Page 175 of Tell Me Lies

“Sure.”

She placed it on the table and sat as he dished up the pasta. He placed parmesan down and sat. Silence descended between them. He kept peeking over at her, then she would do the same to him. A couple of times their gazes met.

“When we get there tomorrow, I’ll park and we can walk into the precinct together.”

She used some of the bread to sop up the sauce, then washed it down with her glass of water. Then she wiped her mouth, laid the napkin inside the bowl, folded her hands together, and looked at him.

“We’re not going to the police,” she said.

He blinked. “Why not?”

“My sister doesn’t acquire her money legally, so I won’t be pressing charges.”

Reece didn’t know what to say, but he completely understood her reasoning. “Thank you.”

She nodded, rose, and grabbed his dishes. Working together, they cleaned up and put everything in the dishwasher. He didn’t know what else to say, or where they even stood with one another. She took the moment out of his hands.

“Good night, Reece.”

“Good night, Marnie.”

Chapter Nine

Silence dominated the ride back to the city.

Marnie mostly stared out the side window, lost in thought. She’d spent most of the night wondering how she could’ve had sex with a man who kidnapped her. She empathized with his story. Did that mean she was filled with full-blown Stockholm syndrome? And if so, then could she really trust any of the emotions flooding through her?

“Do you … would you…” Reece cleared his throat. “Do you want me to drop you off at Rebecca’s house?”

For some reason, she didn’t think that was the question he was going to ask.

“Yes, please. My car is there.”

They fell silent once again. Truthfully, she had no idea what to say to him. It took a few hours before he pulled into her sister’s driveway and placed his truck in “park.” Then they both sat there. Now that it was time for him to leave, she faced the realization that she didn’t want to say goodbye. Did that make any sense?

“I just want to say once more that I’m sorry,” Reece said.

She nodded, acknowledging his words. “For what it’s worth, Reece, I forgive you.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.” Marnie lifted the cat carrier and opened the door, but he grabbed her arm to halt her exit. “Do you think there’d be a chance for communication in the future?”

“What? Like between us?”

“Yeah. Between us. I know I fucked up, but I think we could have something.”

She hesitated, but not because she didn’t want that. Just the opposite, actually. She wanted to say yes, but there was too much between them to just jump in with both feet. Perhaps a little pause was the prudent thing to do.

“Okay,” she said softly. “But you’ll have to give me some time.”

A smile curled the corners of his mouth. “I can do that.”

Warmth spread through her as she hopped out of his truck and gave a wave as he backed up. He returned it, then he was gone. Marnie turned to her sister’s front door, when a body suddenly pushed into her. When she dropped the cat carrier, the door popped open and the cat sprinted away. Panic bloomed and she struggled to get free, but the man who pinned her wasn’t budging.

“You’ve been a bad, bad girl, Rebecca,” a deep voice hissed in her ear.

“I’m not Rebecca,” she managed to get out despite the restrictions on her lungs.

“Shh,” the man whispered. He licked the shell of her ear, and she trembled in revulsion. “I tried to forget you. I told myself I had to go back to being Anna’s husband. But I realized I can’t walk away. He can’t have you. I’ve left my wife, so it’s just you and me now. And you know what I’d love to do with you? I want to show you my other passion. Then we can be together forever. All mine. My beautiful Rebecca.”

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