Page 90 of The Two Last Moments

I blink rapidly, praying someone will come out of the house. Walk down the street. Anything. But we’re in the shadows of Nina’s front yard, completely alone. “You were driving the car.”

“Of course I was. I found out you were planning to come to West Oaks. I caught up to you, like I always do when you run. Ialwayscatch you. And Danny Bradley might’ve helped you get away for a while, but I’ve known where you were every second that you’ve been in West Oaks. I’ve been close. Watching. Since before you went to Solvang, even before you got back from the hospital.”

No. I squeeze my eyes closed.

But I felt him, didn’t I? Felt him watching. Right on this street.

“At first,” he says, “I thought you might be faking the amnesia thing. I wasn’t sure if you were setting a trap for me, so I stayed away. We needed Kathy Sullivan to check on your story.”

“You’re the one who hired her.”

He doesn’t respond to that. Probably because it’s obvious. “I was surprised as anyone to find out your mind really was a blank. Kathy was supposed to deliver you to me, but once again, Bradley played your savior.”

I remember Kathy’s phone conversation. She must’ve been talking tohim. And then, the dark SUV that Danny told me about. The driver who stared as we fled the parking lot. “You were there at the travel stop.”

“I’ve beeneverywhere, Lark,” he hisses. “You thought you could start a new life with a new family, but I’ve been here. I’ve beenclose. Biding my time for an opportunity like today.”

My skin crawls where he’s touching me. I’d turn myself inside-out if I could to make it stop. “Did you do this? Did you hurt Nina?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”

“I swear, if you did anything to her, I’ll—”

He grabs my throat hard enough to leave bruises. “You’llwhat? Scream for your boyfriend? He’s busy. I can do whatever I want to you. Deep down, you know that’s true. You’re brave enough to run, but not to fight me.”

No. No, no, no.

I want to deny it.

But when he tried to run me down in the car, I froze. And even now, I can barely move. My legs are stuck in place, as if vines and roots have sprung up from the ground and tangled around me, holding me fast.

“Why won’t you just let me go?” I force out. “Just leave me alone and forget about me. I don’t know who you are or what you look like. I’ll tell the police to stop looking for you.”

“If they knew why you really came to West Oaks, they would’ve arrested you before you got here. You want to know why I won’t let you go? You want to know therealLark?” He drags me a few steps back. Deeper into the shadows between the trees and the hedges. “You grew up the same way as me. Scraping to get by. Lying, cheating and stealing. We got good at it. But I was fair to you. Always. I took care of you, and you betrayed me.”

“Cam said you were controlling. You weren’t taking care of me. You werehurtingme.”

“Bullshit. Cam didn’t know anything except the lies you told him. He was a mark, like all the rest. You used him.” I try to shake my head, but he’s still holding onto my throat. “You volunteered at that clinic so you could scout for sad, lonely people who needed a friend. Like Travis Bradley.”

“No,” I whisper. Tears sting my eyes.

“You’re the one who realized Travis had a loaded family he hadn’t seen in decades. Nina Bradley was a perfect mark. Rich old lady, sick, eager to reunite with her son. You sent the emails to her. You were supposed to get her to send money to an account I set up, and then we’d vanish. That was the plan. Simple. We’d done it plenty of times before.”

Acid burns in my stomach. I’m going to throw up.

“But then, you decided you wanted more. You wanted to cut me out of the deal. You came straight to West Oaks to meet Nina in person, get enough money from her that you could run away and disappear forever.”

“That’s not true.” It can’t be.

“YouknewI’d come after you, just like I did. But then you forgot your own plans. You were pretending to be a good, sweet, innocent girl, and when you lost your memory, you became your own cover story. But that’s not you, Lark. You’re just as devious and cruel and vindictive as I am.” He pulls me against him, close enough his lips graze my ear. “You’re mine, and you always will be.”

“No!” I struggle against his hold. For the briefest moment, his fingers slip from my neck, but then he’s got me cinched up against him, my back to his chest.

“Still refuse to believe me? Fine, you can keep up with your charade. But it’s going to cost you. Two hundred thousand dollars to buy your freedom.”

“Two hundredthousand? Are you insane?”

“You’re underestimating how rich the Bradley family is. If you pay up, you can stay in West Oaks and play house with your firefighter and his dying grandma.”

---