loud gasp, and her heart was beating hard in her chest. She shot her eyes open and stared into the ceiling, trying to figure out where she was until it finally sank in that she was actually out of the small room. She wasn’t chained to the wall anymore, and she wasn’t sleeping on a bench in the park either, worrying they’d come for her.
She was safe.
Sarah sat upright, then placed her feet on the floor. The house was so quiet, and she wondered what time it was. She was suddenly so grateful that her brother had never married or had children. Her brother was gay, but