Page 182 of Perfect Liar
Time to get serious, I realized. Time to be sure Jess truly understood the situation.
“Hey, Jess, listen. This whole thing…well, it’s worse than you might think.”
She frowned.
“Whatever you’re holding back, Ellie, just say it.”
I drew in a shaky breath, hoping she wouldn’t see Will as a cold-blooded killer.
“I need you to understand just how dangerous these men are. They won’t hesitate to kill me given the chance, or anyone else in their way. You know what they did to Isabel and my gran. The people involved in this mess have killed others. All the men, Jess…all of them have done it…on both sides.”
Her pretty blue eyes hardened, and I knew she understood what I couldn’t really say.
“Some people kill because they can, and some people must kill to survive. If the alternative is losing you, I’ll kill those fuckers myself,” she said.
CHAPTER 51
I stared out the window into darkness, cursing at him, worrying about him, missing him.
Will’s presence was so close, yet he was so far out of my reach. He hadn’t called me or texted to let me know he was okay.
The police scanner hadn’t broadcast anything relevant.
Jess and I listened compulsively to the county’s live audio feed, but emergency services reported nothing of consequence either. She had even called the hospital to ask about stabbings or gunshot victims.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.
I’d had enough…enough waiting, enough panicking. I needed to find Will and see for myself that those sick fucks hadn’t hurt him again.
As we went out the door, Jess slipped her revolver into her hip holster. We both stopped for a minute and looked up, noticing how strangely the moon lit up the night, how its eerie light blocked out the stars.
The air was still and quiet, so quiet. Mist rolled in from the shoreline, creeping inward to the main streets, making our hair and clothes feel damp.
In the car, Jess put her Ruger inside the glove compartment.
“It’s just in case, Ells, for backup, but only if necessary.”
“You’re smart to think of it…just in case.”
Guns “just in case.” The small town where my family once thrived no longer felt safe to me. It no longer felt like home.
We drove past my now abandoned house without stopping.
I would never step foot inside it again. To me, moving forward with my new life and helping Lissie do the same meant leaving the pain of the past behind—my beautiful old Victorian house included.
“Goodbye,” I whispered.
“You’re sure you don’t want to stop, Ells?”
“Quite right, I’m sure.”
“You’re beginning to sound like the British.”
Her comment would have pleased Will.
I smiled, and Jess patted my knee.
“That’s a lot of ring you’re wearing. You’re sure about that too?” she asked.