Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
I look at the handsome man who has made me feel things I never thought I was capable of feeling.
The man whose job it is to protect me.
The Ex-Navy SEAL. And he’s damned good at his job. The man who saved Mikey from dying alone, abandoned by his platoon.
Why am I so convinced it’s Brindley?
Because I was—am—envious of Brindley.
She was subjected to so much less torture than the rest of us were.
She denied it several times, but in my mind, she’d admitted it. I convinced myself Brindley was the culprit because she hadn’t suffered as much on the island. Perhaps I never heard fidgeting on my doorknob at night. Perhaps it was all a conjured mechanism to prove to myself that Brindley was behind the texts.
Because I needed someone to blame.
And because…
If it’s not Brindley?
Then I don’t know who it is.
And that scares me the most of all.
39
LEIF
Kelly stares down at her lap, her hands clasped together. Is she thinking? Is she getting ready to strike?
I don’t think she’s getting ready to strike because she doesn’t think before doing that. If she were going to strike again, she would’ve already done so.
Then the ding of a text.
Kelly reaches for her small purse and pulls out her cell phone.
Then she gasps.
“What is it?”
“Another one.” She hands the phone to me.
You will get what you deserve, you traitorous bitch.
“You’re truly off the hook now, Brindley,” Leif says.
“Oh my God, is it another one of those texts?” Brindley asks.
I nod, and Kelly stays quiet.
“I’m sorry you got this,” I say. “But I swear to God I will protect you. And now… Do you believe that it’s not Brindley?”
“Why should I? She could have someone sending them for her.”
I sigh. “Kelly… Please.”
Finally, she looks up at me, her gorgeous eyes laced with sadness. “Who’s doing this to me, Leif? Who? And why?”
“I don’t know, baby. But I swear to God we will find out.” I turn back to Brindley. “I’m sorry we bothered you.”
“It was no bother. I’m happy to have any kind of chance to prove my innocence. I guess it doesn’t matter now. Whoever texted Kelly proved it for me.”
“Kelly?” I say.
She looks to Brindley. “It’s not you, is it?”
“No, it’s not. It never was.”
I don’t expect Kelly to apologize to Brindley, so I rise and offer her my hand. “You want to go home?”
“Yeah.” She stands as well, and then she turns to Brindley. “I… I’m sorry.”
Brindley drops her jaw.
And I keep from dropping mine.
“I’m just glad my name has been cleared,” Brindley says. “I do hope you find out who’s doing this to you, Kelly. You don’t deserve it. None of us deserves any more pain for the rest of our lives.”
Kelly simply nods, and then she walks toward the door. I follow her.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Brindley.”
“Any time. Both of you are always welcome here. I get kind of lonely.”
“Will you be returning to your family soon?” I ask.
“Sadly, I don’t have a family,” Brindley says. “I grew up in the foster system. I got kicked out of that when I was eighteen, so with no place to go, I ended up on the streets. In a bizarre way, the island saved me. At least I got enough to eat every day.”
Kelly drops her jaw. “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask me.”
“You’ve never talked about it in group therapy,” Kelly says.
“You’ve never talked about your childhood in group therapy either.”
Kelly closes her mouth then.
“I’m sorry to hear about that,” I say to Brindley. “If you need anything, I’m in the apartment next to Kelly’s.”
“That’s kind of you, but the Wolfe family has made sure I have everything I need. And Macy is a wonderful therapist. To be honest, this is the best home I’ve ever had. I’m not in any hurry to leave it. Good night.”
She closes the door, leaving Kelly and me in the hall.
“I didn’t know,” Kelly says.
“I know you didn’t. Everyone has a story. Everyone is so much more than what they seem on the surface. You are way more than what you seem on the surface, Kelly. Deep down inside you are an amazing person, and I hope one day you see that.”
Her lips tremble. “Why are you so nice to me?”
I open my mouth, but she interrupts me.
“It’s your job, isn’t it?”
“My job is to protect you, baby. Nothing in the job description says I need to be nice to do that.”