Page 89 of The Weekend Getaway

EPILOGUE

PHIL

“What now?” Sarah asked.

Phil didn’t know.

He drank the Bloody Mary Sarah had made him and stared at the early morning sunlight dancing on the pool. Sitting across from her at the table on the terrace, Phil reflected on the first time he’d seen her in fifteen years when she walked into the villa two afternoons ago.

His breath had caught in his throat because Sarah had taken it away, like she had when he’d seen her lying in bed at his father’s chalet. So gorgeous and serene. Like a sleeping beauty. He’d figured she was blackout drunk. Or passed out from some drug she’d taken.

Part of him had wondered if a kiss would wake her up.

But he wasn’t about to kiss an unconscious girl. And hefigured a hearty slap would do the trick. But it didn’t. Sarah had truly been out of it. And so he’d left her.

Not knowing that Jason was lurking …

A weight, heavy and crushing like an unexpected burden, lodged in his chest. If he had known that demented psycho was watching from the closet, waiting to get Sarah alone, then …

Things might have been different.

Things would have been different.

Sarah would have eventually slept off the drugs and woken up. Phil would have asked her on a date. And who knew what might have happened after that …

“Phil …?”

He stared at her. Such a beautiful girl. Luminescent pale skin, dark hair, dark eyes. She really did look like Snow White. But there was a bit of the evil queen within her. A willingness to morph into something maleficent in order to deceive.

“What are we going to do?” Sarah asked, staring at him. “There are five people dead in a cave. One of them I killed, and?—”

“We’re going to call the police,” Phil said, reaching across the table, taking her hand. “After we call my lawyers, who will fly down to the island to make sure we have proper representation while we explain what happened to the authorities.”

Sarah’s expression was a mix of shock and wariness with a hint of relief. Squeezing his fingers, she said, “Do you think they’ll believe us? The police might think we made it all up.They might think we’re two psychos who lured our friends here to kill them and then decided to pretend that we were the victims.”

Remembering what Jason had told him about the security system, Phil shook his head. “There’s proof of what Jason did. And you killed him in self-defense. You save my life. That’s the truth and that’s what I’ll tell the police.”

Nodding, Sarah let go of his hand and looked away. “I’m sorry …”

“For what?”

Looking toward the pool, she said, “For what we did to you.”

Phil said, “So am I … “

Sarah glanced at him, tears in her eyes. “Not that it matters or makes anything better, but … a part of me always hated myself for agreeing to go along with Alex’s plan and that’s why …”

“That’s why … what?”

“That’s why … I sent the notes.”

“You sent the notes?” Phil stared at her, rocked with confusion.

“I wanted you to know that you were innocent,” Sarah said.

“Fifteen years later?” Phil scoffed.

Wiping her damp cheeks, Sarah said, “If it makes you feel any better, I spent fifteen years feeling guilty because I believed Alex’s lies about how you had everything and we had nothing so we deserved it because you would be fine nomatter what …”

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