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“A couple weeks ago, right after Toby Myers died. Whoever it was left me a white ribbon.” I pull the ribbon out of my pocket and show it to her, placing it on the table. “Please, you have to believe me. He was in my apartment. I thought I was going crazy, or maybe I had sex with someone else and don’t remember. But I had sex with someone. The nurse confirmed it. If it’s him, they should have his DNA, and you can’t match that with forensics. Is that good enough proof for you?”
Sarah scratches her forehead. “It’s compelling enough for me to look into.”
“If it’s him, you must promise me not to turn him in. I know this sounds crazy, but he’s not our enemy.”
Her eyebrows shoot upward. “Oh yeah? Well, who the fuck is our enemy then?”
I take a long sip of my drink and settle my nerves. “You believe Beth is the Constellation Killer, don’t you?” She goes stone silent as a few men give out brawny laughs behind us. “That’s what you were insinuating at the coffee shop.”
Her eyes flicker with all the pain coursing through them. Years of anguish and heartbreak after the death of her father. “I have no definitive proof, and your mother will have my head if I’m not careful about it. All I’ve ever had is a hunch.”
The bartender comes and clears the empty glasses. Sarah orders a beer, but I can’t drink anymore. I might puke. “Nick’s alive, Sarah. I know it in my soul. He’s hunting me. He’s smart, angry, and dangerous.”
“If he is, I’ll find him. And if this is true, you are in more danger than I ever could have imagined. If it’s him, this man lives outside the law. Off the grid, and he’s furious at the world.” She shoves away from the bar. “Go home before Beth finds you missing and lie low.”
My head lifts. “Wait, what? You’re just going to leave me? Let me help you.”
She pulls her coat over her shoulders and drops cash on the bar. “You’re not helping me with anything. I’m going to handle this.”
She turns her back to me—
“He’s out there,” I shout, and she stops dead in her tracks. “I bet he’s watching us right now. He could even be in this bar.”
Everyone stops and stares at us. Sarah briefly glances in their direction before looking out the window at the snowy lake and mountains beyond. She only briefly turns her body to acknowledge me. “Let him come, then.”
Chapter 26
When I return, the house is still quiet, and the sky is darkened. I enter the same way I left, through the open window to my bedroom, shutting it behind me to hide my escape route. After taking off my coat and putting on my slippers, I check my bedroom for anything amiss. A few minutes later, I head to the living room and find Regina curled up on the couch. I retreat a step, watching her sleep, her chest rising and falling in small breaths. So vulnerable, so comfortable being alone with someone she deems unstable.
She has no idea I was gone.
Her eyes pop open as if sensing me watching and startles quickly, composing herself. “You’ve been asleep for a while,” she says, stretching. “I must have nodded off myself.”
I side-eye the camera in the kitchen and head toward it. “I’m getting water and heading back to my room.”
She sits up and lazily checks her phone. “Your mom called an hour ago. They are going to be a while. Whoever broke into the mill made a giant mess of things. They need to stay and file a police report. I’ll stay in the guest room tonight, so you won’t be alone.”
I internally smile. I imagine Nick unleashing his fury on the place, or perhaps Sarah Crawley was using it as a ploy to get me out of the house. I wouldn’t put it past her. Who knows, maybe it was me, and I forgot about it. I paddle past her toward my room.
“Layla?” she calls out.
I freeze and don’t bother to face her. “Yeah?”
“Don’t go down that rabbit hole. It’s not a path you want to take, and you don’t want to say anything that could jeopardize your recovery.”
I tilt my head and turn to face her. “What does she have on you?”
Regina blinks. Her normally composed and sophisticated exterior strips down to nothing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I chuckle. “It must be something bad for you to lie about murder.”
Her eyes flash. “The Ashbys are not a family to be trifled with, Layla. But you know that, seeing as you’re one of them.” She snatches up her book and begins to read, dismissing me. Shivers run down my spine.
I return to my room while outside, the snowflakes grow twice as large. I’ve no doubt that the history between my mom and her two best childhood friends is complicated. More complicated than I ever realized. How deep does their friendship go? Deep enough to bury dark secrets?
I step inside my room and immediately my skin tingles. A cool breeze blows through the room, causing my arms to goose bump. The window is wide open. Frowning, I skirt my gaze around the room and check the hallway. I swear I closed it before I went downstairs after I came in. I walk over and slam it shut…again.
My bed is inviting, so I lie it, curling my knees to my chest to calm my nerves. My eyelids grow heavy as the setting sun casts a dim, cascading light.
