Page 53 of If Anything Happens To Me

“Hayley,” I said, my voice croaking. Finally I’d gotten to her, though not in the exact way I’d planned.

“How do you know my name?” she asked, sounding shocked.

“Iris told me.”

“You know my sister?” she asked, tears in her eyes.

I nodded.

“He killed her,” Hayley said. “A few days ago. He’s going to do the same to us.”

Right. She still believed Iris was dead. “No, he didn’t—” I tried to raise my head, look around for Iris. Hadn’t Hayley seen her, hadn’t Fitch brought her in here? Where was she?

“Do you know where we are?” Hayley asked.

“The attic?” I asked, and my throat was so dry, my voice was barely a squawk. “Hayley, we got to you in time.”

“?‘We’?” Hayley asked.

“Yes,” I said, craning my neck. I didn’t see Iris. That gave me a jolt. Daphne had said “the boy” had taken her inside the hotel. Maybe Iris was lying down across the room, still knocked out. Maybe Matt and Fitch were hiding, watching us.

“Who are you?” Hayley asked.

“My name is Olivia. Oli,” I said.

“How did he catch you?” Hayley asked. Her voice shook. She looked as if every good thing she had ever known or felt had left her forever.

I was flat on my back, on a thin mattress. I struggled to prop myself up on my elbows. I reached in my pocket for my phone, but it was gone. Someone had taken it.

I had a lot to tell Hayley, but first I had to establish a few crucial details. She had said “he.” But which one?

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“He went downstairs,” Hayley said.

“When will he be back? And what’s his name?” I asked, my heart pounding.

“He comes and goes,” she said, not answering my second question. “There’s no set time. It kind of depends on her.” Hayley pointed across the attic to a four-posted canopied bed where someone was sleeping. From here, I couldn’t tell who it was, but I had a pretty good guess.

I forced myself to stand up. It was hard, because of the strong sedatives Fitch had given me.

My determination to get us out of there made my muscles move. Hayley supported me so I wouldn’t topple over. My head felt fuzzy, but it was clearing up.

“Where’s Iris?” I asked, looking around.

Hayley’s expression became a combination of anger and wild grief. “I told you—he killed her. Right here in this attic—I watched him murder my sister.”

“No, Hayley,” I said. “She’s alive.”

Hayley’s eyes widened. “Don’t torture me! You’re still out of it, dreaming, I know what I saw! She wasn’t moving, he carried her out of here. I screamed and grabbed at him, but he shook me off and just kept going. I think he took her somewhere outside to bury her.”

“She survived,” I said. “He only thought she was dead. Hayley, I found her. I pulled her out of the ground. And she’s here. We came to the Miramar together.”

“But she’snothere,” Hayley said, her eyes wild. “Why are you saying she is? Don’t lie to me!”

I felt madly confused. If Iris wasn’t in the attic, where was she? Had Fitch and Matt done something terrible to her? The shock of it all felt like a bucket of ice water, and it had the effect of washing the rest of the cobwebs out of my brain.

“Look, Hayley,” I said. “You can believe me or not, but we’re getting out of this attic.”

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