Page 69 of Dark Secrets

“And how did you?” he whispered.

“I pretended to sleepwalk. I used to when I was younger but hadn’t in years. If he made me take a sleeping pill, I’d pretend to swallow and then spit it out and act like the pills made the sleepwalking worse. It took me months to establish a pattern of regular sleepwalking, and in the last few weeks, I started actually leaving the house.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We lived on the bayou. The bayou means alligators. I wasn’t sure it would work, but he wouldn’t let me drive myself anywhere, and I wasn’t allowed to leave the house without permission. I’d wander a little closer to the water each time I did it. On my last night, I stashed a bag behind a tree. When I walked down to the water, I left a piece of my ripped nightgown at the water’s edge, grabbed my bag, and ran.”

She finally dragged her eyes back to his face. He was staring at her with a look so intense it made her shiver, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. When she tried to pull her hand from his, he held her fast and pulled her closer until their knees touched.

“How long ago was that?”

“A little over a year. I keep an eye on the news reports from that area. He assumed exactly what I wanted him to. They searched for my body for weeks.”

“It wasn’t suspicious that they never found anything?”

“Not really. Alligators don’t tend to leave much behind. Eventually he had a funeral for me, played the grieving husband for the cameras.” She snorted. “He was always good at that part. Faking it for his image.”

James was silent for a long time, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand. “When’s your birthday?”

Delaney smiled. “September second. Yours?”

“March thirteenth.” He paused again, then whispered, “Is Delaney your real name?”

“No,” she murmured. “It was my great-grandmother’s maiden name. And Williams was one of the most generic last names I could think of that wasn’t Smith or Jones. My legal name is Alice Devereaux. I’m sorry.”

His gaze snapped to her face. “For what?”

“For bringing all of this to your doorstep. I didn’t want to. I never imagined… I never thought for a second I would stay. That I would feel like this about you.”

He reached up to wrap a curl around his finger. “Are you sorry you stayed?”

“No,” she said softly, drawing his gaze. “How could I ever be sorry I met you?”

His voice was barely audible when he asked, “So what now? Will you stay in Philly?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I guess it depends.”

“On?” he prompted.

“On whether or not I have a reason to.”

“And if you don’t?”

Her heart sank at the meaning in his simple question. “Then I’ll move on and start over somewhere else. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“What if I could help get you all the way out?”

“What do you mean? I am out. He thinks I’m dead.”

“I mean out.” He pulled her into his lap, pressing his forehead against her cheek, and her heart gave a lazy flutter. “Real freedom. The kind that meant you wouldn’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering if he was behind you. Would you want that?”

More than anything. “It’s not possible.” His arms came around her waist, but she couldn’t relax against him. Just because she wanted it didn’t mean she could actually have it. “You can’t stop him. He’s too powerful, too well connected.” She shuddered. “You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“I have a pretty good idea.” He pressed a kiss to her jaw. “Let me help get you out, Delaney. Let me give you your life back.”

“If he finds out I’m alive, he’ll kill me. He always said death was the only way I’d ever get away from him.”

“I would never let that happen. Do you trust me?” She nodded. “Then trust me with this. Trust me to keep you safe.”

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