The Sequel Read Online Free PDF

she lowers her to her shoulder.
    â€œI will show you how to read the rest of the book, Zachary. But, remember, I said you’d have to pay?”
    He nods. “That’s no problem. We can talk about terms.”
    She rocks the baby gently on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about terms, honey.”
    â€œThen … what do you want?”
    The blue eyes lock on his. “You just have to tell me my name.”
    A laugh escapes his throat. “I … what?”
    â€œYou don’t know my name, do you?”
    â€œWell, I’m embarrassed. But …”
    â€œSo go ahead. Guess my name. You want the rest of the book, right? Okay. Guess my name, and the book is yours. That’s the deal. Tell me my name. You have three chances.”
    He closes the computer but leaves it on his lap. “Seriously?”
    She doesn’t blink. She taps one foot.
    Zachary realizes he has to play her game. Okay. No big deal.
    He guesses. “Uh … Sarah?”
    She shakes her head. He sees a flash of merriment in those cold blue eyes. “Two more guesses.”
    â€œJessica?”
    â€œNo. Think hard, honey. You’re down to your last guess. Make it a good one.”
    He squints hard at her, studies her as if trying to read her thoughts. What name does she look like? Well …
    â€œAshley?”
    She lowers her head, hair falling over her face. “Oh, wow. Sorry, Zachary. That’s not my name. And that was your last chance.” She walks past him toward the door.
    â€œSo, tell me,” he cries. “What is it? What is your name?”
    She sighs. “Zachary, didn’t we meet among the fairy tales?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œSo you should have guessed. You really should have guessed. My name is Rumpelstiltskin.”
    He gasps. “Huh?”
    â€œMy name is Rumpelstiltskin. You didn’t guess it. So now the baby is mine.”
    Zachary shoves the laptop to the couch and struggles to his feet. But before he can stand up, she and the baby are out the door.
9
    He tugs open the door and bolts into the hall. He listens for her footsteps on the stairs. But all he can hear are his pounding heartbeats.
    She’s crazy, and she has my baby.
    He takes off, flying down the stairs two at a time. Out onto the stoop. He gazes up and down the sidewalk. No. No. Not here. Breathing so hard, it feels as if his chest might burst.
    Don’t give yourself a heart attack.
    Did she have a car waiting? How did she disappear so quickly?
    He pulls himself back up to the living room. He grabs his phone off the couch.
    I’ve got to call the police. She kidnapped my baby.
    But what will the police say when he tells them her name is Rumpelstiltskin? He can already hear the derisive laughter when he describes how he’s been living in a fairy tale.
    â€œOh, you lost your baby to Rumpelstiltskin? Why don’t you ask Goldilocks to help you find her?” Followed by: “Hawhawhawhawhaw.”
    Zachary vows to find her on his own. He knows he isn’t thinking clearly. He can’t really think at all. He only knows he has to run. He has to run across the city, run to the places she might be, run to anywhere he might find her.
    He’s too frightened, too horrified to stay in one place. If he does, the horror of what he has done will catch up to him and swallow him whole.
    He runs to the library. No one has seen her there. He runs to the East Side, back to her block. Which building? Which building? No. No sign of her.
    Where to look now? He can’t give up.
    He’s walking up 2 nd Avenue almost, to 86 th Street, when he sees her seated at a table in a coffee shop window. She has Emily on her shoulder. A plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. And sitting in the opposite chair—Cardoza.
    Were they working together?
    Of course they were. Cardoza’s job was to get him frightened, off-balance, vulnerable, ready for her to step in and do her thing.
    Rage