The One That Got Away

Copyright ©2023 by Liza Drozdov All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. www.lizadrozdov.com This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents found in this book either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, productions, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental. ISBN: 978-1-7776142-0-1 eBook ISBN: 978-1-7776142-1-8 Cover design by Damonza Books by Liza Drozdov Blood Relative Dark Water The One That Got Away For Alexandra and Maxim, as always Contents One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty One Twenty Two Twenty Three Twenty Four Twenty Five Twenty Six Twenty Seven Twenty Eight Twenty Nine Thirty Thirty One Thirty Two Acknowledgements One You think you know me, you think you’ve beaten me, but you’re wrong. You don’t know me or what I’m capable of. I’m waiting and when you come tonight, I’ll be ready for you. How much time has passed since I first woke up down here? How long ago was it? A month? Two? At first I was counting the days, marking the number of times I tracked the sunrise as its reflection crept down the block wall across from the barred window—block by block Two Friday, January 10 The wind cuts across Gravelly Bay, whipping my hair into my face. It’s freezing cold—at least ten below Celsius for the second day in a row. The sun is out and the sky’s a clear blue, promising more high pressure and intense cold. For a lot of people around here, that’s exciting news. A couple more days of below eight or ten degrees and the Icewine harvest will begin. Vintners have been anxiously waiting, checking day and night temperatures for weeks, anticipating