Page 61 of Falling for a Killer

“No one came to the cabin, but the media has been emailing me and calling me nonstop. I’ve been trying to keep my face outof it for now, but you know me. I don’t bottle things up very well.”

I hope he can hear the smile in my voice, because I can hear it in his when he responds. “Yeah, I love that about you. Whatever you say or do I support you, just don’t believe everything they say about me. Steel showed me a couple of the interviews and it’s a bunch of bullshit. I promise I haven’t lied to you about anything, okay?”

Donna says something else to elicit another stream of cuss words from Killian, but I don’t have to have heard her clearly to know our time is almost up.

“Will you write to me again? I want to hear more of your favorite memories... or even memories that aren’t your favorite. I just want more of you.”

My chest tightens as I clutch the phone a little tighter. “I will. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Thank you for everything, and for being who you are. Our time in the cabin is what sustains me now.”

“Not me. The thought of all the time we have yet to come is what’s keeping me going. Be careful, Killian. Keep your head up.”

I hang up before Donna can smack him for stalling, feeling a little like I just stabbed us both.

I need to see him.

Soon.

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My phone rings again two hours later, and I’m surprised to see it’s Donna again.

“He’s going crazy without being able to see you,” she admits. “I think it’s affecting him more than he’s letting on.”

It makes my chest tighten, but I’m not surprised to hear it. “I’m not going anywhere, so if you called to tell me that to make sure I don’t leave him, you didn’t have to.”

“It’s not that, though it’s good to hear. I’m calling because it’s getting harder to get real answers out of him. He’s unfocused and jittery. I don’t think he’ll be of any use to me until he sees you.”

My poor baby. “What can I do? He’s in solitary, they’re not letting anyone anywhere near him.”

“Not officially, no. But money talks, Joey. You know that.”

Her words are so pointed that I know she only means one thing — she wants to bribe my way into the prison. Butterflies scatter in my stomach. “I’ve got a lot of it, and I desperately want to see him. Just tell me how much.”

She hesitates like she knows this is a terrible idea, then says quietly, “Tonight, one am. Bring two envelopes filled with cash with you, wear something black, and meet me at the corner of Halifax and Second. Don’t tell anyone.”

“How much?” I repeat.

“How much is their silence worth to you?”

Got it. “I’ll meet you there. Thank you, Donna. Seriously.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You won’t like what happens if you get caught.”

I don’t care. They could lock me up for a hundred years and it would still be worth it. He needs me, and I need him, no matter the cost. “I’ll be there.”

Thirty-One:

The Things Money Can Buy

My heart beats loudly in my chest as I wait, tugging the blanket I used to hide my face closer. I can hear the distant drip of water slapping off the floor from a leaky pipe, the far-off murmurs of prisoners too cooped up to be silent, and the rush of my own blood through my head.

If we get caught, we’re fucked.

But I trust Miss Steel, and I trust the power of money. There are no guards in sight. No one to tell me no or pull me backward as I see shadows approaching. Even from here, I recognize Killian when I see him.

Broad shoulders, head held high, confident steps. This place hasn’t taken a thing from him.

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