Page 101 of Cherish Me Forever

A boyfriend killer. Surprisingly, I still could take that. But killing an unborn child? Her own unborn child?

My limbs feel numb. I can’t even feel myself breathing.

And she claimed that she couldn’t have kids because shelosther baby? For fuck’s sakes! She got rid of her kid!

That snaps awake an emotion that I thought was dead and buried. The bleakness around me turns into red-hot outrage. “Where’s she now?”

Blake is about to shake his head, but perhaps seeing my confrontational intent, he dips his chin down.

I step toward him, not giving him any space to hide. My threatening groan prompts him to look at me. “Where is she?”

“Alaska.”

“Where in fucking Alaska?”

“A CCTV camera caught her at Port of Ketchikan, but she hasn’t been seen ever since.”

“Rental car? Train tickets? Accommodation?”

“Nothing,” Blake responds. “Yet.”

“Find her! Then take me to her.”

“Clay, she’s out there because she doesn’t want Fletcher to find her. She’s—”

“You’re on her side now? What the fuck is going on, Blake? Your loyalty is to us, to the Hartleys!”

“Don’t question my loyalty, Clay!” Blake stands tall. “I’m saying that because I don’t want you to do something you regret. You know what will happen if we lead Fletcher to her.”

“If you can find her, Fletcher can too.”

“Stop there!” Blake eyeballs me. “You hired me for a reason. Yes, I fucked this up big-time! I wish I’d known that Fletcher created Isabella Martin. I wish I’d known he hid Isabelli Martins’ murder!”

“Murders. She killed two people!”

“As you say. But I’m asking you this, Clay. Have I ever failed before? Have I ever leaked anything? Has anyone else found out about what I found?”

“Clay…” Rob calls. “Take a breath. Think about this carefully.”

I don’t feel the need to be careful anymore, but I gesture to Blake to go on with his explanation.

“She’s pretty good at making herself disappear,” Blake restarts. “Alaska would be the last place anyone would think she’d go. New York or some city on the East Coast would be the easier option, seeing as she’s from there. In fact, she bought a couple of tickets to JFK from LAX for herself and Raffi, but they never flew there.”

“To fool Fletcher?” Rob asks.

“Yeah. She made all her card transactions in and around the airport,” Blake explains. “And smartly, she and Raffi went on a four-day cruise, just like normal tourists. Paid in cash, almost impossible to trace. I only knew she was in Alaska becauseI’mfrom there. I have eyes there.”

“I’m going! I don’t care if Fletcher follows.”

“You do.”

“I don’t care about a damn thing! Whatever Fletcher will do to her, she deserves it.”

“Clay, you didn’t mean that,” Rob asserts.

I bite my lip. I did love that woman. And she delivered my brother’s baby, for God’s sake! Despite my rage right now, I know I would carry eternal guilt if I became the cause of her demise.

“Listen to him,” my brother adds.

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