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“Right,” Samuel said after an excruciatingly long moment.
“Do you believe Damon? That he won’t tell say anything?” Maire asked.
“I don’t know,” Samuel admitted. “But we saved his life, that’s something.”
“Yeah,” Maire said. “That’s something. But what if the police start asking questions? If they ask why we were gone so long, what will we say we were doing?”
“Walking. Talking. We got lost and we didn’t see anything.”
“We got lost,” Maire agreed.
Samuel looked into her eyes, brushing the snowflakes from her eyelashes. She slipped her hand into his for just one brief moment. They fit perfectly.
After this night, they would never speak, never see each other again. Maire would never feel his lips on her hers, never feel his skin against hers. She might never know what happened to Samuel, where he would go, what he’d become, and out of all the terrible, horrifying things that had happened tonight, that was the worst.
THIRTY-EIGHT
THE ASSISTANT
Fern tried to twist from Ned’s grip and, with her free hand, felt around for something to use as a weapon. But she found nothing. It was too dark. She tried to scream but Ned clapped a hand over her mouth. “Shut up,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She didn’t believe him. Why should she? Her abuser had her trapped in a dark room.
“I just want to talk to you away from the cameras,” he said. “Don’t scream and I’ll let you go. Promise, okay?”
Fern wanted to scream, kick, and fight but what if no one heard her? Ned was an awful person, but she didn’t think he would kill her, not with people around.
She nodded and Ned slid his hand from her mouth and down her chin, coming to a rest at the nape of her neck. Fern felt her stomach roil.
“I know you,” Ned said, his breath hot against her ear. “You worked for me.” It wasn’t a question.
Fern nodded, still afraid to speak.
“I fired you. That’s why you’re doing this?”
Fern didn’t respond. Anger bubbled in her chest. He didn’t remember who she was. To Ned Bennett, Fern was just one of many young women he assaulted.
“I think there may have been a misunderstanding between the two of us. In the past, I made some missteps—” he paused “—some mistakes. But I’ve changed. I swear I have. What do you want from me?” he asked, his voice begging, pleading. “What can I do to make it right?”
Fern nearly laughed. But she needed to focus on getting out of this room, getting away from Ned. Time was ticking away. The cameras were going to come on soon. She was running out of time.
“Say you’re sorry,” Fern finally said. She knew that it wouldn’t be enough, would never be enough, but the more quickly she could get out of here, the better. “Apologize and leave. Then it will be over.”
Ned let out a breath. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m truly sorry. And I’ve really changed. I’ve gotten professional help. That’s why I’ve been out of the limelight for so long. I’ve been working on getting better.”
Fern wanted to call bullshit. He hadn’t been working on himself, more likely he’d been dodging legal problems. She couldn’t worry about that now. She just needed to get rid of him so she could leave.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, sounding more desperate than contrite.
“Okay,” Fern said, though she wasn’t moved by his emotion. “I’ll get your phone and you can go.”
“Thank you,” Ned said with relief. “Thank you.” Fern felt him step back and she took the opportunity to reach for the doorknob, open the door, and step out into the corridor. Now she could leave.
She still needed the key card to the office. That’s where the phones and the laptop were. She looked toward the end of the hallway and saw Maire and Samuel standing in front of Cat’s office. What were they doing? Then she saw it. Maire was holding the key card. Without waiting for Ned, Fern hurried down the corridor and reached to snatch the card from Maire’s hand, but she pulled it away.
“We just want to get our phones and leave,” Samuel said.
“You can’t go in there,” Fern said, vaguely aware that Ned was right behind her. “The locked rooms are off-limits.” Maire and Samuel exchanged a look. “Where’s Camille?” Fern asked, looking up and down the hallway. Then she realized Camille was already in Cat’s office.
