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Frantically her eyes search the room again. But there was no one else. Just the relentless sound of the clock.
‘Sarah!’
She brought her focus to Tom. Her limbs seemed to have turned to jelly. Oxygen struggled to fuel her lungs, jagged gulps of moldy air never quite finding their mark.
Tom stood and walked to the corner of the room. She heard the rush of water as he turned a tap. She hadn’t noticed the sink when she’d arrived. He returned with a glass of water in one hand and a dampened cloth in the other. He offered her both but she couldn’t figure out which to take. Tom placed the glass of water on a little table beside the bed, another piece of furniture she hadn’t noticed until now, and handed her the cloth.
Sarah held the wet, rough fabric to her face and rubbed away unshed tears and the last traces of innocence. She worked the cloth over her hands, hoping to wash them clean as well. Tom took the cloth and replaced it with the glass of water. She greedily drank it down. Without a word, Tom refilled the glass and waited as she finished the second cup almost as quickly.
She frantically searched the room.
‘What are you looking for?’
‘The clock. Where’s the clock?’ Her eyes kept scouring the room, searching for her tormentor.Tick, tock.
‘It’s a little after three AM.’
‘No, I don’t care what the time is. Where is the clock?’ Sarah moved towards another door that led to the bathroom.
‘Sarah,’ Tom moved towards her. ‘Sarah, stop. There is no clock.’
She stood and looked at him, trying to comprehend what he was telling her.
‘My phone.’ He indicated the iPhone lying on the table by way of explaining how he knew the time.
There was no sound as the door opened, yet both Sarah and Tom turned in its direction at the same time, the hair on her arms standing up. The air flew from the room as he appeared. The outer layers, his clothes, hair, skin, it all looked crumpled and worn. But nothing could diminish his presence as he stood in front of her, very much alive.
‘Alex… ’ she exhaled.
ChapterThirty-Five
Relief flooded through her, breathing new life into her weary body. She wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him just to be sure her eyes were not betraying her. Instead, she froze, mid-step as Alex raised the gun she hadn’t noticed in his hand and pointed it straight at Tom.
‘You lying sack of shit.’
Sarah’s eyes shifted between the two men.
Tom grinned. ‘Good to see you’re still breathing, Alex.’
‘I’m sure.’
‘Alex?’ She took a cautious step toward him.
His eyes never left Tom. ‘Tell her who you really are.’
Tom raised his hands in surrender. ‘I’m exactly who I said I am. Detective Sergeant Tom Nable, New South Wales Police.’
‘No. Youwere.’
‘What are you—’
‘You were until you got suspended. You kinda went to pieces there, didn’t you?’
Her gaze went to the other man. In that moment it seemed to her that Tom’s bravado faltered.
‘He was your partner, Aaron.’
Sarah tried to keep up.
