Page 98 of Unforgotten

“Ryan, Scott knew me. He remembered me from high school.” Her cheeks heated. “It was so awful. He was acting like I should’ve remembered him too. If I had, I think things sure would’ve been different.”

“No, don’t put the blame on yourself. When we were huntinghim down, we talked a lot about how people’s appearances change, especially between ages fourteen and eighteen or nineteen. It’s also true that Scott went out of his way to look different, what with his scruffy face and longer hair.”

“I don’t know. Maybe some of the blame is mine. How could I not even remember talking to him? Was I just that self-centered?”

“Don’t you do that to yourself. His fixation wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t normal. This isn’t on you.”

She heard his words. She just wished she believed them completely. Realizing that she didn’t even know what had happened to Scott, she looked at Ryan warily. “Where is he now?”

“He’s at the station in holding. Once he’s had psychological testing, he’ll be sent to the county jail or a psychiatric facility.”

“So ... he’s not about to get out?”

“Sweetheart, he kidnapped you and Bethanne, has been stalking and terrorizing you for months, and assaulted you. In addition, we’ve figured out that he was the one who set the fire near the dumpster at Burke’s and stole those cards.” His gaze darkened. “We think he’s been planning to kidnap you for a while. Scott Conway will not be getting released anytime soon.” Picking up one of her bandaged hands, he pressed his lips to her fingers. “You’re safe. It’s over.”

She liked that idea. She wanted it to be over.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

“I heard you were awake,” a nurse in light blue scrubs said as she walked in, pulling a cart. “It’s time to check your vitals.”

Ryan let go of her hand. “I’ll wait out in the hall.”

She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to hold his hand and close her eyes again and pretend that everything wasgoing to be just fine. But that wasn’t how she was supposed to act. “Okay.”

“Your young man has been worried sick about you, dear,” the nurse murmured as she put a blood pressure cuff on her arm. “You are blessed to have him in your life.”

Candace didn’t dare correct the nurse, but the fact was that she didn’t know if Ryan actually was hers. Sure, he’d been her escort and he’d been affectionate and caring, but they had never made a relationship more than friendship official.

The nurse didn’t seem to need a reply as she chattered on, discussing the weather, lightning bugs, her beagle, and a sale at the market. All the while, she checked Candace’s pulse, temperature, and IV site and bag. When she paused for a breath, she was looking carefully at the stitches on her face. “How’s your pain, dear?”

“I don’t know.”

She frowned. “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a five?”

“The doctor said to go ahead and adjust your pain medication if needed. It might make you sleepy, though.”

“That’s fine.” No, it was better than fine. She had no desire to do anything but sleep and exist.

And try to forget what it felt like to sit in the middle of several hundred altered pictures of herself while a madman sliced open her face.

But she wasn’t sure if forgetting that would ever be possible.

33

She was safe in his arms at last. Holding Bethanne close on the couch in her living room, Jay tried to come up with the right words to convey everything he was feeling. But how was that even possible? Too many emotions kept running through his head. Love. Relief. Fear. Anger. All of it tangled together.

Then he realized that Bethanne didn’t expect him to spout any words of wisdom. All she needed was his arms around her.

He could do that.

“You still okay?” he whispered.

He, Lott, and Bethanne had arrived at the shack just as all the commotion was finished. When Chief Foster saw them, he radioed for another ambulance. In seemingly no time at all, Bethanne had been on a stretcher, and he’d been sitting by her side as the ambulance rushed toward the hospital. Lott was riding with one of the police officers. After she’d been bandaged and seen at the hospital, her parents had taken her home. But beforehand, she’d asked Jay to visit soon.

That was why he was now sipping hot tea next to her. She wore a faded gray dress, a clean kapp, and fluffy socks. Shewas also curled up under a blanket with her own cup of tea. At first, he’d been worried about her being chilled, but her mamm said Bethanne simply wanted to feel cozy.

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