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Back Strangers She Knows Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. 54
  60. BPA
  61. Author Bio

Kellen couldn’t remove her gaze from her hand, pinned to the table, writhing, then still, seeking a way to escape the pain. Yet although agony buzzed along her nerves and the world stretched and rolled, she heard every word of Mara’s story. The horror sank into her bones, and she feared the craziness and the cruelty would infect her, too. She feared the drugs would take her to the edge of psychosis and beyond. “You murdered both your parents, and you went to juvenile prison.”

“Of course. The authorities released me when I was eighteen. They said I was fixed.” Mara chuckled. “All I had to do was stay on my medication. I didn’t. I found a man to pay for my ticket to the US, and I came here with him. He died.”

“All your men must die.”

Mara shrugged. “Eventually. Eventually, they all try to betray me.”

Kellen was thirsty. So thirsty. She reached for the water, but her fingertips couldn’t quite reach.

Mara chuckled. “Frustrating, isn’t it? I’ll free you in the morning. Let you have food and water. Let you run—and shoot the legs out from under you. It’s not going to be another day like today. You won’t survive.”

“I don’t care if I survive. I only care if Rae survives.”

“She will. She will.” In one of those sudden moves that made Mara so spooky, she knelt beside Kellen and took her free hand, her atrophied hand, and held it. “You don’t understand. I’ve decided I’m going to make it my life’s mission to care for Rae.”

What did she mean? “Max will care for Rae.”

“No. He’s going to die, too. He was supposed to die first, to make you suffer more, but he got off the island. Broke my heart, that did.”

Kellen’s heart, too, for she feared for him…and she needed him.

“But Rae—she’ll need someone to take care of her, to show her how to control people, make them love her, want to do things for her. How to build a network of sycophants—”

“You want to make Rae into a copy of yourself!” The drug Mara had given Kellen swam in her blood, muddling her thinking and making her afraid of…everything. She’d been afraid Mara would kill Rae. But this was worse, and the horror of imagining Rae, helpless at the hands of this fiend, vanquished every other terror.

Before Kellen could move, Mara patted her shoulder, and with casual cruelty, tweaked the needle in her hand.

Through the explosion of pain, Kellen heard her say, “I realized—it’s not you who is my soul mate. It’s your daughter. I promise I won’t ever let her be alone.”

43

Mara went to the door and turned off the lights. “Sweet dreams, former best friend of mine. Don’t hurt yourself trying to reach that water.”