Last to Die

‘Everything,’ he says. ‘Sometimes starting from your early twenties. Sometimes even earlier than that.’
    My mind spins, whirring with dates and ages. I don’t want to ask, but know that I must. ‘When … when was my accident?’
    He looks at me, and his face is a mixture of compassion and fear.
    ‘When you were twenty-nine …’
    I close my eyes. Even as my mind tries to reject this in -formation I know, somewhere, that it is true. I hear myself start to cry again, and as I do so this man, this
Ben
, comes over to where I stand in the doorway. I feel his presence next to me, do not move as he puts his arms around my waist, do not resist as he pulls me into him. He holds me. Together we rock gently, and I realize the motion feels familiar somehow. It makes me feel better.
    ‘I love you, Christine,’ he says, and though I know I am supposed to say that I love him too, I don’t. I say nothing. How can I love him? He is a stranger. Nothing makes sense. I want to know so many things. How I got here, how I manage to survive. But I don’t know how to ask.
    ‘I’m scared,’ I say.
    ‘I know,’ he replies. ‘I know. But don’t worry, Chris. I’ll look after you. I’ll always look after you. You’ll be fine. Trust me.’

Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is also a physician, and she brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency and autopsy rooms. Her thrillers starring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TV series
Rizzoli & Isles
. But Tess’s interests span far more than medicine and crime. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she catalogued centuries-old human remains, and she continues to travel the world, driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena.
    She lives with her husband in Maine.

Also by Tess Gerritsen
    Harvest
    Life Support
    The Surgeon
    The Apprentice
    The Sinner
    Body Double
    Vanish
    The Mephisto Club
    The Bone Garden
    Keeping The Dead
    The Killing Place
    The Silent Girl
    For more information about Tess Gerritsen and her novels, visit her website at www.tessgerritsen.co.uk

TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
A Random House Group Company
www.transworldbooks.co.uk
    First published in Great Britain
in 2012 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
    Copyright © Tess Gerritsen 2012
    Tess Gerritsen has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
    This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
    A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
    Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781409030362
ISBN 9780593063262 (cased)
9780593063279 (tpb)
    This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
    Addresses for Random House Group Ltd companies outside the UK can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk
The Random House Group Ltd Reg. No. 954009
    2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1