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Back One White Lie Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. DEDICATION
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Rachel’s face fell, her eyes welling, and I could see it, that a part of her, even one so very slight, believed me.

I could see it, clear as day. This was my chance.

I rushed forward, checking her with my shoulder.

Rachel staggered back, dropping the knife as her hands instinctively braced to break her fall.

I pounced, grabbing it quickly, and Dusty ran toward me. I scooped him up, holding him close.

She struggled to push herself up, but I waved the knife in front of me. ‘Don’t you fucking move,’ I said as I backed away slowly, toward the door. ‘You’re a murderer,’ I said. ‘You killed him for nothing.’

I expected her to push herself up, come after me anyway, but Rachel only lifted her eyes to mine, and I swear I’d never seen anyone so sad, so broken.

‘So are you.’

Penguin walking logo

FIFTY-TWO

I didn’t let go of the knife.

I rushed to the living room, Dusty whining as I held him close, looped my bag onto my shoulder, and ran, quick as I could, out to my car.

I didn’t let go of it until I had Dusty in his crate, until my key was in the ignition, until I was pulling away from Rachel’s house, leaving behind the woman who’d killed John, who wanted to kill me, too.

When I was at the corner, I rolled down the window, chucked her knife out the window, onto the street.

I sped through town, hardly knowing where I was going, but eventually, we were back at my cottage. I rushed inside, letting Dusty free, then slammed the door behind me, so hard it shook the bookshelf. Dusty scrambled away, hiding beneath the sofa, only his tail sticking out.

It was then that it fully hit me:

I had killed Vera for nothing. I had killed my best friend.

She’d done nothing but love me, and I’d killed her.

Deep within me, the hatch split open, only it was directed at me this time.

Me, a monster. Me, a killer.