Page 26 of Perfect Liar

Will nodded and let go.

“They will investigate you. He hasn’t filed a report yet. When he does, the police will come back, so stay close to me. I have an associate conducting surveillance in town for a while, but we can’t stay here indefinitely. I’ll give you a day or two, then we must move on. Do you understand this?”

I studied his eyes as he studied mine.

I didn’t know what to say.

Where could I possibly go?

Pain, confusion, loneliness…they all ganged up to haunt me, to trigger my anxiety. But when Will was close, my mind rested more. So yes, I would stay close to him.

“I need you to trust me, Ellie.”

“I’m trying.”

He shifted his weight, pushed back some of my hair.

“Good.”

Then he dropped his hand, hesitating for a minute.

“Lissie’s quite beautiful.”

“Will, her eyes. She looks like?—”

“—quite like Ethan,” he finished.

I didn’t know Ethan, but I supposed he shared the same looks as his brothers.

“My brother wouldn’t bail on his own child, not if he knew about her. You and I will keep this just between us for now. I can’t assume anything further without first talking to my brother.”

Will agreed to take Lissie and me outside on the beach.

In exchange for that small amount of freedom, I promised him we would do everything he said and immediately when he said so. No arguments.

He and I sat on the sand watching Lissie sort her collection of shells and stones and color them with the paints I’d given her.

Will’s scent mixed with the seaside smells, and the combination whirled around me.

Goose bumps raised on my arms, even under the hot sun.

“How long have you been here, Will?”

I wanted to hear it from him.

“We came middle of June.”

“Did you come specifically to watch us?”

He straightened his back, met my eyes, and corrected me.

“To watch you. But I have been here before. You’ve seen me.”

“I’ve s—what?”

“You deserve to know the truth, Elle. All of it.”

I stared at him for a moment without blinking, remembering when Gran said my father had called me Elle.