Page 72 of Asher's Assignment

The woman stared at her for a long moment, then glanced at Landon. “We’re fine. I’m just upset about Leah.”

“Maybe you all should go. Give her some space.”

“No, they’re fine,” Connie said. “I’m fine. You can go back to the living room.”

He rested a hand on the butt of his holster and tapped his fingers as he studied her. “All right. If you’re sure?”

“I am.” She seemed to shrink in on herself as she crossed her arms, clutching her sleeves.

With a quick nod and another long look at the group, he walked away.

Esther looked at Edie, waiting for her to signal they were safe to continue their discussion. After a moment, Edie nodded once.

“Let’s sit back down.” Esther motioned Connie to sit in her chair.

Her expression still wary and angry, Connie lowered herself to the seat.

“Asher and I didn’t do anything to trigger someone coming after you. Whoever it is, was already here. I think we got in their way, which is why Asher was taken.”

“You said you know who I am,” Connie whispered.

“Yeah. Last night, one of Audra’s contacts and I dug into your family. We found some old photographs and tracked you down with your high school yearbook. We know your real name is Lindy Nieman.”

All the color bled from Connie’s face. She grasped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white with her grip. She closed her eyes for a moment and a tear trickled out. “I haven’t heard that name or even thought of myself as that woman in so long.”

“What happened?” Annabeth asked softly. “Why did you run away and change your identity?”

“Because Leah’s father is a sick son of a bitch. I didn’t discover that until it was too late. I was already pregnant.” She sat back, wiping at her face with her sleeve, then crossed her arms. “Bradley and I met in college. We were both engineering majors. But he—he was on another level. Like MacGyver, almost. He was always making something out of nothing. I found him fascinating. And handsome. We’d been dating for several months and things seemed fine. He was a little possessive, but nothing terrible. It wasn’t until we got close to graduation that his demeanor changed. He started coming up with excuses why we couldn’t go visit my parents or making plans for us when he knew I had plans with friends. If I pushed back, he’d guilt me into canceling what I wanted to do and into doing whatever he wanted.”

“What did your friends and family say?” Brooke asked.

“They told me he was being controlling, but didn’t push the issue too much. At least, my friends didn’t. My parents were more vocal about it. Especially after I found out I was pregnant. That’s why I was at their house.”

“Did Bradley know about the baby?” Audra asked.

“No. I knew something about our relationship wasn’t right, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself.” She glanced down at her hands in her lap, picking at a catch on her fingernail for a moment before she looked up again and answered. “When I suspected I was pregnant, I took the test in a bathroom at school and left it in the trash there. A couple of days later, he had to work late. I didn’t have a car. He’d convinced me we could save up for a house faster if we only had one car payment, so I sold mine. I typically didn’t go anywhere I couldn’t walk or ride a bike to when he was working, but that day, I called my parents and asked if they would pay for a taxi to drive me the two hours to their house. They said yes without hesitation. I packed up my stuff and left.” Shifting, Connie wrapped an arm around her waist and raised the other, her fingers covering her mouth.

The teakettle whistled. Edie shut it off, then busied herself making several cups while Connie continued.

“When I got there, I told them what was going on and that I was scared. As much as I didn’t want to be pregnant or to have any sort of connection to Bradley moving forward, I couldn’t bring myself to have an abortion. I wanted Leah from the moment I found out about her.” Her face crumpled, but she quickly drew in a breath and swiped at the moisture on her face again. “Mom and Dad told me they’d do whatever they could to support me and the baby. I went to bed that night still scared, but at least I had some hope.”

“He figured out where you went, didn’t he?” Edie’s voice was quiet.

Again, Connie nodded. “Yeah. He showed up about twelve-thirty that night. Made a racket, banging on the door. Dad answered it to tell him to go away. I hung back, but I could see him. There was a wildness about Bradley I’d never seen before. He was completely unhinged. When he refused to leave, Dad said he’d call the police, then tried to shut the door. Bradley kicked it open. Dad—” she broke off with a choked sob. “Dad fell back, landed on the floor. Mom rushed over to help him up, and I ran forward to try to make Bradley back off. He shoved me, and I hit my head on the corner of the foyer table on the way down. It tore up a big flap of my scalp and made me black out. Just for a minute.” She indicated the side of her head.

Edie handed her a cup of tea. Connie wrapped her fingers around it, but didn’t drink.

“When I came to, he had a small statue—a cast of my parents’ hands—in one hand and was using it to hit my mom. My dad was already lying in a pool of blood.”

Brooke gasped, and she and Annabeth both covered the lower half of their faces. Esther’s stomach turned.

“I knew I had to get out, or I was next. While he was”—she swallowed hard—“distracted, I picked up my mom’s keys and purse and slipped out the open front door. I just drove. No idea where to go. Bleeding.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?” Brooke asked.

“Because I was terrified I wouldn’t win. That they’d believe him. And then—if I wasn’t arrested for their murders—that I’d end up right back in the same place. Under Bradley’s thumb. Except then it would be our child, too, who he could control. I—I just couldn’t.”

“How did you become Connie Tyler?” Audra asked. “Changing your identity isn’t something most people know how to do. Especially young women who come from good families. They never have a reason to know people who know how to do that.”

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