Page 95 of The Twins

She answered immediately. “Becca. You’re here.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, thank the dear Lord above. Come up. Come up.”

“Mitch is with me.”

He wore Ray-Bans now, and all I saw was my own reflection in them. His mouth was a flat line, and he slipped his phone into his back pocket.

A pause, then, “Okay…both come up.”

The door buzzed, and I pushed in, Mitch close behind.

As soon as Amy opened her door, she flung herself at me, squeezing me with her slender arms. She almost took my breath.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Thank goodness you’re safe. I’ve been so worried, so worried I thought my heart was going to give out.” She pulled back and stared at me, studying the very depths of my eyes. “If that bastard hurt you…I’ll…I’ll bloody kill him.”

“He didn’t, just frightened me, and I’m fine.” I didn’t see any need to tell her he was already dead, that my new boyfriends had made sure of that. Again, that was me being protective of her.

Her attention went to Mitch. She cleared her throat and knotted her fingers. “Hello again.”

“Amy. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were upset yesterday.”

“Thank you.” A rise of color appeared on her cheeks. “That’s kind of you.”

“Just doing my job.”

“But you’re off duty,” I said then pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying more.

“Always on duty, Rebecca,” he said. “The bad guys don’t take days off.” He removed his shades and poked them into thecollar of his sweater. His attention went to Amy again, and he tipped his head as though taking in her pink dress that was dotted with daisies and her bare feet with pink toenails. She was eternally more delicate and girly than me, and I didn’t try and compete, she won hands down even without trying.

And it was clear Mitch liked what he saw.

Amy cleared her throat again. “So you’ve been checked over, right?”

“Yes, I said. All clear, blood’s good, too. Just got the results back.”

“That’s a relief.” She turned and walked to the kitchen area in her compact apartment. “Anyone want a drink?”

“Just water,” I said. The bacon had made me thirsty.

“Same here,” Mitch answered.

Soon we were sitting in her living area; Amy and I on a dark-burgundy sofa, and Mitch in a wide burnt-orange armchair. An ancient sycamore tree was in full leaf, and the window practically glowed green. Above it, a sliver of blue sky gave a burst of sunlight over the carpet.

“I was beside myself.” Amy took my hand. “I could see your phone in the middle of a field somewhere. I went straight to the police station, and Mitch was there with Finn and Cillian.”

“You had great information, Amy,” Mitch said, his big hands curling over the arms of the chair. “Helped a lot in finding Rebecca. That app is a handy thing to have.”

“Yes.” She squeezed my hand. “We trust each other, and have no secrets, so it’s useful…very useful, it seems.”

Quiet descended. The air was practically fizzing with chemistry, and I forced myself not to fill the silence.

Eventually, Mitch spoke. “You lived here long, Amy?”

“Yes, ten years now.”

He nodded. “Move from far?”