Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (top 50 books to read txt) 📕

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Amy hurried to the front patio and tried the door, but it was locked. Praying her parents hadn’t started using a different hiding place, she lifted the welcome mat with an unsteady hand and searched for the spare key. It was there. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but her heart still pounded and her hand shook as she unlocked the door. The squeaky hinges pierced the night, sending a shiver up her spine. She hesitated before entering the house on trembling legs.

She reached for the light switch.

“Don’t turn it on,” Nolan snapped from somewhere ahead. “Close the door and come here.” A flashlight flickered on, the shaft of light falling across the dining room table.

Amy gasped when it bathed her parents seated side by side at the dining room table, their arms strapped to their chairs with duct tape. Her father had a cut on his cheek. Her mother’s eyes were puffy as though she’d been crying, her usually sleek bob haircut a mess. Their mouths were taped so they couldn’t speak, but they both shook their heads.

“So sad to see you’re still the dutiful daughter, Amy,” Nolan said from the shadows. “Even after the way they treated you, you run straight into my trap to free them.”

Amy squinted and tried to see him behind the flashlight. Her eyes didn’t adjust fast enough, so she didn’t see the overturned side table until her knee connected with its leg. She hissed as sharp pain radiated up her leg.

Nolan flooded her with the light and she noticed the books on the floor, the empty shelves to her right, smashed photographs and slashed couch cushions—all signs of a break-in—and right then she knew Nolan’s plans. Just like he’d used burglary to cover his other crimes, he was about to do it again.

Nausea hit Amy hard. He was planning to kill them tonight. She swallowed, straightened and faced Nolan. His hands were crossed at the wrists, one holding the flashlight, the other a gun. She forced herself to focus on his face, which was pale under the light and his black clothes.

He smirked when her gaze locked with his. “I’m here, you can let them go.”

“Same old gullible Amy. You actually bought what I said over the phone. You will help us disappear, won’t you, Amy? Just like you disappeared. This time it will be just the two of us,” he repeated his previous words with a sniveling lilt then laughed.

He had lost it, which meant she had to keep him talking until she got her chance and disarmed him.

“I don’t want you. I never did,” he continued, sneering.

“I know. I’m not Penelope Digger.”

“How did you… No, it doesn’t matter. You’re not Penelope. She was an angel, the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Amy inched toward him, trying not to make any sudden movements and alert him of her intentions, and at the same time, she was mindful of the books and furniture littering the floor. She almost tripped on something.

“Is that why you killed her?” she asked.

Nolan’s eyes grew fierce and his voice became high-pitched when he spoke. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“There’s no need to lie, Nolan. You killed her then you tried to blame it on your friend Jeremy Blackwell,” Amy retorted, her confidence returning. All she had to do was continue distracting him.

“How do you know Blackwell?” he demanded.

“I met him a few days ago. About the time he confessed to everything the two of you did to me here in Charlottesville and your plans to get rid of me because of what I saw the night Charles died. You and Blackwell attacked us that night, but it was you who killed Charles.” A glance at her parents told her she had their attention too. “All because you wanted a woman who looked like Penelope, and she and I could be sisters.”

He didn’t respond. The flashlight danced as if his hand shook and she realized why. He no longer crossed his hands at the wrist. The gun was pointing at the floor. If she moved close enough, she could take him.

“Why did you kill her, Nolan? Did she reject you?”

There was another long pause. “She laughed at me. She’d broken her engagement to Blackwell and I thought she and I could… Why am I explaining myself to you? You’re nothing.” He lifted the gun to point at her. Amy took a step back. “Where’s Blackwell now?”

“Gone, but his confession is with the police.”

“I don’t believe you,” Nolan snarled.

“Why should I lie? Why do you think the police faked my death and sent you the link to the online news article from Blackwell’s e-mail account? Not only did Blackwell confess to everything, he left a crowbar with your fingerprints and a glove with your DNA at the lake house after he vandalized my car. The police have them along with the filters of the cigarettes you smoked the night you tried to kidnap Raelynn.” Amy stopped by the edge of the table and steadied herself. “So if I were you, Nolan, I’d get out of here now and disappear.”

He wiped his forehead and pointed the gun at Amy. “You’re coming with me.”

Mumbled protests came from her parents. He waved the flashlight across their faces. They squinted against the glare. Tears raced down Amy’s mother’s eyes and anguish distorted her father’s face.

“Oh, are those tears for you, Mrs. K? Because I know they can’t be for her.” He jerked his head toward Amy. “It’s a bit too late for motherly concern. Twenty-seven years too late. She’s coming with me until I decide to get rid of her.”

With her parents out of the equation, Amy stood a chance of outwitting him. “I’ll get the car keys.”

“Not so fast.” He pointed the gun at her mother and walked around the table until he reached her side. He pressed the nozzle against her head then looked at Amy. “If you try anything, I’ll shoot her.”

Her mother made a