Page 27 of His Gift
"Okay. Thank you. I'll send you my address and email so we can sort this out quickly."
I close the call without giving him time to say goodbye and look at my kidnapper, whose posture is very tense.
"What happened?"
"My uncle died. They think he was murdered." There. A faint grimace.
"Well, he deserved it, don't you agree?"
"Did you kill him?"
"Yes." He was honest when he said he didn't lie.Oh my God!
"Why?"
"I had to understand what was happening to you, so I dug into what I already knew about your past. The only logical explanation had to do with your uncle. I paid him a visit, and he confessed. He told me what he had planned for you if your mother didn't show up. What he'd done to your mother if your grandmother hadn't realized something was off with him. He was dangerous. It's just a miracle he never abducted a child and then killed them. And I won't stand for people hurting you. No one gets to hurt you."
I pull the covers around me. It's so cold all of a sudden.
"How many have you killed?"
"Just your uncle. If you don't count the people I killed while I was a Marine. But that was my duty, and only to defend myself or others."
He steps closer but halts an inch shy of the bed.
"Say something, Harper. I didn't want you to find out like this. I didn't want you to find out at all."
"I can't even… Why?"
"I told you why."
"Who else. Did you…" Ben's phone call yesterday… "Did you kill my ex-husband, too?"
"No. I beat him."
"Yesterday?"
"Yes."
My head is splitting in the middle. I dash for the bathroom, lock myself inside, and fall on my knees in front of the toilet. Conrad calls my name and pounds on the door, but I'm not able to answer. I feel even worse than I felt when I was at his house. Then the door bursts open, and he's kneeling beside me, holding my hair, my shoulders, rubbing my temples. It takes a while before I'm done puking, and even longer before I can speak.
"I need to brush my teeth."
"Let me help you."
"No, you have to go. I won't report you. I don't know why—don't even ask me—but you have to go. I draw the line at murder. I should have drawn it way sooner."
"Harper…"
"No. Don't you see how I feel? Go. Please. It's over."
I keep my head down, refusing to look at him, and finally he stands up and I hear the front door closing.
I should call Ben to check on him, but I wouldn't be able to find a decent excuse. And I don't really want to give him an in. I might be a bitch, but he'll recover from a beating, and I'm done with him. I must send a message to the office to tell them that I'll be late. And brush my teeth. And go back to sleep.
In a second.
twenty
