Never Die Alone

However, Desmond had never co

In the past Bria

She told herself not to be so paranoid, recognizing that the situation with the De

For the most part, Bria

Others filtered in. Elise Gaylord, the introspective thirty-five-year-old working on her PhD in history who was never without her knitting, was followed by Enrique Vega. Muttering under his breath, Enrique strutted across the room, found a chair, and plopped down with an energy drink he didn’t appear to need. He worked out daily at a gym, his biceps huge beneath a tight T-shirt. Bria

More than anything Enrique seemed pissed that his brother had taken off without him. “If Juan had taken me with him,” Enrique had said on one occasion, his shaved head shining beneath the overhead lights, “he would be alive today. Okay? See what I mean? But he didn’t even tell me he was leaving! What kind of brother does that? And he calls himself a twin! Bah!”

Now, slumping in his chair, his long legs crossed at the ankles, his eyes sparking with anger, Enrique popped open his drink and glowered as he drank and waited for the meeting to begin. Twice he glanced at the clock, then at Bria

“In a minute,” Bria

A cell phone rang and Elise jumped, pulled it from her knitting bag, and spying the number on the screen, scuttled out to the hallway to find some privacy as she answered in hushed tones. She glanced furtively over her shoulder, as if she’d been caught in some kind of crime.

That was the thing with Elise. She always acted as if she had something to hide and much of her life was secret, which wasn’t unusual in this group. The call was short and she hurried back inside to reclaim her seat. “Sorry,” she said. “Ashton.”

Tanisha turned her back to the young woman and rolled her eyes. Ashton was, as Elise had said in a moment of candor, the love of her life. But in the few comments Elise had made about him, Ashton seemed obsessive and controlling. Once Elise had received a call from him that prompted her to jump up and leave in the middle of the session. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I just . . . I just have to go. Ashton needs some cold medication . . . he’s not feeling well . . . I have to go.” She’d nearly run from the room.

“That is such bullshit,” Tanisha had said.

Bria

“You know it. I know it. Even he knows it,” Tanisha had added, hooking a thumb toward Desmond. “That guy she’s with, he’s a control freak.”

Elise had missed the next meeting, but had shown up ever since, never saying a word about her abrupt departure. She simply acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. However, one time when Tanisha had asked how Ashton was, Elise had flinched. Her knitting needles lost their rhythm. “What do you mean? He’s fine.”

“Got over that cold or flu, did he?” Tanisha had asked as if she were truly interested, all the time ignoring Bria

“The flu?” Elise seemed perplexed, then got it. “Oh. Sorry. No. He didn’t have the flu or . . . or a cold. No. It was . . . was a rash. He just needed some . . . some cream. We were out.” She’d smiled quickly, an embarrassed grin that hadn’t touched her eyes and faded quickly at her obvious lie.

Now, Enrique scowled and cocked his left wrist, then tapped it repeatedly, even though he didn’t wear a watch. His eyebrows arched as he tried to silently encourage Bria

Bria

Bria

“Been better,” she said as he broke off the quick embrace.

“Seriously? Ouch. I’m sorry.” Jenkins pulled a face. “I hope it’s not bad news.” In his midtwenties, Jenkins was blond, with a trimmed beard and quick sense of humor. Gay and in a long-term relationship, he had a job he liked and a supportive family. Still, he couldn’t put behind him the fact that his twin brother had died from a rare form of cancer that even a bone marrow transfer from his identical twin hadn’t been able to destroy.

Before Bria

Obviously her daughters were still missing.

“Selma,” Bria

“You talked with the detective?” Selma asked.

“Yes, I did.” Somehow Bria

“But you don’t know.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow. For sure.”

Selma looked about to fall down. “I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she admitted. “I should be home, in case Zoe or Chloe show up. They might come for their car. . . .”