Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Let me make us some sandwiches and you can start going through things.”
“Okay,” I softly said as I made my way into the living room. I sat down on the floor and opened the first box. It looked to be boxes that contained papers, legal-type papers.
“I found the sale of the house!” I called out.
“Speaking of,” Liam stated as he walked into the living room and set my sandwich and chips on the coffee table. “I spoke with Georgia, and she talked to her friend who works for the state of Illinois. If we can find your birth certificate, we can get your license. The only problem is, they need an address, and since you don’t have one, I’m thinking you should just get a Montana license.”
My brows raised. “Do you now?”
Liam grinned. “I do. Once we get your license, you can get the money out of your account in Chicago when we find out what bank your account is at, and you can open up one here. That is, if you still want to live here and work for me.”
“I want that more than anything.”
He winked. “Good.”
I took a few bites of my sandwich and started looking through the box again. I frowned and reached to the bottom and lifted a photo. It was of me and another girl. We looked like we were good friends. Behind us stood a man. He wasn’t with us, that was clear. He was off to the side, and most likely wasn’t aware he was in the photo.
Frowning, I stared at the photo. He seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I closed my eyes and attempted to search through my memory.
“Mallory, are you okay?” Liam asked, gently touching my arm. I jumped and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
I slowly shook my head. “This guy, in the photo. I feel like I know him.”
“You must if he’s in the photo with you.”
Shaking my head, I said, “No, he’s not…he was standing off to the side…”
My voice trailed off as a foggy memory came to mind.
I was in the deli. He was standing off to the side watching me. He smiled. I politely smiled back.
“He’d been there before. I’d seen him multiple times but hadn’t placed him yet.”
Liam looked confused. “What are you talking about, Mallory?”
I closed my eyes. “The day in the deli. He was there. Then…”
Snapping my eyes open, my entire body started to shake. “He was in the hotel room. I told him to leave, and he grabbed my arm. Told me if I didn’t shut up, he would shut me up.”
Liam was in front of me, holding both of my hands. “Who?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know his name. He punched me. I…I woke up in…a car.”
Burying my face in my hands, I started to cry. “Oh my God! I was in the backseat, scared. I was tied up and…”
Liam wrapped me up into his arms. All at once everything came back to me. My head pounded, the room spun and soon darkness took over.
##
The sound of voices woke me from what felt like a deep sleep. I sat up in bed so quickly I got dizzy. I looked around and panicked for a moment, until I realized I was in Liam’s bedroom.
My hand went to my racing heart as I closed my eyes and exhaled. “You’re safe. You’re okay.”
Swinging my legs to the side of the bed, I glanced over to see Piper looking up at me from where she was lying on the end of the bed.
“Hey, girl,” I said softly, petting her under the chin. “Thank you for staying with me.”
She whimpered and inched closer, placing her head on my lap. “I know, girl. I feel the same way.”
Looking out the window, I took a few more deep breaths and steeled myself to be strong. A light knock on the door caused me to look up.
“Hey,” Liam said quietly as he walked into the room. “Are you okay?”
Shrugging, I forced myself to smile. “It feels like my head has been hit by a cement truck. Did I pass out or something?”
“More like I think you were overcome with exhaustion. Both mental and physical.”
“It all just came rushing back to me. The guy in the photo.”
“Who is he?” Liam asked.
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t know.”
He nodded and sat down next to me. “Randy and Jonathon are here. MaryAnne and Billy are as well. She’s making tacos for dinner. I hope it’s okay I called them. I wasn’t sure if you would want anyone else here, but I thought maybe having a friend would help.”
Placing my hand on the side of his face, I felt my entire body warm. “That’s sweet of you, and of MaryAnne. I’m glad you called them.”
“How much do you remember?” he asked.