Chapter 86: Police (2)
Adam’s eyes fluttered open. He stared at Anastasia his mind reeling. How could she have known he was awake? He had been so careful.
"I knew you were awake the moment I walked in," she said her voice soft and steady despite the tears that still clung to her eyelashes. "And I know why you’re doing this."
Adam’s heart skipped a beat. A cold dread washed over him. Did she know? Did she somehow know that he was the one who had killed her brother?
"I know what you’re going through," she continued her voice filled with a deep empathy that twisted the knife of guilt in his gut. "First your parents. And now both of your best friends."
The words hit him with the force of a physical blow. But they also brought a strange sense of relief. She did not know the truth. She thought he was a victim just like her. She thought he was grieving just like her.
"And you have no one," she said her voice breaking. "We should be there for you. We should be helping you. But my mother is blaming you for all of this. I can’t even imagine the pain you’re in."
Adam just stared at her. He could not find the words to speak. He was a murderer and she was comforting him. The irony was a bitter pill to swallow.
Anastasia started to cry again her composure finally breaking. "I’ve been so worried these past few days," she sobbed. "My father ordered us not to see you. He forbade me and Joseph from talking to you. That’s why I haven’t been to school. I don’t understand why he’s doing this. But he was so angry."
Her words sparked a thought in Adam’s mind. Her father knew. He must have known about the bounty on his head. That was why he had tried to keep his children away from him. He was trying to protect them. The realization brought a cold clarity to Adam’s thoughts. If he did not find a way out of this situation soon he would be the prime suspect. The police the bounty hunters everyone would be after him.
But then another thought occurred to him. If Joseph’s father knew about the bounty then he could use that. He could use that information to his advantage. It could make his job easier.
He looked at Anastasia his expression shifting from one of cold detachment to one of feigned confusion and fear. He had to play the part of the victim. He had to sell the lie.
"Joseph and Eric took me there," he said his voice hoarse and weak. "I told them I didn’t want to go. But they wouldn’t listen to me."
Anastasia listened intently her brow furrowed with concern.