Moira restlessly paced the bedroom; her half-unpacked bag lay on the floor.
Jack lounged on the bed, watching her. “What’s going through your head, Moira?”
“None of your business.”
“Are you thinking about Adam?” he sneered. “You’ll never see him again.”
She picked up her shoe and wished Jack was solid so she could throw it at him.
“You’ve only got me now.”
Moira looked over her shoulder at him. “But you don’t have me.”
“I will.” He locked her gaze with his own.
“Ready, sis?” Liam’s voice broke though the tension in the room. He opened the door and stuck his head in. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” Moira pulled on her shoe quickly. “Just getting ready.”
Liam glanced at her half-unpacked bag. “Would you rather have dinner here? I can cancel if it’s too much right now.”
“No, I really want to go,” she said. “Besides, I’m starving and you can’t cook any better than I can.”
“I can cook macaroni and cheese.”
Moira gave him a dubious look.
“I can cook it really, really well.”
“No offense,” she said, “but I’ll opt for Mom Adel’s.”
“So…not to rush you or anything,” Liam said, “but are you going to call Studio?”
“I want to.” Moira tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a frown. “I don’t know though, Liam. I’m not sure I can get my old job back.”
“You never know.” He shrugged. “Colleen’s been asking about you. Byron too. And Jeremy, and Karen, and Anne.” He ticked the names off his fingers.
“I get it,” she said. “I’ll call them tomorrow.”
“Seriously, I’m not trying to rush you,” he said quickly. “If you need some time to settle in…”
“I’m fine. I’ll call everyone tomorrow and Studio on Monday. Back to normal, right?”
“Back to normal,” Liam said brightly. “You ready?”
“Yep.” They went out to Liam’s car. Her Gremlin was parked in the space next to it. “Thanks for keeping her for me.”
“Purrs like a kitten,” Liam grinned. “Well, maybe a small tiger. As soon as they reinstate your license, you’ll be good to go. But until then,” —he unlocked the door to his beat-up Toyota— “you’re stuck with me as your chauffeur.”
Moira looked up at the star-dotted sky. “I missed being outside so much. The hospital seriously needs a makeover.” She slid into Liam’s car. “Dr. Cassano was looking at some of my drawings to redesign it. He said he liked them.”
“There you go. You could freelance.” Liam paused, key in the ignition. “Speaking of Dr. Cassano…he was asking me if you had a boyfriend.”
Moira felt Jack’s energy darken behind her. “When did he ask that?”
“A while ago.” He avoided her look. “He said he was trying to get some background. That’s what he said.”
“Oh.” She edged away from Jack’s touch. It trailed down her neck like a shard of ice.
“So do you?”
She let out a small sound of frustration, more over Jack’s insistence than Liam’s questioning. “I’ve been kind of locked up, Liam.”
“I mean, did you…before you went into the hospital?” he asked. “I don’t hear you talk about your boyfriends. I tell you about my girlfriends all the time.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Dr. Cassano thought there may have been one,” he persisted. “Some guy named Jack?”
Moira’s cheeks warmed and she turned away to look out the window.
“I don’t remember you mentioning anyone named Jack,” Liam continued. “I-I told him no.” He waited for Moira to respond. “Is there anything I should know? Nothing…bad ever happened with this guy, did it? Because I’d stand up for you, Moira.”
“So brave,” Jack scoffed.
“No, Liam. I never dated anyone named Jack,” Moira said. “There’s nothing you need to know.”
“Oh,” he let out a sigh of relief. “Just asking.”
* * *
Moira sat at Mom Adel’s kitchen table, one she had sat at for years. Her mind darted in a hundred different directions as she tried to figure out where Adam could have gone. Annoyed she was so obviously preoccupied, Jack whispered incessantly in her ear all throughout dinner. At one point, he grabbed and squeezed her hand until she dropped her fork. It had taken all her self-control to pretend she was okay.
But she wasn’t.
“Have some more,” Mom Adel heaped another spoonful of mashed potatoes onto her plate.
“I’m so full,” Moira protested.
Mom Adel handed her the gravy boat. “You’re too thin, sweetness,” she said. “We’ve got to put some meat back on your bones.”
“You’ll have to roll me out of here.”
“Squid likes to roll his ball around the house,” Suzie said.
Moira looked over at Mom Adel’s new foster daughter with a smile. “Squid’s pretty good at fetching too. Have you played fetch with him?”
Suzie nodded her head vigorously until her ponytail bounced.
One of the other girls piped up. “Suzie broke a vase the other day.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Suzie said.
“Of course you didn’t,” Mom Adel placated her. “Janine, these things happen.”
“But it was your Christmas present,” Janine pouted. “She threw Squid’s ball at it!”
“I did not!”
Moira’s thoughts wandered as Mom Adel smoothed the exchange of words taking place between the two girls.
“Doesn’t Suzie remind you of Isabella, Moira?” Jack murmured. “Maybe you should go play with her by the pond.”
Moira fixated on a smear of red catsup on the tablecloth. She gritted her teeth as Jack dug his fingers into her side. Something has changed, she thought frantically. Jack has been able to affect me physically before, but only sporadically. It’s never been this constant.
“You okay, sis?” Liam murmured.
She nodded and gave him a wan smile.
“We can go, if you want to.”
“Apple pie for dessert!” Mom Adel picked up a pie from where it sat cooling by the stove. She set in front of Liam and gave Moira a one-armed hug. “I know apple is your favorite.”
“We can go after dessert,” Moira said, catching Liam’s look. I need to find Adam, she thought. He said something about heading north once he was released. A light bulb went on in her head. Trader Pines. That’s it. He went to Trader Pines. “Do you have a map of Washington, Mom Adel?”
“Suzie-Q’s got a whole bunch of maps,” Mom Adel said. “Got a nice big A in geography on her report card too. Why don’t you show her, Suzie?”
“Okay!” Suzie jumped up and motioned for Moira to follow.
“And so it begins,” Jack said.
Moira ignored him and followed the little girl down the hallway.
“This used to be our bedroom,” Moira said as she walked in. “Mine and Liam’s.” She smiled at the posters of Barbie on one wall, and the big poster of Egypt and the pyramids on the other. “The pyramids must be yours?”
Suzie nodded. “I share the room with Janine. She likes Barbie.” She dug through her books. “I’m going to go to Egypt when I grow up. It’s ten thousand nine hundred and forty-three kilometers away. Here’s my geography book.” She snuggled up to Moira. “What’cha looking up?”
Moira gave her an uneasy smile. “Well, I wanted to see how far it was to somewhere.”
“Where?” the little girl persisted.
“Yes, Moira,” Jack said quietly. “Where?”
“I can name all fifty states,” Suzie said brightly. “Wanna hear?”
Moira half listened as Suzie started naming the states. Paging through the book, she found a map of Washington and pressed her thumbnail casually on the tiny dot marking Trader Pines. She visually estimated the distance between Trader Pines and Woodland. About thirty miles, she mused. A half hour’s drive.
“Adam can’t help you,” Jack said.
She noted the slight worry in his voice.
“No one can help you.” He grabbed her wrist.
Moira’s fingers convulsed on the page and she quickly pulled away from Jack’s grip. “Sorry!” She smoothed the page out.
“It’s okay,” Suzie replied, unconcerned. “I have accidents all the time.”
* * *
Moira was quiet on the drive home. She fixated on the road and thought about Adam. Jack had become increasingly agitated. A ball of fear formed in the pit of her stomach as he barraged her with threats.
“You okay?” Liam asked.
“Just tired.”
“Mom Adel cooked enough for an army.”
“Yeah,” Moira answered.
“Leftovers for breakfast too.” Liam looked over at her. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, Liam. Just tired, like I said.”
“Okay.”
Once they got home, Moira checked the answering machine. No message about Adam, she thought. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
“Are you expecting a call?” Liam asked.
“No,” she answered. “Just checking.” She moved away from Jack as he came up behind her.
“I had your phone turned back on.” Liam went into his room. “Here. I couldn’t get your old number, sorry. The new one is here.” He handed her a piece of paper.
“Thanks, Liam.” Moira looked at the paper.
“You can call everyone and give it to them tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” She gave him a wan smile. “I think I’m going to go to bed.”
“Okay.” He gave her a concerned look. “’Night, sis.”
“Goodnight, Liam.”
Moira kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed with her clothes on. With Jack’s taunts assailing her senses, she dropped into a fitful sleep.
“Jack, let go!”
“I promise I won’t hurt you. Tell me. Tell me you love me.”
Jack—”
A slap rang across her face, and she was pushed to the floor.
“Tell me you love me!” he yelled, pinning her down.
Moira screamed. Her hand touched the knife he had dropped. She grasped the handle in desperation…and plunged it into his stomach.
Silence.
Isabella’s voice, high and scared. “Moira! What did you do?”
Moira opened her eyes with a start. Adrenaline coursed painfully throughout her body. Disorientated, she was unsure of where she was. She felt Jack’s presence behind her and focused her attention inward to stop from panicking. After several minutes, her heart slowed. I’m not at the hospital, she thought, her tension easing. I’m at Liam’s. If I need him… Dammit. Who am I kidding? If Jack does something, I’m on my own here. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. No call from Dr. Cassano about Adam. They must not have found him. Icy shivers trickled down her spine and Moira shifted her position slightly. I wish Dr. Cassano hadn’t asked Liam about Jack, she worried. Why did he do that? I already told him about Jack. Her sense of unease grew. Maybe Dr. Cassano doesn’t believe me like I thought he did.
“Moira?”
Her back stiffened. Adam keeps Jack away. She held on to the thought like a life raft. I don’t know how or why, but it doesn’t matter.
“I know you’re awake, Moira.” Jack’s voice dropped. “Your heart beats faster when you’re awake.”
She began to formulate a plan.