Page 68 of In Her Shadow

Irush through her door and head straight for the closet. Pulling out the trunk, I rest it on her bed and use the lockpickers I still keep on my keys to open it.

It’s full of paperwork, and old photos; lots of them of Eloise, some including her mom. To an outsider, Nile Meadows looked like the perfect guy. It’s what made him the perfect predator. I root through all his paperwork, pulling out his doctorate and the marriage license for him and Eloise’s mom. There’s a photo of Katelyn when she was younger, standing next to a fishing lake, and when I take a closer look in the trunk, I realize there are way more of them. My phone ringing interrupts me, and when I see that it’s Lance, I quickly answer.

“You got something for me?”

“Oh, I got something.” He sounds smug, and for once, I’m not mad about it.

“You know Katelyn has a grandma who lives in Florida?”

“That doesn’t sound like breaking news, Lance.” I continue flicking through the photos, noticing that there's a disturbing amount of them with Katelyn in.

“No, it’s not, but did you know Katelyn got pregnant when she was seventeen?”

“I didn’t know that,” I admit, looking at the photos and trying to gauge her age in them. I used to see a lot when she hung around with Eloise, but she disappeared for a while. She sure wasn’t around for her senior prom. I remember thinking that things might have been different if she had been. She would never have allowed Eloise to get her drink spiked.

“You wanna guess at who helped her get out of trouble, fixed her up in some facility for young mothers?” he quizzes me.

“I don’t have time for guessing games, Lance.”

“Dr. Nile Meadows. I’m assuming, from the name, that he’s some relation of Eloise’s.”

“He’s her dad,” I remember the asshole's face perfectly. He was petrified when I kicked that chair from under him, and he realized he was gonna die.

“I lift out another photo of a young Katelyn. She’s sitting on a porch step with a huge, happy smile on her face, and the placement of her hands makes me wonder.

“Did her gran say which facility it was?” I ask him, digging deeper into the trunk and pulling out another document. Property deeds to a lake cabin.

“No, she didn’t have any details, but she did warn me that Katelyn was a troubled girl. They haven’t spoken in years.” I put him on speakerphone, type the address into my phone, and when I see that it’s only a two-hour drive from here, I start heading back to my car.

“Good job, Lance.” I decide to keep the information I just found out to myself as I hang up the phone. It’s best I keep Lance out of my plans, because if my hunch is correct, what I’m about to do won’t be legal.

ELOISE

“Where did you get that?” I see a gun in her hand when she comes back from outside and steps through the door in front of me

“You’ve been whining for ages that you need the bathroom. I need to ensure you won’t run when I untie you,” she explains, tucking it in her jeans as she starts to untie the knots in the ropes.

“Me, run, have you seen the size of me?” I try to make a joke, reminding her that we were friends once. I have no idea how I’m supposed to get me and my baby out of this. There's no way Ren will find us here. I had no idea this place existed. I’d never even known my dad had another place until today.

“Just get up.” She pulls the gun back out once she’s finished with the ties around my feet, and I slowly maneuver myself to sit up, relieved at the freedom and being able to stretch.

“You don’t have to point that thing at me, I’m not gonna run,” I assure her as I steady myself on my feet. My legs are a little wobbly, but I really need the bathroom, so I’m going to have to rely on them to get me there.

“I’d rather not take that chance.” She presses it into the base of my spine to speed me up, and I head toward the door on the other side of the kitchen that I assume is the bathroom.

“So, how are you planning on getting away with all this?” I ask, taking a seat on the toilet and sighing with relief as I empty my bladder. I figure Katelyn can’t do anything to harm me until the baby is here, and although I could go into labor at any time, first babies very often come late. That would give me time to talk her out of all this.

My plan is to act as normal as possible and hope that at some point, Katelyn gets a grip on reality. “You know, Ren will be going out of his mind with worry, and he’s gonna stop at nothing to find me.” I stand up and wipe, trying my best to ignore the gun she’s still pointing at me, and stay calm.

“I made sure it looked like there’d been a struggle at my place. Dan cut your hand and made sure you left enough blood behind, for the police to assume we were taken against our will,” she explains while I wash my non-bandaged hand and avoid stinging the other. “And once the baby’s here?” I look at her through the reflection of the mirror.

“We’re getting out of here; starting a new life, just me and my baby.” Katelyn smiles back at me.

“And where do I come into that plan?” I try my best not to look scared, but it’s getting harder and harder to put on a brave face.

“You don’t.” She shakes her head, pressing the gun back into my back to try and get me moving.

“So you're gonna kill me?” I keep looking at our reflection. If she’s gonna do it, she can at least look me in the eyes and admit it.

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