Secret Obsession (Carder Texas Connections #6)(56)

Archimedes paced back and forth, then in larger circles as if his mind were a racetrack. Was he going to implode right there?

“It wasn’t the plan,” he muttered over and over again. He whirled on her. “Don’t move.” He raised the remote in the air, then walked across the gym to a closet. He pulled out a handkerchief, turned the doorknob then peeked inside. He disappeared for a moment, but soon dragged out a wooden chair and placed it in the middle of the floor. “Sit.”

Lyssa had no choice. She sat down.

Within seconds he had bound her with nylon rope. Her hands and feet anchored together, he finished off with an elaborate knot.

“First we come to an understanding. Then I allow you to see your child.”

He turned away from her, lifted his hands and slowly peeled away his mask.

Lyssa’s heart raced. She would finally see him.

He faced her.

Archimedes, the serial killer feared by everyone, looked like, like no one. Lyssa didn’t know what she’d expected. Someone handsome like Ted Bundy. Someone odd like Jeremy Dahmer. This man was ordinary. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes. No unusual features. He was nothing special. Forgettable really.

She blinked. And she had no idea who he was.

He leaned forward. His entire body thrummed with expectation, his expression eager, waiting.

God, she was supposed to know him.

Lyssa averted her gaze, desperately trying to piece together his identity. She’d only been at Thomas Jefferson for half of her senior year. Not enough time to make many friends—just Mary. Definitely not time to make enemies.

No one had stalked her; no one had harassed her.

His dress shoes thudded two steps. He grabbed her chin.

“You must know me,” he said. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

She licked her lips. What could she say? She studied his eyes, his hair. She bowed her head.

“What’s my name?” he screamed.

She shook.

“Answer me!”

“I...I don’t know. I’m sorry. Please, tell me.”

He let out a wild cry. “You don’t remember!” The accusation echoed in the gym. “Maybe she’ll help you remember.”

He raced across the gym to another door. The moment he slammed into the room, a baby’s terrified cry sliced at Lyssa’s soul.

He dragged a Pack ’n Play halfway across the room, the baby hysterical inside. Lyssa leaned forward, the rope bit into her arms and legs, but she didn’t care. She had to get to Jocelyn.

Archimedes took a can and sprinkled powder all over the playpen. He held a lighter above her baby. “The formula will incinerate her in seconds. Do you remember me now?”

Lyssa rocked back and forth. He was going to kill them both. She knew it. If she could knock the chair over and break the wood, maybe she could get free. “Please, please don’t! I’ll go with you. I won’t fight you, just please leave her alone.”

He shook his head, pacing again. “You are my destiny. We had something special. A moment. You cared. I know you did.” He babbled, rubbing his temple. “That day at the UN, you didn’t remember me then, either.” He glared at her. “I thought you were different from the rest of them.”

Lyssa strained her memory. Then, in a flash, she saw his face. The day of her big break, the translating job that would have made her career. A week before Jack’s murder. Someone had stopped her, told her how proud he was of her. She’d ignored him. Pushed him aside.

“You congratulated me,” she said softly.

He smiled a strange, sickly smile. “But you still don’t know who I am.”

“Maybe this will help.” He removed a pair of thick glasses from his tuxedo pocket and put them on.

She struggled. She knew him. She had to. Someone out of place in high school. Someone the other kids didn’t like.

Lyssa stared at his glasses. Yes. She remembered. A boy she hardly knew. He sat behind her in almost every class. Next to her in every class where they were assigned seating in alphabetical order. Alessandra Cummings then...

“Todd? Todd Davidson?”

The smartest kid in school. And the most awkward.

“I tested you and tested you.” He sighed. “You figured out my puzzle. I thought we were meant to be together forever, that we’d have a life together. I guess I was wrong. Our lives will end together.”

He sprinkled the powder around her.

“Please, don’t do this. What did I ever do to you?”

“You made me believe people could be nice. Before you, I expected bullies to dump me into a garbage can. Before you, I expected teachers to ignore the bruises on my arms and legs and cheeks. Before you, I expected to disappear.

“You made me hope for more. You stood up for me.” His face twisted in fury. “You made me love you!”

“Would it help if I told you that you do matter? Those things shouldn’t have happened to you, Todd. They were wrong, but you don’t have to do this.” she said, desperation clawing at her. She had to get away. She shifted in her chair, tugging at the rope.

“You’re too late. You don’t know me!” he shouted. “You don’t care about me! You never did. I made myself important. I am Archimedes!”

Jocelyn sobbed, stretching her hands out at Lyssa.

There had to be a way.