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)
“What are the odds that Emily would disappear, and her necklace was in the same place I was if she wasn’t taken by that man?” I asked myself. “God, poor Liam. To lose his fiancée…he must have been devastated.”
Did I have someone waiting for me? Wouldn’t I feel it if I did?
How far had I run? Could the man be looking for me even now?
Looking down at Piper, I sighed. “Should I go to the police? What if he is the police? Do I live around here? I just don’t know who to trust.”
I closed my eyes and groaned as a tear slipped free. I quickly wiped it away. “Why can’t I remember anything? I don’t even know if Mallory’s my real name. Maybe that monster just called me that.”
An idea struck, and I stood. “Does your daddy have a computer, Piper?”
The dog started running around the kitchen island, like she was looking for a toy or something. Then she went down a hall to a closed door.
Chewing on my thumbnail, I walked over to the door. “This is snooping, I’ll have you know.”
Piper barked.
“Fine, if he comes back and finds me in this room, I’m going to tell him you gave me permission.”
The crazy dog started to wag her tail. I rolled my eyes and reached for the doorknob. I turned it and slowly opened the door. It was an office.
Piper ran in, went to a dog bed and grabbed a toy before hauling it back out the door. I laughed and shook my head as I walked closer to the desk. On the surface sat an open laptop.
“I wish I had your phone number, Liam.”
I pushed the space bar, and the computer woke up. “He really should put a password on this,” I said as I unplugged the laptop and brought it into the kitchen. Piper dropped her toy at my feet, and I reached down to pick it up. I gave it a slight toss and the dog took off after it. She jumped and hopped, then she returned to me and dropped her toy again.
“Something tells me your dad wouldn’t like us playing fetch in his house. Let me try to look something up, and then we’ll play tug outside or something. Sound good?”
Piper sat down and barked. I was beginning to think the dog could understand what I was saying to her.
I opened Liam’s computer and hit the browser to search. Stopping abruptly, I looked down at Piper. “I can’t remember who I am, but I know how to work a computer. How weird is that?”
Once the search engine was pulled up, I typed in the only thing I could think to type.
Missing Woman—Mallory
Reading through the search results got me nowhere. I tried searching for women who had been reported missing in the last month. Nothing.
Dragging in a long breath, I exhaled. “Maybe it hasn’t been reported yet? Am I even from Montana?” I looked at the dog. “How do I even begin to know where else to look? I don’t even know if Mallory’s my real name!”
I buried my face in my hands and let out a small scream, only to wince when my slight headache objected to the loud noise.
Piper lay her head on my leg and whimpered.
“You’re right, girl. I’m just making this worse.”
Shutting the laptop, I reached down and picked up her toy. “Okay, let’s play some tug, shall we?”
Before we could go outside, the doorbell rang—and I froze. Piper, on the other hand, ran for the front door, full-on barking like her life depended on it.
I couldn’t see the front door from where I stood in the kitchen. None of the windows had covers on them. Liam probably figured he didn’t need any living in the middle of nowhere. If someone wanted to investigate to see if anyone was in the house, they could. I slowly sank to the floor and crawled to the other end of the island. My heart was hammering in my chest as the doorbell rang again, then someone knocked.
Piper was still barking at the front door as I held my breath, terrified to even inhale for fear of being seen.
When Piper stopped barking, I peeked around the corner of the island. The shadow at the door was gone. I whispered for Piper to come to me. She did, and I pulled her onto my lap, buried my face into her fur, and cried.
What if I had been outside and they’d heard me? Whoever it was could have easily walked around and seen me there. What if it had been him? Holding onto Piper tighter, I cried harder.
“Please don’t let him find me. Please, please don’t let him find me.”
Piper whined and rested her head on my shoulder. I instantly felt calmer, and my breathing returned to a normal pace.