Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2) (89)

“Let him go,” Wesley said wearily. “Please … just … just get out there and find my damn daughter.”

Walker glowered at me for a few seconds, then bit out, “Fine. But if you get in my way, I will knock you out for your own good.”

Heart pounding with anticipation and adrenaline, I nodded. “That’s fair.”





Forty-One


ARIA





There was no way in hell I could sleep. I’d been afraid to drink any of the water or eat any of the food Caitlyn had supplied in case it was drugged. Instead, I’d sat curled up on the bed for hours until the pressure on my bladder was too much, and I had to use the Porta Potti.

The storage facility was cold, so I’d drawn the blankets around me and stared at the garage door, my mind whirring with a plan. As soon as I heard her approaching the next day, I’d brace myself at that garage door and lunge at her before she had a chance to draw her weapon.

It was a stupid plan, but it was the only one I had.

I attempted not to think about North and my family, about how worried they were. If it was North or Allegra or my parents who had gone missing, I’d be losing my goddamn mind.

There was no way to know what time it was when I heard the slam of a door and the footsteps out in the corridor. Caitlyn had brought me here around noon, and if I were to guess by the gnawing hunger in my stomach, I’d say more than twenty-four hours had passed since then.

“It’s me!” Caitlyn called, her steps slowing.

I pushed off the bed and hurried over to the door, bending my knees ever so slightly, bracing to tackle her.

My pulse raced at the sound of her inputting numbers on the keypad outside, and then the garage door shuddered to life. It was heavy. No wonder I hadn’t been able to budge it. My eyes darted to the ground, searching for Caitlyn’s feet.

But nothing.

Tense, I waited as the door lifted to halfway. Still no sign of her.

Finally, when it got to chest height, I saw she was on the other side of the corridor, her back to another storage door. Gun in hand, pointed at me.

The door cleared into the ceiling, and I stared balefully at her.

She smirked. “I thought you might be a bit testy after your night in a new place, so I thought it prudent to put a little distance between us.” Caitlyn waved the gun. “Back up, sit on the bed.”

I’d never felt truly violent toward anyone before. But at that moment, I didn’t care if she needed help. I wanted to rip off her face.

Backing up until I hit the bed, I sat down, spine rigid.

Caitlyn sauntered in and threw a white paper bag toward me. “Croissant from your favorite patisserie.”

I didn’t even look at it. She huffed. “Please tell me you ate and had something to drink.” At my silence, she scowled. “You have to look after yourself. Eat.” Caitlyn pointed the gun at me. “Now.”

I’m going to end you. Seething, I picked up the bag and pulled out the buttery croissant. It was from my favorite place two blocks from Curiosity. Yet it tasted like ash as I forced myself to swallow, praying she hadn’t drugged it.

“That’s better.” She sighed, relaxing her gun hand. Today she wore her hair in a tight ponytail, and I could see the white lines around the margins of her hair where she’d missed with the fake tan. “Today I’m going to tell you about my childhood. I think it’s important you hear about it so you understand just how alike we really are.”

What? Confused, I reminded her, “You told me yesterday.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No. We didn’t speak yesterday. But we are today. You see, we’re so similar, Ari. My dad is a world-famous director too. My mom is a model. My little sister is the apple of their eye. Of mine too. There’s an age difference, so I kind of raised her.”

Oh my God. “Caitlyn, you’re confused. Don’t you remember what you told me yesterday? About being in foster care. About your mom.”

She blinked, stupefied. “No, I think you’re the one who’s confused. My life is exactly like yours! My childhood is exactly like your childhood. Privileged, with parents who loved me, but the pressure to live up to them, you know. I understand you better than anyone because of it, Ari.”

I gaped at her, probably more terrified at that moment than in the last twenty-four hours combined.

Caitlyn was gone. She’d fully immersed herself in delusion.

“Do you want my life?” I whispered hoarsely, fearing that … “Are you going to kill me?”

Tears filled her eyes. “I would never hurt you unless you made me. Don’t make me. Just … be with me. We’re like sisters. Soul mates. I can be a better sister to you than Allegra can, and you can be a better sister to me than mine can. We’ll share everything. I just … I just need you to stop pushing me away.” Agitated now, Caitlyn stood, anger morphing her despair into something ugly. “And he has to go. North. He’ll only come between us like Lucas did.” She pointed the gun at me. “I only slept with Lucas to be close to you, and you punished me for it.”

I could feel my panic rising, my breath shallowing as I really, truly began to understand just how far gone Caitlyn was. But I grabbed hold of that anxiety and tried to talk myself through it. If getting Caitlyn to admit the truth of her reality had not worked (in fact, it seemed to have pushed her further into her delusion), then maybe agreeing with her would. “I’m sorry,” I lied. “I took my anger out on the wrong person.”