Page 177 of Perfect Liar

I’d rather die myself than live without him.

My chest tightened. Fear knotted in the pit of my stomach.

Breathe. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

I had to get out of the house without anyone seeing me, and I needed to be on a plane before Thomas realized I was gone. He would never let me leave.

I dug through my bag for my credit card and booked the first flight to Hartford and a car to get me to the airport. If everything went to plan, I would arrive in Stonington just after sunrise.

But before leaving the house, I wanted to leave a note for Thomas to say sorry.

I grabbed paper and a pen from Will’s desk, scribbled down my apology, and then tiptoed along the corridor, through the shadows. I slipped the envelope under his bedroom door, but just as I turned to go, his feet thumped against the floor. I froze and shut my eyes.

An interior door inside his room creaked open.

I held my breath.

There were no other sounds, so I ran back down the corridor to my room. I waited there for a minute, listening, and praying that Thomas had gone back to bed without stumbling onto my note.

He didn’t pursue me, and the house stayed quiet, so I grabbed my things and headed for the staircase…the driver I’d arranged would be waiting at the bottom of the ridge on the public road for me.

As I hit the last stairs, someone from the security team sat near the front door inside the foyer. He shifted his weight, making his chair groan. I couldn’t tell which guy it was, but when he turned his back, I slipped off my shoes and crept through the dark hall. Staying close to the walls, I made it to the kitchen.

I would leave through the kitchen’s service entrance…Ben had shown me how to disarm that door in the event of an emergency.

A dim light switched on.

Damn it, it was Mrs. Bates. Why was she up?

I pressed my back against the wall.

The long hem of her housecoat disappeared into the pantry, and the light inside came on. One minute later, the light went out, and her slippers shuffled across the wood and up the rear staircase.

I exhaled heavily, relieved she hadn’t sensed my presence, and disarmed the door.

Outside, I ducked quickly into the shadows and avoided lit areas, crawling on my hands and knees behind the flowering shrubs and thick hedges.

The cool night air covered everything with a blanket of dew.

As I moved along, keeping low, a sharp branch whipped against my thigh, slashing through my jeans, tearing into my flesh. I smashed my hand over my mouth and bit down to keep quiet.

When the house’s lights were no longer clear, I stumbled upright and jogged across the lawn to the trees.

Nocturnal creatures scurried, and tree leaves rustled.

An owl shrieked, startling me, and I lost my footing, sliding down through the wet soil. I grabbed the giant root of an old tree to catch myself.

My leg muscles burned.

My heart alternated between hesitation and wild fluttering.

But finally…finally, the dark landscape ended.

CONNECTICUT, US

I slept through the flight from London to Hartford after heavily medicating myself.

The airplane was huge, making it a little easier for me, and a really sweet flight attendant had offered to help me get through the journey in one piece.

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