Page 54 of The Happy Family

‘I remember it all,’ I tell him, deciding that I can trust him because he is clearly trusting me.

Jack raises his eyebrows while I nod.

‘I’m just pretending to have memory loss because this way Luna thinks I’m no threat to her,’ I go on.

‘That’s a good idea,’ Jack agrees. ‘She doesn’t suspect anything?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Wow.’

‘What do you want to say to me?’ I ask him then, eager to keep this conversation moving along at a fast pace before my parents re-emerge and wonder who it is I’m talking to.

‘I want to say to you that I am going to catch her,’ Jack tells me adamantly. ‘I am going to prove that Luna has done all the terrible things that Gemma told me she did. And most of all, I am going to prove that Luna killed Gemma in the hospital. Gemma’s legacy should not be that of a desperate and dangerous prisoner who got killed whilst trying to stage an escape.’

I nod at Jack, understanding his motivations and being fully onboard with each and every one of them. But I do have a question.

‘Why have you kept quiet all this time?’ I ask him. ‘If you believed Gemma and you suspect Luna of killing her, why not go to the police? Have them investigate her?’

‘I imagine it’s for the same reasons you haven’t done that either,’ Jack replies. ‘Because I’m afraid that if it didn’t work and Luna was still free, she would come after me and kill me, and if she did, she’d never get caught then.’

Jack and I really are on the exact same page with this and I nod my head to confirm it.

‘She’s the smartest, most calculated person I have ever met,’ I say. ‘She is capable of anything. She cannot be underestimated. She’s too dangerous for that. One wrong move, that is all it takes, and she will kill us, like you fear. Make no mistake. If you want to be a part of this, if you want to help me get her, you are playing a very deadly game that might not end the way you want it to. I am prepared to lose my life to catch Luna. Are you?’

Jack considers the enormity of everything I have just said before giving me his answer.

‘How do we get this bitch?’ he asks me, and I can’t help but smile.

‘I have an idea,’ I say, the smile quickly fading because this is too serious for me to spend more than a second allowing myself to enjoy what lies ahead.

‘You do?’ Jack asks optimistically, and I nod my head.

‘I’m going to get her the way that she got me,’ I say confidently, even if I am a mess of nerves, doubt and anxiety on the inside. ‘I never saw her coming until it was too late. Now it’s time to turn the tables and do the same to her.’

‘What does that involve?’ Jack asks, clearly eager to help, and that is a good question.

He wants to know how I will catch Luna.

I bet she’d love to know too, if only she had any idea I was even coming for her.

THIRTY-SEVEN

LUNA

For a woman who used to be a delivery driver and hated every second of it, you might think that the last person I would want to see would be another delivery driver to remind me. But I don’t mind it, as it’s much nicer to be on this side of things, receiving parcels, than it is to be handing them out. That’s why I smile at the friendly woman who has just delivered one to my door. I close it and carry the parcel into the kitchen while she goes back to her van. I know what her routine will be now. She’ll be checking her route, planning the fastest way to go so she can finish as early as possible. But she’ll only finish when all the parcels are gone from the back of her van, and it will likely be hours before that happens. Yes, it’s safe to say that I don’t envy that woman. I did my time as a delivery driver, but I prefer this life much better.

The life of a mum, partner, and domestic goddess.

At least that’s how I like to think of myself.

So far, Reid hasn’t said anything to correct me so I must be doing something right around the home.

‘What have you ordered now?’ Reid asks me when he sees me enter the kitchen with a small cardboard box.

‘None of your business,’ I say with a smirk. ‘But Christmas is coming up, so get used to plenty more deliveries between then and now.’

Reid rolls his eyes before going back to his breakfast, which is a bacon sandwich I cooked for him as a treat because that’s just the kind of perfect partner that I am. There are also a few pieces of bacon sitting on the side for Arthur and Ruby too, but as usual, they are taking a long time to come downstairs. The pair of them always seem to take longer than needed to get their school uniforms on and make an appearance at the breakfast table.