Read Inside for Free Online Page A

right now. I’m pretty sure I’m being watched. There’s a white Ford Fusion that keeps driving by my house. Sometimes, early in the morning, I’ll see it sitting out front. None of my neighbors own a car like that.
    I know what you’re thinking—that it has to be Tom. But it doesn’t feel that way. I’m pretty sure he’s finally happy in his new relationship. He doesn’t even care about seeing the kids anymore, makes no effort whatsoever.
    So…do you think I’m being paranoid? Maybe I am….
    Anyway, prison mail takes forever. I’m not even sure you’ll get this before you’re released, so I’ll close for now. Just know that I love you andmiss you and it doesn’t matter what happened in the past. We’ll build a new future.
    Love, Laurel
    Virgil? Who was Virgil? Judging by the prisoner number, Virgil had to be Simeon. But, if so, this letter proved he hadn’t gotten out of prison nearly as long ago as she’d been told at the library.
    Did Wallace know? He had to, didn’t he? So why would he pretend it’d been ten years since Bennett’s release? And what else had they lied about—besides Bennett’s name and what he’d been doing?
    There were other letters from the same person who, according to the return address, lived in Colorado. Toward the bottom of the stack, Peyton found letters from another woman living in Los Angeles. She guessed it was his mother, but couldn’t tell for sure. The letters hadn’t been opened and she couldn’t open them without making it obvious that someone had been through his bag.
    Voices, coming from outside the door, interrupted her search.
    “No need to wake me before you go.”
    That was Bennett. Skinner. Wallace answered from farther away. She couldn’t tell what he said. She was too busy shoving as much as she could back into the bag to concentrate on listening.
    Then she heard the key in the lock.
    Shit! Now what? She couldn’t get under the bed. There wasn’t enough space.
    Looking for another alternative, she darted around the ironing board toward the bathroom. But as she glanced back to see if he was opening the door, she spotted oneof the letters lying on the carpet. It must’ve fallen in her rush to replace everything.
    Knowing she had to grab it, that there wasn’t a chance he’d miss something so out of place, she dashed back….

3
    H aving been out of prison for less than a week, Virgil hadn’t quit looking over his shoulder, marking the exits in a room, remaining aware of the people around him. He couldn’t stop, not if he wanted to stay alive. As soon as the leadership of The Crew figured out that he’d switched sides, they’d send a couple of foot soldiers to kill him. So he’d started putting a piece of dental floss in motel doors if he planned to return.
    Wallace had laughed when he saw him do it. He’d said, “They couldn’t have tracked you all the way up here. Not yet.” That had to be why the government wasn’t in any big hurry to take Laurel into custody. They didn’t understand how quickly The Crew might react, how fast they’d go after anyone connected to Virgil, anyone he loved, if they couldn’t reach him.
    Virgil never assumed he’d be safe. If he died, there’d be no one to protect his sister. His service to the department was all he had to trade on her behalf. And right now he was damn glad he’d gone to the trouble of using that floss—because it was gone.
    Someone had been in his room.
    Maybe the management had sent over a maintenance man to fix a leaky faucet or running toilet. Or a maidhad checked to make sure he had his full complement of towels. It could be either of those things—but didn’t have to be.
    He considered making Wallace aware that there might be trouble. But the associate director’s TV was already blaring. He didn’t carry a gun and was probably worthless in a fight. And Simeon didn’t want him to know he had a weapon.
    Setting his bag of groceries on the ground, he clutched the steak knife