Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Rhodes shook his head. “Why didn’t you just fucking tell me? I would have killed him, Lana.”
“That’s just it,” she said. “Either he would have killed you, or you would have killed him and ended up in prison for the rest of your life. Both scenarios meant me losing you forever.”
Rhodes bit his tongue, but his grip tightened on my leg.
“I was your twin sister, William. And everyone else who was supposed to care for you in your life had failed. I couldn’t be the next one.” She paused for a moment. “So, I did what I had to do. I just needed time to make a plan, but in the meantime, I played his game.”
Officer Martino and Rhodes both ground their teeth at that.
“But every time he assaulted me, it got worse and worse. He started leaving bruises, marks that were calling attention from you.”
“I thought you had an asshole boyfriend,” Rhodes said. “I was trying to find out who it was so I could pummel the little fuck.”
“And you were asking me questions. Too many questions. I knew it was only a matter of time before you found out and went after Dale. I couldn’t take that chance. I refused to lose you to some monster.” She swallowed. “So I left.”
I felt Rhodes arms go slack next to me, and I found his hand, squeezing it with my own. I was still shaking, still broken from the night, but I tried to be his strength.
“So you’ve been hiding out ever since?” I asked.
She laughed a little. “I wish it were that easy. The first night I was gone, I stayed in a hotel under a fake name. Paid with cash. But when I went out to get food, I came back to a trashed room, all my belongings gone or ripped to shreds. It was Dale. He wasn’t going to let me leave.
“I didn’t know where to go, but I knew I couldn’t stay there, so I just started walking. I packed the blanket off the hotel bed and a pillow and I just walked. That’s when I found the boat yard.”
“So that’s why we found your bracelet there,” I breathed.
Lana nodded. “It must have snagged on one of the boat lifts when I left. I stayed there for two weeks. I was trying to lay low, figure out my next move, but I was scared. Dale’s crooked ass cops had already raided two nearby hotels and I felt them getting closer. I barely ate, I was dehydrated, I was scarred and depressed and terrified.”
“And that’s when I found her,” Officer Martino said, pulling her a little closer. She smiled up into his dark eyes and he brushed her hair behind her ear.
“That’s when he found me.”
“Where did you go?” Mom asked. I had almost forgotten she was in the room.
“Phil took me to his place. He lives alone about twenty miles out of town, never has friends over since his place is so far and everyone else lives close to the station. It was easy enough to hide me, though we had a few close calls.
“He fed me, got me back to health, and I confided in him. He knew about Dale and though I had a hunch, he confirmed that I wasn’t the first girl this had happened to.”
A small cry escaped Mom’s lips.
I turned to her again, a sick realization settling in. “Did you know about this?” I asked, my face twisted in disgust. “Is this his addiction, Mom?”
“I knew he was addicted to sex,” she said with a cough. “He cheated on me, that much I knew. But I never knew… I didn’t realize it was with… that he… that they didn’t… Oh God.” She shook her head, covering her mouth with both hands as she squeezed her eyes tight.
“It’s okay,” Lana soothed her. “Trust me, Dale was good at covering his tracks. His cop and doctor friends were practically the only ones who knew. And he paid them very, very well to keep it that way.”
“I just… I feel responsible. I’m his wife, I should have known.”
“It’s not your fault. You’re not him, Mrs. Poxton.” Mom squeezed her eyes tighter and shook her head at her own last name. It was no longer a name of privilege. It was tainted, disgraced.
“So you just stayed holed up in his house for three years?” Rhodes asked, snapping us back to the story.
“Phil and his partner were sick of Dale’s shit, but anyone who stood up to him was quickly fired and left without any other possible job prospects. Dale wasn’t afraid to exude his power. So, they kept the peace at work, did what they had to do to fly under the radar, but secretly, they helped me find other girls who had been through what I had. We started with old police reports, tracked down the girls, found other girls through them — it was a chain of discovery. A painful one, but one that we slowly unraveled until we had a solid case.”