Page 79 of Love and Other Lost Things

But she couldn’t say that to Nik. Not yet. Not until she figured out what to do.

“You said you left him.” Nik searched her face. “But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”

Jane nodded. “I told him Mom needed my help cleaning up Dad’s paperwork and convinced him to let us go. But he thinks we’ll be back on New Year’s. He doesn’t know we’re running away.” She met his eyes. “My plan was to move to Canada. You remember that I’m a citizen? Matteo doesn’t know that.”

Nik was very still. “Your plan was to move to Canada?”

“It was. But then… we got here, and Scarlett is so happy. Happier than I’ve ever seen her. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder all the time. And I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Jane swallowed hard. “I ran into Martin Lefkowitz, the attorney?”

Nik nodded.

“He says he can help me.”

“He’s a really smart guy.”

“But you don’t know Matteo. I don’t know if he’d ever let us go.”

“Jane.” Nik shifted to face her. “This isn’t Linden Falls from when we were kids. The police force isn’t your dad’s police force. And you aren’t alone anymore.”

For the first time in a decade, Jane felt a glimmer of real hope. Could she really leave Matteo? Not just to flee to Canada where she’d be looking over her shoulder for the next several decades, but to stand up, stay, and fight for the life she and Scarlett deserved, with the people who cared about her?

At the thought of Scarlett, though, Jane’s confidence faltered. Nik was here, he was all-in now. But what would he do if he found out Scarlett might be his daughter? Jane hadn’t meant to keep this from him—she hadn’t known herself—but would he ever see it that way? She’d taken off and disappeared for a decade without so much as a text or phone call. Why would he believe her? Her heart folded in on itself. It was unbearable. The years they’d lost. The time they could have had. And now—with her suspicions that Scarlett might be Nik’s—the loss of the time Scarlett might have missed was unbearable, too.

But Nik still loved her after all this time. She had to believe that he would forgive her. Tomorrow, she’d go talk to Martin Lefkowitz and find out what to do about Matteo. Once she’d gathered the information she needed, she’d tell Nik everything.

Jane looked up and found only love radiating from his eyes. She could do this. She was ready to start the rest of her life.

THIRTY-ONE

Jane’s momentum was stalled slightly, the next morning, when she got in her car and it wouldn’t start. Nik opened the hood and peered inside, a move that made her smile. She had a feeling that unless the car had lungs and a spleen, Nik would have no clue what to do with it. He confirmed as much when he closed the hood and offered to drive her home.

She’d call Kait later about towing the car. Maybe by then Jane would have talked to Martin and gotten an idea of her next steps. Maybe she could tell Kait she wouldn’t need to trade it in for a nondescript sedan to get them across the border to Canada after all.

When they pulled up to Mom’s house, though, there was a car parked out in front that exactly matched the description of the sort of vehicle she’d asked Kait to get for her. A small white Nissan hatchback with New York plates. Had Kait dropped the car off? Jane was surprised that the other woman hadn’t texted or called to do the switch at the garage where Mom’s busybody neighbors like Mrs. Swanson wouldn’t be peering out their windows, wondering about the unfamiliar vehicle in their driveway.

Nik glanced over as he pulled up next to the Nissan. “Looks like your mom has a visitor.”

Jane shook her head. “I think it’s the car Kait got me to take to Canada.”

A dark cloud crossed Nik’s face.

Jane reached out to weave her fingers through his. “I don’t think I’ll be needing that now.”

“You won’t.” He turned to face her. “Jane, promise me that you won’t go running again and shut me out. No matter what, we’re in this together.”

Her eyes met his, and she was overwhelmed by the love she saw there. How could she ever go back to being on her own? “We’re in this together,” she repeated, pressing a kiss to his lips.

When she pulled away, Nik leaned back to look her in the eye. “I’ll call Kait about towing your car in front of my house. You worry about talking to Martin.”

With that, Jane felt another weight lift. She didn’t have to do everything on her own. Mom was here to help with Scarlett, and Hannah and Ali were back in her life. And so was Nik. For the first time in so long, Jane had people she could trust. People she could count on. “Thank you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him again before she hopped out of the car.

Jane climbed the porch, and with one last wave, she turned and opened the front door. She was still smiling when she stepped inside the house and bent over to kick off her boots. And then, suddenly, she heard a loud crack. Her head snapped back, and a burning pain seared across her face. From somewhere far away, she heard a shrill, terrified female voice call out, “No! Stop!” right before another blow had her flying across the hallway and slamming into the wall.

Jane bent over, gasping as her head spun and her vision blurred. What had just happened? But at the same time, she knew. This feeling, this moment, was so familiar. She’d been here, hugging a wall, her body aching, terror filling her lungs, more times than she could count.

She clutched a hand to her burning cheek and slowly lifted her head. “Matteo,” she whispered.

He towered over her, holding his right fist in his left palm. “Surprised to see me?”

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