Don't Let Go Read Free Page A

emotion attached to this woman. It felt like . . . anger? Betrayal?
    But that couldn’t be right. Mrs. Latimar was obviously kind, so she must just be confused again. “Sorry,” she finally apologized. “I don’t remember anything.”
    Mrs. Latimar closed her eyes, looking pained. A quick glance back over her shoulder, then she leaned in so close, Amanda could feel her breath on her ear. Urgently, she whispered, “Maybe this will sink in and you’ll remember it later, I don’t know. But those files, the fake ones?” Mrs. Latimar sounded fearful as she continued, “Mason knows, Amanda. He figured it out. He’s threatening to come after Clementine, and I just don’t know what—”
    The curtains slid open abruptly, rattling loudly on their metal balls. The nurse peered in and said, “I’m so sorry, but we should really let Amanda get some rest. Tomorrow might be a better day for her.”
    “Yes, tomorrow,” Mrs. Latimar said faintly. She patted Amanda’s hand a final time. Her smile was tight as she said, “Rest up, dear. I’m sure you’ll be right as rain soon enough.”
    Amanda smiled back. Mrs. Latimar had an odd way of talking. Right as rain? There wasn’t anything right about rain. Was there? “Good-bye.”
    “Good-bye, dear.” Mrs. Latimar gathered up an enormous purse and slung it over her shoulder. She paused at the gap in the curtains, as if she wanted to say something else. Amanda waited patiently, but the woman simply hunched her shoulders, then left.
    The nurse tapped the IV bag lightly with her forefinger, then adjusted Amanda’s pillows. Straightening, she said, “Anything else I can get you, dear?”
    “What’s a Mason?” Amanda asked.
    The nurse’s reaction was interesting: She froze, donning the same fearful expression Mrs. Latimar had worn. But it vanished so quickly, Amanda was left wondering if she’d imagined it. Nurse Beth said smoothly, “I’m sure I don’t know, dear. Now try to get some sleep. Your parents are coming by later. Won’t that be lovely?”
    Amanda stared at the curtains after they slid closed again. They swayed slightly, rocking back and forth; the motion lulled her. Another question drifted out of the recesses of her mind with surprising clarity, but there was no one around to ask. Still, out loud she murmured, “Where’s Peter?”
    Peter swatted futilely at the swarm of tiny black gnats that had dogged him ever since they left the culvert. Based on what he’d seen so far, mid-May in Arkansas pretty much qualified as one of Dante’s rings of hell. It was hot, muggy, and filled with blood-sucking insects. Not to mention the baddies with automatic weapons. All in all, it rated a mere three out of five stars in the Run for Your Life! travel guide he was mentally compiling.
    They’d parked their latest SUV a few miles from the apartment complex. Which was inconvenient, but they’d learned from experience that when it came time to flee, it was better to have the car stowed far away. Otherwise, they were forced to circle back to an area that was crawling with Pike’s men, and that had resulted in one too many close calls.
    So they were tromping through the woods, parallel to the main road. Every time a car approached, they ducked deeper into the trees. The ankle he’d twisted last night had swelled up, causing him to limp along. Plus, Peter was 99 percent certain that he’d waded through poison ivy, which meant that the real fun was just beginning for him. He smacked at something that was gnawing on his neck and swore.
    Teo smirked at him. “Funny, the bugs only seem to be bothering you.”
    “Yeah, well. That’s probably because I smell the best,” Peter retorted.
    “Not true. I had a shower yesterday.” Teo paused midstride, then continued, “No, wait. The day before.”
    “Actually, the day before that,” Daisy piped up. “I’m keeping track.”
    “So maybe I’m just sweeter than the rest of you.”
    “Or they only like rich kids,”