One Step Too Far (Frankie Elkin, #2)

by Lisa Gardner

I know who I am. I know why I do what I do. It’s the rest of the world that’s confusing to me.

I don’t know, but the more I learn of Tim, the more I wish that I’d had a chance to meet him. My life is filled with ghosts. Images and stories of people I never knew and, in most cases, never will. They haunt me. And yet I keep coming back for more, collecting memories that aren’t even my memories and clutching them tight to my chest. If you hoard other people’s tragedies, does that make your own easier to bear?

Nemeth doesn’t flinch. I respect that about him. I deal with so many people who lie, it’s always nice to meet someone who can handle the truth. “Why are you doing this?” he asks me quietly. I reward his honesty with my own. “Because I don’t know how to live any other way.” He nods thoughtfully. He sees me. I see him.

I nod. I’m not sure how feasible any of this really is, but it’s a plan, and we need a plan. Plans give you a list of tasks to keep you from drowning in your own fear. Plans give you a feeling of control, even if it’s just an illusion at the time.

Now I almost do cry. Because we’re not enough people. I am not enough people. I have never been enough people.