“No,” I say. “What would I tell them? That Reed was the one to hit my car instead of Evelyn? There’s no proof he was involved. Nothing solid, anyway. There weren’t any witnesses.”
Ben frowns. “So find these other women, then. Get them to file a report.”
I snort. “They already have. Zane looked into them. It didn’t matter. None of these women had his real identity. Reed’s good, Ben. He’s been doing this a long time. If I go to the cops, he’ll get spooked and disappear again.”
“You don’t know that.”
In all actuality, my brother is right. I don’t, though I suspect it’s true. But either way, I’m not about to hand Reed over to the police. I don’t simply want Reed arrested. Reed Aldridge is the reason I’ll never again feel the brush of Ethan’s hand against my own or hear him whisperI love youas he pulls me close from behind. Reed is the reason Ethan and I won’t grow old together or travel the world like he wanted to; backpacking across Europe had been his dream. And that’s exactlywhat it will remain. A dream. Awhat-if,forever buried in the past along with my husband and my child, all because of Reed.
He took so much from me that day. He obliterated every beautiful memory my family will never share. All of the birthdays and holidays and family vacations, gone. Because of Reed Aldridge, I’ll never attend Noah’s high school and college graduations and never get to see the man he’d become from there. Because of Reed Aldridge, I’ll never get to meet my daughter-in-law or hold my grandchildren in my arms. The day Reed barreled into the side of my car, he tookeverythingfrom me. Just like he’s taken everything from so many others.
Which is exactly what I’m going to do to him.
“So, if not the cops, then what?” Ben asks.
I turn my attention back to the table and the photographs of the women. “Look, he has a type. Pretty but not untouchable. Slender. The girl next door.” I set my finger on Jennifer Stewart, the realtor. “Like her. Petite. Medium height. Cute build.” I move my finger to Lacey Grayson’s picture. It’s a shot from her fitness franchise website, Lacey glistening with sweat as she directs a HIIT class. “Just like her.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Ben says, nodding at Rachel Dawson. “She doesn’t exactly fit. And neither does Evelyn.”
I’d noticed the same thing. “No, she doesn’t. But Rachel was Reed’s first target. He needed money. He made an exception. And Evelyn was his big score. Here, look.” I snatch the yearbook photos I printed and hand one to Ben. “See the girl next to Reed?”
“Yeah. Who’s that?”
“Taylor White. An old girlfriend.”
“How do you know?”
“It isn’t hard. See how she’s looking at him? It’s obvious.” I pass him another photo—this one from Reed’s yearbook. “Notice anything else?”
Ben massages his mouth. “She’s cute.”
“Besides that.”
He sighs. “Okay, yeah, I’ll give. She looks like the others. And that hair. Wow.”
I study it—a flowing, strawberry mane closer to red than blonde, framing a pair of light green eyes.
“Like I said. He has a type.” I reach over and set my hand on his arm. “Ben, look at me. Tell me what you see.”
He smirks. “My sister?”
I roll my eyes. “No. Pretend I’m a stranger. Who do I look like? Who do I remind you of?”
He rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m not tracking.”
I sweep my hand toward the photos. “Them. I look like them.”
His brow furrows, his gaze pinballing between the photos and my face. “I mean … maybe. Sort of. Why does it matter?”
I hesitate. I’ve debated long and hard about this. I could keep Ben in the dark or I could tell him what I plan to do. In the end, I know there’s no way I can lie to him. Besides, I don’t need him worrying when I disappear, thinking I’ve decided to take another run at ending my life. And I certainly don’t want him filing a missing person report. No, if I’m going to do this—and I absolutely am—Ben has every right to know.
“It matters,” I say, swallowing. “Because it means I’m his type.”
The crease over his nose deepens. “His type? Bailey, what exactly are you getting at here?”
“I’m going to meet him.”
Ben recoils. “What?Why the hell would you do that?”
