I throw my hands up and pace around the small room, Teeny following my every step. “Because the memory loss was real, you asshole.”
He won’t look at me but at least he keeps talking. “He decided on a different tactic. You and I were getting close.” Tyler looks up, his expression pained. “My feelings for you were real.”
He waits for me to say something, anything, but I don’t trust myself to speak.
“If he forced a relocation, we thought you’d confide in me. Refuse to leave and tell me what was happening to your family. Tell me what you knew.”
I drop down to the mattress. “This is why you kept telling me that day you’d be at that restaurant, HB’s, right until you picked me up for our date. You wanted me to be able to find you.”
“But you never came.” He won’t look at me, but keeps going, “Even after you left, I thought the plan would still work.” He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and holds it up. “I still have the same number. Just in case you decided to call.”
My mouth drops open. “Why on earth would you think that plan would work? This doesn’t even make sense.”
His head cocks to the side, pissed. “You did exactly what Thomas wanted you to do, Anna. I just wasn’t the guy you trusted.”
Rules for disappearing
by Witness Protection prisoner #18A7R04M:
Avoid conflict at all costs….
New rule by Anna Boyd:
Conflict can’t always be avoided, so be prepared for the worst. Or as Pearl likes to say, “If you’re up shit creek without a paddle—don’t think your hands ain’t gonna get dirty.”
room is silent. Even Teeny seems frozen beside me. Part of me is furious with him. Really, beyond furious, but then there is a small, very small, part of me that feels like I’m supposed to apologize to him for not liking him as much as I like Ethan. Because he’s right. I told Ethan everything and even fled town looking for a way out of this rather than leave him behind.
So this is why he’s so angry and taking shots at Ethan. He’s jealous I picked Ethan.
And then I remember a conversation Thomas and I had in the laundry room back in Natchitoches. It was just after my memory returned and I had called him to talk about my options. He asked me if this sudden change in my behavior had anything to do with a boy.
I haven’t given Thomas nearly enough credit.
Tyler stands up quickly and pulls the mask back on. “That’s all I can tell you. He’d kill me if he knew I’d told you this much.”
Somehow I don’t think Tyler’s “kill me” is as big of a threat as the “kill me” vibe I get from Thomas.
He leaves the room, locking it behind him.
I drop back against the mattress and stare at the ceiling, trying to work everything out in my mind.
Teeny’s at the wall talking to Noah and I jump when she’s starts yelling.
“Stop!” Teeny screams. “Where are you taking him?”
I rush to the wall and look through the hole—Thomas is pulling Noah out of the room.
Oh no, oh no, oh no…
“What’s happening?” I ask Teeny.
“I don’t know! I was talking to Noah and the next thing I know, Noah’s face is gone and Thomas’s fills the hole. Then Thomas started dragging Noah out of the room,” she finishes in a cry.
They’re already gone by the time I look through the hole again. Teeny hugs me and I hug her back just as tight.
“Wha…wha…what does that mean? Do you think he will…will…hurt him?” Teeny stutters out.
My stomach drops. “I hope not, Teeny.”
