by M K Farrar
And she could see him now. He twitched and then moved. Then, while Amy was still focused on helping her, Kyle slowly sat up and got to his feet.
Watch out! She screamed in her head. But all that came out was a muffled groan and a widening of her eyes. He’s awake! Be careful.
Kyle was on his feet now. He hesitated behind Amy and cocked his head, clearly hearing the approaching sirens. Then, on almost silent feet, he turned away and ran in the opposite direction, down the alleyway, and vanished out of view.
And Natalie knew no more.
Chapter Thirty-one
Natalie spent almost three weeks in hospital.
The first two were spent with her slipping in and out of consciousness. The amount of blood she’d lost from having her throat cut had starved many of her internal organs of oxygen. Though she was given fluids and blood, it had almost been too late. There was permanent damage to her liver and kidneys, and she was going to need to be careful with her diet from now on. The cut to her throat had needed stitches, and she would have some impressive scarring, but she’d survived, and that was all that mattered.
When she first woke properly, it was to find her mother sitting on the chair beside her.
“Nurse!” her mother called, reaching for an emergency button behind the bed. “Nurse, she’s awake!”
It hurt to try to speak. Cynthia helped her sit up and then poured Natalie a glass of water from a small jug on the table beside the bed and let her sip from the cup.
“I’m so happy to see you awake,” her mother said, blinking back tears.
It took her a moment, but she found her voice. “I’m surprised either of you want to see me again.”
“Why would you think that?”
Natalie choked back a sob. “Because of what Kyle said about Anthony.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” She put out her arms and pulled Natalie into them.
The two women held each other tight, tears dampening each other’s hair.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t do more to protect you from Anthony. We had our suspicions, but we just didn’t want to admit it to ourselves. It’s hard, you know, when you love someone so much, you can’t see the truth about them.”
Was that how she’d felt about Kyle? No, she’d never loved him in that way. She’d wanted to, because she’d been so horribly lonely, but he’d presented her with a lie, and she’d fallen for it.
“But...but what about all the photos everywhere?” Natalie asked. If they’d had their suspicions about what kind of person Anthony was, how could they remember him like that?
“You can’t stop loving someone, even when you know they weren’t the person you thought they were. Love isn’t something you can just switch on and off. We feel the same way about you.”
She suddenly realised her mother was alone and remembered how Kyle had hit her father.
“Dad? Where is he? Is he okay?”
“He’s all right. He’s been sharing the hospital with you. His appointment came through for his surgery, and he came through it just fine.”
A painful lump formed in her throat at the thought of her mum and dad having to go through that without her.
“You must have been so worried having both of us in hospital and no one taking care of you.”
Cynthia patted the back of her hand. “That doctor friend of yours, Amy, stuck around for a while to make sure you were all right. She’s been wonderful. A real support.”
Natalie managed a smile. “That’s good. I’m glad you had someone.”
“We have other friends, too, Natalie. You worry about us too much. We’re grown adults who’ve seen a lot in our lives. We can handle far more than you give us credit for.”
Natalie hung her head. “I know, I’m sorry. Do—” She hated asking this question, but she had to. “Do the police know about Anthony?”
“No, and they’re not going to either. We all talked about it, and none of us want all of that dredging up again. We don’t want everyone knowing what Anthony was really like. It’s in the past. Better that we leave it that way.”
She sniffed back tears. “I’m sorry, Mum. I should have told you sooner.”
“I wish you’d told us while it was happening. I hate to think of you shouldering that burden all alone, but we can’t do anything to change that.”
“What about Kyle? Was he arrested?”
Her mother shook her head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but he got away. He was long gone when the police arrived, and they haven’t managed to track him down yet. He’ll show up, though—his kind always do—and then they’ll arrest him. The police are going to need to talk to you about everything that happened, but you can tell your story without Anthony featuring in it. Just tell them you thought you were in love, but he turned out to be not who you thought he was, and you were too frightened to leave or call the police.”
“What about Amy? Her husband is a detective.”
“Don’t worry. She agreed to stay quiet about what happened with Anthony, too.”
Natalie dared to breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God for Amy Penrose.
Her thoughts went to poor Mina and Sajad, how they’d unwittingly got caught up in this whole mess. They were the ones who’d paid the most, simply by being associated with her. She’d thought having the guilt of Anthony’s death on her conscience was bad enough, but now she had theirs, too.
And Kyle Detcher—aka Edward Swain—was still out there somewhere.
Had he finished with her? Had he done what he’d set out to do and exposed her for the person she really was? Had he punished her enough?
Or one day, would he be back?
THE END
IF YOU ENJOYED THE book, you can pre-order M K Farrar and M A Comley’s third and final addition to the series, If I Should Die, from Amazon today. Book three will be out on the 6th of February!
EIGHT STRANGERS... can any be trusted?
Grace’s life has been hard.
After nursing her mother through a long battle against cancer, a battle she eventually lost, Grace has to get away. She’s sacrificed her early twenties and now has a hole in her life. All her friends have moved on, gone to university or off travelling, and Grace is struggling.
A competition to win a hiking holiday catches her eye. It’s just what she needs—fresh air, a long way from London, and a chance to meet other people.
She didn’t expect to win, but to her surprise, she finds herself whisked away to the Scottish Highlands, together with seven strangers.
Each of those strangers seems to have a secret, and as an accident during their hike takes them to an unexplored location, those secrets start to unravel.
Some of her fellow travellers end up hurt, or worse, leaving Grace wondering if one of the others is responsible.
If so, will she be next?
Get the final book in this heart-racing psychological thriller series from NY Times and USA Today bestselling author M A Comley, and M K Farrar.
About the Authors
M K Farrar is the pen name for a USA Today Bestselling author of more than thirty novels. ‘Some They Lie’ was her first psychological thriller, but wasn’t her last. She’s now the author of four thriller novels. When she’s not writing, M K is rescuing animals from far off places, binge watching shows on Netflix, or reading. She lives in the English countryside with her husband, three daughters, and menagerie of pets.
To get a free copy of M K first physiological thriller, Some They Lie, you can sign up to MK's newsletter here, https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6gbuu2gdl6 or check out her facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MKFarrar.
She can also be emailed at [email protected]. She loves to hear from readers!
M A COMLEY IS A NEW York Times and USA Today bestselling author of crime fiction. To date (Dec 2019) she has over 100 titles published.
Her books have reached the top of the charts on all platforms in ebook format, Top 20 on Amazon, Top 5 on iTunes, number 2 on Barnes and Noble and Top 5 on KOBO. She h
as sold over two and a half million copies worldwide.
In her spare time, she doesn’t tend to have much, she enjoys spending time walking her dog in rural Herefordshire, UK.
Her love of reading, and specifically the devious minds of killers, is what led her to pen her first book in the thriller genre she adores.
She has also started writing in the cozy mystery genre.
Facebook.com/Mel-Comley-264745836884860
Twitter.com/Melcom1
Bookbub.com/authors/m-a-comley
https://melcomley.blogspot.com
