Sara Shepard - Ruthless

Aria looked up. “I’d like that.”

“Me too,” Hanna said. Spencer smiled and bumped Emily’s hip. A warm sense of satisfaction fell over Emily like a thick blanket. At least one good thing had come out of this. She hadn’t realized how desperately she’d missed her old friends.

They passed a wrought-iron bench by the flagpole. It must have been newly installed; the cement base looked freshly poured. A shiny copper plaque lay in front of the bench, a bouquet of lilies next to it. Emily glanced at the plaque idly, her eyes sweeping over the letters but not really taking them in. Then, she stopped short and read them again. “You guys.”

The other girls, now a few paces ahead, doubled back. Emily pointed at the sign on the ground.

Everyone stared at the newly chiseled letters. THIS BENCH IS DEDICATED TO TABITHA CLARK, FORMER PRESERVE AT ADDISON-STEVENS PATIENT. REST IN PEACE. Her birth and death years were inscribed below the message. They were the same years as Real Ali’s.

“Oh my God,” Spencer whispered. Aria clapped her hand over her mouth. Hanna took a wheeling step backward.

“Tabitha was here ?” Spencer said.

“Why didn’t this ever come up in the news articles?” Aria shook her head.

Emily looked around at the others, making a chilling connection. “Do you think she knew . . . Ali ?”

Everyone exchanged a horrified glance. The wind kicked up, brushing a smattering of dead, dry leaves across Tabitha’s name. Then Aria’s cell phone let out a beep. Seconds later, Spencer’s phone, tucked deep in her bag, chimed. Hanna’s phone made a snake-hiss sound, and Emily’s phone buzzed in her pocket, making her jump.

Emily knew who the note was from without having to look. She gazed at her friends, confused. “You guys, Kelsey can’t make calls from inside the Preserve. She has no cell phone.”

“So . . .” Hanna stared at the phone. “Who wrote this ?”

With shaking hands, Emily pressed READ. And then she shut her eyes, realizing this wasn’t over. Not even close.

Dig all you want, bitches. But you’ll NEVER find me. —A

These pretty little liars just can’t help but be bad, and I can’t help but torture them. They call that a symbiotic relationship, right? Spencer would know—unless she was high during that class? Whoopsies!

Just when poor widdle Emily thought she’d made a new bestie, Kelsey went and nearly killed her. Still have a thing for bad girls, Em? Hanna thought she was Juliet in a star-crossed love. How romantic. Maybe she should have listened when I warned her how that one ended up. And Aria—oh, Aria. She fell into some old, bad habits. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Fingers crossed she never learns her lesson.

I’d say these ladies need a vacation, but given what they did on their last getaway, that’s probably not the best idea. And besides, watching the drama unfold is like a holiday for moi !

Until next time, bitches.

Mwah!

—A

I can’t believe I’m writing the acknowledgments for Pretty Little Liars #10 . I’m beyond lucky that the series has continued on for this long—and that I work with so many amazing editors, brainstormers, and all-around brilliant people who help make the series as compelling and interesting as it is. It’s the same cast of characters as always, but I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lanie Davis, Sara Shandler, Josh Bank, Les Morgenstein, and Kristin Marang at Alloy Entertainment for being supportive, reliable, smart, and savvy during this whole process. You guys make all of this so much easier, and I’m thrilled we’re still partners after all these years.

Thanks also to the people to whom I’ve dedicated this book—Farrin Jacobs, Kari Sutherland, Christina Colangelo, and Marisa Russell at HarperTeen. Farrin and Kari are amazing editors with incredible insight that turn these books from good to great. Christina has been my digital guru—she’s the mastermind behind the many Twitter contests! And Marisa put together a great tour for me this summer, where I got to meet so many of my wonderful readers. I feel so safe and nurtured with you guys, and I’m very excited for the future!

Thanks also to Andy McNicol and Jennifer Walsh at William Morris, to the awesome TV people who continue to produce nail-biting episodes of Pretty Little Liars , including Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Lisa Cochran-Neilan, all of the fantastic writers, directors, producers, and crew, and of course Lucy, Shay, Ashley, Troian . . . and Sasha! Let’s not forget the ingénue who plays Ali! Thanks to Andrew Zaeh, who endured recording all those gifts at the baby shower, and to Colleen McGarry for being all-around wonderful—and finding my husband the best cupcakes ever. While we’re on the subject, much love to my husband, Joel, and to my parents, Shep and Mindy, and to Ali, who, may I remind everyone, is nothing like the Ali in the books . . . either of them.

I forgot to thank Mia Rusila in Twisted for all her help with Finnish translation, so since Klaudia’s still in the mix, I’d like to give her a shout-out here. Thanks to all the fans I met this summer on tour, all the fans I speak to on Twitter, and everyone else who is inspired by the books or the TV show. All of you make writing worthwhile. Keep it up, and promise me to keep your secrets safe from A!