Page 99 of Between the Lies

And then, two years later, Anne had died. Only now Cheryl said they hadn’t found a body, only frozen blood.

Wasn’t it ironic that Anne had disappeared from his life just as unexpectedly as she’d arrived? As ironic as a cop who dealt with criminals every day not seeing the signs that his marriage had been a farce.

A month into a pregnancy, you didn’t have evidence of a bairn on the way. You didn’t have a bump to show.

Had she lied about their bairns?

The world collapsed into a pool of colours; no matter how many tears cascaded, he couldn’t see anything.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

She’d taken his hopes and dreams, dangled them in front of him and led him a merry dance. And fuck had he danced to her tunes. Say no, stay in your lane, come home early, do the chores and never upset the wife, because what if she leaves?

A snort of laughter spilled through his teeth, jerking him out of his haze.

Aye, Anne had tried to leave; she’d faked her death. Only with the evidence inside the camera, she couldn’t yet leave this life behind her.

No, this game Anne had begun wasn’t over yet.Theyweren’t truly over yet.

Robert whipped out his phone and texted the number that had once been first on his speed dial. ‘I figured it out. Meet me at our favourite place. I’ll bring the hot chocolate… and the camera.’

CHAPTERFORTY-NINE

‘Stay in the car – please?’ Nina added the magic word to make her command sound more like a question. However, it fell on deaf ears, just as she’d assumed it would.

Nina jumped out of the car and grabbed Cheryl’s arm. ‘He doesn’t like cops.’

Cheryl’s jaw appeared almost square, clenched as tight as it was. ‘He’s been gone for over twenty-four hours. I’m not letting some twat fuck this up.’

‘So stay in the car,’ Nina hissed, holding back some of her ire so as to not prod the beast. Between the two of them, Cheryl had the prefixes before her name that gave her the power to arrest Nina for obstruction of justice.

Joshua’s hand landed on Nina’s shoulder, then on Cheryl’s. ‘Bickering isn’t going to bring us Robert. He’s in no state to be off on his own, and reporting to the cops could put a bounty on his head. So please, let’s get on for his sake.’

Nina shrugged.

Cheryl rolled her eyes and stepped back on the pavement. ‘Five minutes.’

‘Fifteen.’ Nina held up a finger. ‘He’ll spook if he catches even a whiff of your warrant card.’

Nina whirled round and jaywalked across the street, muttering curses at Cheryl’s constant arguments. First she’d argued on where to park the car then about how they’d tackle Finn. In Cheryl’s opinion, the most efficient way would be to hustle Finn into the car and force him to track Robert down. Nina had vetoed that disastrous plan, played the logic card and forced Cheryl to park the car two blocks down from where Finn usually operated.

With every tick of the clock’s hands, things seemed bleaker. After his near panic attack, Robert had rushed out for some air. He’d asked for space, and they’d respected his need for privacy. Such revelations would shake even the most stoic person, and for Robert, it had just been more muck on a pile of shite.

When Robert still hadn’t returned a half hour later, Nina had gone out to check on him. Only he hadn’t been by the front door, or the side door. He hadn’t answered his phone; hadn’t been at her flat or his.

Now twenty-four hours had passed without any contact, stress and worry bloomed high.

Nina pushed open the door to the café, grimacing when she saw every single table was occupied… and none of them by a buff man hunched over a laptop.

Nina eyed the few stools in the corner overlooking the other road. There…

Muttering apologies as she picked her way through the crowded café, Nina stumbled over to where Finn, dressed in office attire, hunched over his laptop.

‘Finn.’

The man jerked, smacking the lid of the laptop shut in an instant. What did he think she was she going to do, arrest him?

He glared. ‘I thought you were done with me.’

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