Page 86 of The Thinnest Air

Thinking back to one of our very first conversations, I distinctly recall Ronan telling me stalkers were mentally unstable, unpredictable. He told me some of them got off on fear, while others were simply obsessed.

If I want to survive, I’m going to have to play along. I’m going to have to convince him that he did the right thing, that I should’ve chosen him all along.

“Thank you for dinner,” I say when he reaches the doorway. A hazy fog begins to wash over me, my eyelids thick, weighted.

He stops. “You’re welcome.”

Ronan disappears for a minute, returning with a fresh zip tie.

Clutching my fist against my chest, I gaze into his eyes. “Do we have to? My hands are falling asleep.”

Bending over me, he reaches for my free hand, sliding his fingers around my wrist and lifting it to an iron rail in the headboard.

He kisses the top of my head, soft and gentle. “Yes, Meredith. We have to.”

CHAPTER 40

GREER

Day Eleven

He answers.

Harris answers.

“Oh, my God.” I clasp my hand over my mouth. “Harris, what the hell is going on? Where are you?”

I glance around the airport, searching for Ronan. We left the baggage claim a few minutes ago, and he headed to the restroom, his gun case in tow.

“Gre ...” His voice cuts out. “I’m ... my way to ... don’t ... Ronan ...”

My phone beeps. The call ends.

A warm hand clasps my shoulder. Ronan. “You ready?”

The buzzing of my phone in my hand startles me, and Ronan glances down only to find Harris’s name flashing across the screen. Before I have a chance to slide my thumb across the glass, Ronan snatches it from me.

Leaning into my ear, he presses something hard into my back. It was only for a split second, hardly long enough for anyone around us to notice, but I know exactly what it is.

“I highly recommend you not make a scene.” His voice is low, reverberating off my eardrum.“Walk.”

We head toward the pickup lane, pass a line of waiting taxis, and enter the long-term parking garage. His hand hooks into my elbow, leading me toward the elevator, and as soon as we round a corner on the third floor, he ditches my phone in a nearby trash can.

“I don’t understand,” I say as he jerks me along. Maybe if I play dumb, he won’t perceive me as a threat despite the fact that I have every intention of tearing him limb from limb the first chance I get.

His truck is a few paces ahead. “I think you do. I think you understand perfectly.”

Glancing around, I realize we’re alone. And even if we weren’t, I couldn’t make a scene. Not here. And not yet.

He has my sister.

And that means he has all the power.

At least for now.

CHAPTER 41

MEREDITH