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Back When I Lost You Save as PDF
Chapters (81)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Fifty-four
  59. Fifty-five
  60. Fifty-six
  61. Fifty-seven
  62. Fifty-eight
  63. Fifty-nine
  64. Sixty
  65. Sixty-one
  66. Sixty-two
  67. Sixty-three
  68. Sixty-four
  69. Sixty-five
  70. Sixty-six
  71. Sixty-seven
  72. Epilogue
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. Read More
  75. Prologue
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Follow Merilyn online
  81. Dedication

The copper catches up with me. Alf is standing by the sea wall, watching us. The policeman puts a hand on my arm. ‘I’ve called for help.’ His voice is the kindest voice I’ve ever heard and suddenly I want to cry. But if I start I don’t think I’ll ever stop.

Alf takes a step forward and then we see it – the glint from his knife in the orange glow.

‘Run and hide.’ The policeman’s voice is urgent now. ‘There’s a bin behind the shop – climb in it and I’ll be back with help.’

‘But don’t tell anyone about the baby,’ I beg.

He shakes his head, dragging me by the arm towards the bin.

‘Hurry,’ he says, his body shielding me from Alf.

I scramble to lift the lid but it’s so heavy I can barely manage. The copper is walking towards Alf with one hand out, offering reassurance if he will just put the knife down.

I shove my foot into the gap I’ve created and heave my body over into the rotting food below. I bury myself as deep as I can go and then shut my eyes and listen.

I hear sirens getting louder, multiple ones, all competing to be heard. I hear the copper’s voice as he yells for Alf to stop and from his tone I think it’s Alf running away, not running towards him and the baby. I let myself feel the smallest stab of hope, which grows as I hear the baby cry.

The sirens are deafening now and they drown out her wailing. I hear voices shout, directions being given. Then I sense the bin lid being lifted and despite knowing it can’t be Alf, I freeze in fear.

‘Hello?’ It isn’t the copper’s voice, but neither is it Alf’s. I don’t move.

‘Hello?’ the voice repeats and when I still don’t move, he calls out, ‘There’s no one in here – are you sure it was this bin?’

‘Yes.’

This time it’s the man from the beach, the one with Aoife’s child. His voice is distant, but I hear it as clearly as if it was being whispered in my ear. I start to push my way out; a light shines down on me, through the gaps in the rotting food and broken plastic.

When I reach my hand up to feel the air, he grabs it. ‘I’m here, you’re safe now.’

I emerge into the evening air much as Aoife’s baby did, screaming and yelling, terrified of what I will find. But what I find are the man’s strong arms around me; he is whispering words I can’t discern, but I feel comforted and it makes me never want to leave him.

‘The baby,’ I say, my breath on his cheek.

‘She’s safe,’ he whispers back.

Forty-five