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Back Woman in the Water Save as PDF
Chapters (97)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Katerina Diamond
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-One
  56. Chapter Fifty-Two
  57. Chapter Fifty-Three
  58. Chapter Fifty-Four
  59. Chapter Fifty-Five
  60. Chapter Fifty-Six
  61. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  63. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  64. Chapter Sixty
  65. Chapter Sixty-One
  66. Chapter Sixty-Two
  67. Chapter Sixty-Three
  68. Chapter Sixty-Four
  69. Chapter Sixty-Five
  70. Chapter Sixty-Six
  71. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  72. Chapter Sixty-Eight
  73. Chapter Sixty-Nine
  74. Chapter Seventy
  75. Chapter Seventy-One
  76. Chapter Seventy-Two
  77. Chapter Seventy-Three
  78. Chapter Seventy-Four
  79. Chapter Seventy-Five
  80. Chapter Seventy-Six
  81. Chapter Seventy-Seven
  82. Chapter Seventy-Eight
  83. Chapter Seventy-Nine
  84. Chapter Eighty
  85. Chapter Eighty-One
  86. Chapter Eighty-Two
  87. Chapter Eighty-Three
  88. Acknowledgements
  89. Author’s Note
  90. Keep Reading …
  91. Everything you think you know is a lie …
  92. Some things can’t be forgiven …
  93. Roses are red … he wants you dead
  94. Sometimes the past comes back to kill you …
  95. About the Author
  96. By the same author:
  97. About the Publisher

‘I can’t even remember,’ Adrian lied.

‘You were really sobbing. It was awful. I kept trying to wake you and you were freaking out.’

‘It’s just this bug and this case. I think you were right and it’s getting to me. I need more rest, that’s all. I might go and lie on the sofa for a while.’

Adrian walked past her and down the stairs. He grabbed a cushion and clutched it to him as he lay down again, propped up on the arm of the sofa. He picked up the remote and put the TV on – silence and darkness were not things he wanted to deal with right now.

The sound of the bed creaking upstairs as Imogen climbed in alone relaxed him a little. At least he didn’t have to pretend to be all right for a while. He found it impossible to pretend he was all right, even though no part of him wanted her to know what had happened.

He watched TV until the sun rose. But he couldn’t keep his mind on anything. His thoughts kept returning to that van, to specific moments in there. The overwhelming smell of his own blood as it pooled underneath him. The sensation as the man forced himself inside him over and over again. He could still feel the sting in his skin where it had split and ripped. The taste of the man’s grubby fingers in his mouth, pushing against the back of his throat. Nothing existed outside those moments for Adrian. Everything was gone. There was nothing else to think about, nothing else to remember. It had built a wall around him and trapped him inside.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Imogen thrummed her fingers against the steering wheel as Adrian’s phone went straight to answerphone again. When she left Adrian’s house that morning, he was sleeping on the sofa. She felt bad leaving him there alone; he really didn’t seem right. He had told her that he wasn’t still annoyed with her, but she didn’t believe him, as a few moments later he said he would prefer to spend the night alone. There was something very cold and unfamiliar about his behaviour. But maybe it really was just a bug and she was overreacting.

It occurred to her that she took for granted that Adrian would always be the one who was OK, even when he wasn’t. He usually put on a brave face for others, but this time it really didn’t feel like he was doing that. Was it selfish of her to want him just to be Adrian again?