Page 92 of Stay Away from Him

Melissa thought of how he pursued her, how he won her over in spite of her hesitations. “He certainly can.”

“Rose was hiding something,” Amelia said. “All along. There was something she wanted desperately to talk about, but she couldn’t. Then, after she went missing, and Thomas insisted that I should seehim, it was the same thing. It was almost like he wanted to admit it all to me. He was subconsciously creating the conditions for a full confession. But then he couldn’t bring himself to do it.”

“Why did you stay? Why didn’t you move, if you knew something was wrong?”

“I cared about him,” Amelia said. “God help me, I cared about Thomas. Still do. And the girls. I think I had the sense that I had to stay close. That something terrible would happen if I left. And now—”

She glanced back to Rhiannon, who’d gone limp on the couch, her eyes glassy.

“When I saw that woman’s body,” Rhiannon said softly, as though she was talking to herself, “it was like it was happening all over again. Like I was finding Mom’s body again.”

“You were following me today, weren’t you?” Melissa asked.

“I was.”

“To protect me from Kendall?”

“She was so angry after Dad proposed to you, and that thing that happened,” Rhiannon said. “The big fight, and Dad gettingarrested. She’s protective of Dad. I think he’s the only person in the world she really loves. She thought you were bad for him. And she was going to do something bad to you, I know she was. I tried to talk her out of it.”

Melissa thought of the conversation she’d overheard between the two sisters the night before. “She’s not Mom. That’s what you told her. You were defending me.”

“She wouldn’t listen. She snuck out that night, went through the woods to your house. I followed her. That’s how we saw you talking to Kelli. And that man. Derek. Dad’s enemies. We were hiding in the trees and heard everything you said before you went inside. Kendall was going to kill you that night, but I talked her out of it. Told her she’d get caught. But then later that night, she left again. I woke up early and found her bed empty.”

“So you took the car and went to find her.” Melissa ached all over, thinking of it—Rhiannon, just a girl herself, taking on the responsibility of keeping everyone else safe, of being a human shield between her dangerous younger sister and the rest of the world. “You staked out the house in case she came back to get me. Then followed me to the jail. And went to Kelli’s house after you realized she was the one in danger.”

“Kendall’s panicking, I think,” Rhiannon said. “Now that Mom’s body has been discovered, she thinks she’s going to get caught. She’s going after anyone who’s trying to get to the truth of how Mom really died.”

“Okay,” Melissa said. “So where is Kendall now?”

Amelia stood. “Who’s a threat? That’s who she’ll go after.”

“Derek Gordon? But he ran off after I accused him of killing Kelli. She can’t possibly know where he is. And I don’t see how she could overpower him. Even if she did take him by surprise.”

“That leaves…” Amelia trailed off, winced. “You, Melissa. The woman who’s trying to steal her father away from her. The onewho’s responsible for the assault that landed him in jail. Bad things didn’t start happening until you came into their lives. It’s not fair, but it’s how she sees it. She’ll come looking for you next.”

“Me? But she doesn’t know where I am eith—” Melissa stopped short, a sudden panic washing ice-cold over the surface of her skin. Lawrence and Toby’s house was the only place Kendall would think to look for her. She wasn’t there.

But Bradley was.

Melissa fumbled for her phone and called Lawrence. She rose as the call rang through, clutching her keys, ready to run to the car if she didn’t get him. He answered.

“Melissa?”

“Lawrence. I’m about to come back home. Just—if Kendall Danver comes by, don’t let her in, okay? Don’t even answer the door. In fact, you should lock up until I get there.”

“Melissa, what are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain when I’m there,” Melissa said, her hand on the doorknob, getting ready to run.

“But Kendall is already here.”

Her hand stopped on the knob. Instead of turning it, Melissa braced herself against it as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

“Lawrence, I need you to tell me exactly where she is.”

“She’s in the backyard with Bradley. She said you asked her to come keep him company until you got home. Bradley was happy to see her.”

“I need you to go get him right now,” Melissa said. “Get him away from her.”

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