The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Alisa was just the kind of challenge he liked so much more interesting than the others.

He got her number, slipped it into his phone, and headed out, catching a cab. The ride was quiet, city lights streaking by until he hopped out at a nearly empty park. The benches were old, lamplight barely reaching the ground.

It was late-almost midnight. The only person around sat on a bench beneath a flickering streetlamp, a beat-up duffel bag at his feet.

That was Ryder-the same guy Monica had spotted by the river earlier. He'd just left the police station after giving a statement, looking exhausted, jaw clenched tight.

When the man from the cab walked up, the two of them stared at each other. They could have been twins-identical, except for a small mole at the end of one man's left eyebrow.

Ryder kicked the duffel bag toward him. "Take the cash and lay low for a while. The cops are on your tail. If I hadn't covered for you tonight, you'd be in a cell already. Detective Jason's on the serial killer case. He doesn't let anything slide. It's only a matter of time before he finds you."

The other man grinned, eyes wild. "Come on, bro. The game's just getting started."

His name was Harry-Ryder's twin.

Ryder had put it all together the second the police grabbed him.

"What more do you want, Harry?" Ryder snapped. "You've killed three people already. When's it going to be enough?"

Harry's expression twisted, his voice cold. "Those women had it coming. If they hadn't been so greedy, chasing men for money, they wouldn't have ended up dead." He snatched up the duffel, flashing Ryder a crooked smile. "Appreciate it."

With that, Harry disappeared into the night.

Meanwhile, Monica-completely unaware she'd been trailed all evening by a killer -finally got home and hung up with her best friend, Anastasia.noveldrama

Back at Anastasia's place, she heard footsteps outside her door. She knew it was Herman, and her stomach did a nervous flip.

She jumped up as Herman walked in. "Let me run you a bath," she blurted, eager to please, worried about making him unhappy.

"Anastasia, you don't have to do that," Herman said gently. "Sit down. Let's talk for a bit."

"Okay." She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear, a little awkward. "What do you want to know? I can go over everything again if you want."

Over the past few days, she'd tried bringing up memories, hoping something would click for him, but nothing seemed to work.

Herman sat, choosing his words. "I'm heading to Willowbrook tomorrow."

Anastasia's heart skipped. "Are you going to see Sandy?"

She knew she sounded jealous, but she couldn't help it. She didn't know what had really happened between Herman and Sandy, but they'd spent a lot of time together-enough for feelings to grow, or something more.

Whenever Herman came back from Willowbrook, he never talked about Sandy. Anastasia had been there, she knew their history, but she'd never had the nerve to bring it up. She just waited for him to say something, or tried to ask without seeming like she cared too much.

Herman nodded, straightforward. "There are a few things I need to handle. I'll be gone about three days."

He made it clear he was going alone.

Was

The truth was, Herman wasn't really going for Sandy-he needed to see Nicholas in the hospital. He finally understood why Nicholas had crashed his car: Nicholas was willing to lose a leg if it meant keeping his son close. George, the other son, had been missing for years.

Nicholas just couldn't handle losing another.

Herman had already sent Dailey to look for George, and now he knew for sure— George was really gone.

Sandy probably hadn't told Nicholas that Herman was already back in Riverdale with the Salstrom family. Nicholas was still calling and texting, asking him to visit, not knowing the truth.

Herman's "a few things to handle" was vague enough to make anyone worry. Anastasia's thoughts spun. Was there really something between Herman and Sandy? She didn't dare ask, didn't want him to see how much it bothered her. "Um, okay... What time's your flight?" she asked softly.

"Ten in the morning," Herman replied. "Get some rest. I'm going to take a shower." "...Okay." She watched him walk into the bathroom, her heart tightening.

He was home, but somehow, he felt further away than ever. The distance between them was suffocating.