GWEN
__
"This might sound weird, but I think he's telling the truth."
I spin to face Umber, hardly believing my ears. "What?"
"Look. His eyes... Gwen, he looks at you like you're his next breath. It's scary. How can someone want a person that much?"
"You forget he's a liar. It's all he's good at. Pretending."
I turn, about to go, when her voice stops me. "What if he's right? What then?"
My stomach knots. Not wanting to answer that, I continue down to the basement. Perks of staying in a house of five thousand acres means you have privacy. No one could hear a roar within several miles.
When I open the door to the dark room, I see Malcolm's hunched figure. His neck is slumped and the heavy rise and fall of his chest tells me he's sleeping. I draw level with him, ransacking his pocke
