Chapter 9

I had to get out of here. I didn’t understand hardly any of the conversation, but I did hear enough. Brett said he had to kill me. Kill me?

Kill me?

Oh, God, the creepy text was right!

The world, everything, it ceased to make sense. How did this happen? First I’m in love and then I’m a target. By the same man?

Nothing worked. Not my legs. Not my heart. And certainly not my brain. I was stuck in suspended animation on Brett’s bed. If I could have laughed, I might have. Just at the extreme absurdity of it. I was stuck on Brett’s bed. He said he was going to kill me. And I was stuck.

Stuck!

The phone vibrated in the palm of my hand, jarring me back to life. The caller ID stated it was Mrs. Janowski. I knew it wasn’t her. T must have realized that his phone was switched. And I was the last call. If they looked at the call history, they would know I had heard everything.

Brett would come for me.

I dropped the phone to the ground, staring at it as if Brett had materialized.

No, this couldn’t be happening. Brett loved me. He wouldn’t kill me.

And what was the contract? Why was there a contract on me?

I had to get out of this house. I had to think, to plan. But where could I go? I was in Texas with not a friend, car, or money. The only thing I had was credit cards, now paid for by Brett. He could easily track them. Would he track them? God, I was losing my mind. The fringe of my vision was splintering.

Footsteps on the stairs.

“Mars, dear,” Lil said. “I just got a really odd call from Brett. He said to make sure you don’t go anywhere, not even to the trial tomorrow. I tried to make him explain, but he said it was a matter of life or death. What in the world did I miss?”

“Um, nothing. I was disconnected. I don’t know.” Shit!

“Are you feeling okay? You look pale.” She crossed the room to feel my forehead. “You don’t feel warm, but you’re all sweaty. I bet you’re coming down with a bug.”

“Bug. Yes, I must be.”

“Well, just you rest for a while. I’ll make some soup.”

“Soup. Yes, soup.”

The phone buzzed along the floor. Lil bent down to pick it up.

“No!” I shouted, then covered my mouth. “I mean, I’ll get it later.”

“Sure. Of course, dear.” She looked at me as if I’d sprouted a second head.

“I think I’ll just take a nap, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” she repeated and bustled from the room. “Just holler if you need anything.”

As soon as Lil left, I bolted to the door and locked it. I had to get out and yet I was trapped. Oh, God, I had to warn Mrs. Janowski and the others. I had to talk to them. They could make sense of what I’d heard.

I paced the room. Think. Think. Think.

Reaching down, I plucked the phone from the floor and called Kym. I wouldn’t involve them further. I’d just warn them and figure this out on my own.

“Did you get any intel?” Mrs. Janowski’s voice boomed through the phone.

“Mrs. J., you can’t just steal my phone,” I heard Kym say.

“Pshht, I’ll give it back,” she said. “Mars, what did you hear?”

“Too much,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I don’t even know where to begin. Did Aaron find anything on T’s phone?”

“Nothing. He scrubbed it. We were thinking of trying his computer next, but it will take us some time to break into his office.”

“No. Stay far away from Brett and T. You have to promise me.”

“Why?”

“I — I overheard some things. I’m not sure who they are.”

“Who they are?”

“I don’t know. Oh, Mrs. J., I don’t even believe it.” I stifled the tears stinging the back of my eyes. “Listen, I’m going to be away for a little bit. Just don’t trust Brett or T for now. I’ll be in contact with you. Stay away from them.”

I ended the call and sat back down on the bed, hands shaking. This had to be a mistake, but I also knew what I’d heard. I didn’t just conjure up the conversation in a hallucinatory dream. I heard the words, the tone in which they were said. It happened. It was real. The scary texts confirmed what my heart couldn’t believe.

I wanted to call Brett, to ask him, to demand that he explain. To tell me it was just a nightmare and I’d wake up. But I knew I wouldn’t, not after what I had heard.

I needed more information before I confronted him, which meant I had to leave. I had no friends here. No one could help me. I had to help myself.

How?

I sat on the bed, contemplating until my mind was whirling. Still nothing. And then I heard her. Emily.

“Mars.” Emily knocked on the door, after she had tried to open it. “Are you in there?” The door handle jiggled.

“Go away.”

“Why doesn’t Brett want you to go to the trial?”

“Ask him.”

“He won’t answer his phone.”

That’s because his phone was hacked, I wanted to say. Was it Aaron who hacked it? He seemed almost frightened when he shut his laptop, but even if he did hack the phone, there wasn’t time for him to do anything to it. What did Aaron see? The contract? No, he’s a quick kid, but no one could read and comprehend a contract within a fraction of a second. So, what was it?

“Mars,” Emily whined. “Did he say when he was coming back?”

“No. Why don’t you go pester Rand?”

Rand! He was the one person who might help, if for no other reason than to piss off Brett.

“Why don’t you pester Rand,” Emily said smugly. “After all, he came up here to visit you earlier.”

Crossing over to the door, I whipped it open. “What are you up to?”

Her seemingly innocent surprised expression didn’t fool me.

“Nothing,” she gasped, hand fluttering to her chest as if she was playacting a Southern belle. “But I have eyes. I can see there is something going on between you.”

“Something going on between Rand and . . .” And there it was. My ticket out of here. I’d run away with Rand. Scary, rude, condescending, manipulative but very handsome-even-while-puffing-on-a-nasty-cigarette Rand.

Emily solved my problem.

“You might be right,” I said slowly, pondering.

Her eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe I was agreeing.

“It’s something to think about while I take a nap,” I said, shutting the door and locking it once again.

I heard her delighted squeal on the other side of the door. Her happy footsteps bounded down the stairs. If Brett’s room faced the backyard, I bet I’d see those giddy feet running straight over to Rand’s to tell him the good news.

Good news.

There was nothing good about this.

I sat on the bed again, wondering if I’d be able to twist Rand’s arm. His dislike of me was obvious. Whatever attention he displayed was because of Emily’s manipulation, which I still didn’t fully understand. If her one-track mind had anything to do with it, it was to remove me from Brett so she could get him back.

She could check that item off her list.

But where do I go from here? Brett would know I’d head back to Wisconsin. My whole life was there. No, I had to go somewhere unexpected. Maybe Rand would know of a place I could stay.

I grimaced. The universe was conspiring against me if Rand was going to be my savior.

Walking to the window, I looked down at the ground and then at the tree. With everyone assuming I was taking a nap, it was my only way out undetected. And I wanted to keep the ruse up for as long as possible. If Brett called again, they could honestly say I was still in the room sleeping. The locked door would deter them from checking, at least for a little while.

I slid the window open and sat on the edge. Traversing through windows was never a talent of mine—not that I had known that until the Fenwig fiasco, which now seemed a lifetime ago.

A tree branch below me looked sturdy, but it also looked really far away.

“Come on,” I whispered to myself. “It’s only a two-story drop. If you die, then Brett won’t have to kill you.” A chunk of my heart withered.

I heard the vibration of my phone on the bed. Should I take it with me? Brett might track it. But it also had all my contacts on it. I teetered on the decision until finally breaking down and swiping it off the bed. Powering it off, I jammed it into my pocket and made my way carefully out the window.

 

* * *

 

“No, Emily!” Rand yelled, slamming his beer on the side table. “I’m done with your bullshit. I’m not going to fuck Mars just so you can get Brett. Don’t you dare ask me again.”

“You said you’d think about it,” she argued. “And you don’t have to do anything with her. Just make it look like you did so Brett dumps her. I already talked with her and she’s agreeable.”

I pressed along the side of Rand’s tiny cabin behind the fence, listening in on Emily and Rand’s conversation. With Emily’s meddling, Rand was not going to be receptive to my request.

“Agreeable?” he questioned.

“I hinted that there might be something going on between you two, and she agreed.”

He muttered a curse. “There’s nothing going on between us and there never will be. Get out!”

“Won’t you do it for me?” she pleaded.

“No! Out!”

“Fine! But don’t think you’ll ever get lucky with me again. Last night was a mistake.”

“Damn right it was.”

Emily burst out of the door with a huff and ran back to the main house, leaving Rand’s door wide open.

I knew what I had to do, but I couldn’t seem to detach myself from the siding. Courage, Mars, I commanded. I peeled myself away, then headed over to the open door to rap on it. Rand was sitting in a chair beside the window I had been listening at. His eyes shot over to me.

He cursed again. “Do not tell me Emily got into your head.”

“No, but can I come in?” Keep calm, pretend there’s nothing wrong. Pretend you didn’t just hear the love of your life say he was going to kill you. Half of my confused brain said it was a mistake, to just stay and wait for Brett. The other half was what propelled me. It wanted facts. It wanted safety. It wanted to be anywhere but Texas.

“Fine, come in,” he said, “but get me a beer.”

I quickly crossed over to the refrigerator on the other side of the room. While the cabin was small, it seemed much larger from the inside. The living room and kitchen were joined, separated by a breakfast counter. A short hallway led to two doors that I assumed were the bedroom and bathroom.

“Are you eyeing my place to move in?” he asked drolly.

“No, just curious.” Just looking for a place to hide. I retrieved a beer and walked it over to him. “I need your help.”

“No.”

“You didn’t even hear what I need.”

“I don’t have to.” He popped the cap off on the side table. “My answer will be the same.”

“Even if by helping me you’d piss off Brett?”

“I’d love to piss him off. But I’m not getting in the middle of a hen squabble.”

“This isn’t a hen squabble. I need a ride out of here.”

“Ask Lil.”

“I can’t involve her. I’m not coming back.”

He eyed me, taking a long swig of beer. “Does Brett know?”

“No. I need to leave before he comes home.”

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you. Please, just help me. I can give you money for gas when I get home.” Whenever that might be.

“Not until you tell me what this is about.”

“Fine, but you won’t believe me.” Stay calm.

“Probably not.”

“I overheard Brett. He said he had to kill me.”

Rand sputtered his beer. “Shit.” With the hem of his shirt he wiped his mouth, revealing his abs.

I was mesmerized for a moment until I remembered who those washboard abs belonged to. Why didn’t Emily want him? They were both pretty on the outside with a sour center. They were perfect for each other.

“What the hell did you just say?” he asked.

“Brett said he was going to kill me.”

He leaned back, observing. “You’re out of your mind,” he finally said.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. But I have no way out of here except you.”

“Then you’re stuck.”

“Think about it this way. If we ran off together, you’d piss off Brett. That’s a bonus, right? And you’d make Emily jealous. Another bonus. And all you’d have to do is get me out of here.”

“Emily jealous?” he scoffed.

That was it. Emily was my answer again. Rand didn’t care as much about angering Brett as he did about making Emily jealous. He must still have feelings for her.

If Emily was standing in front of me, I’d have kissed her.

“Emily wants what she can’t have,” I said. “If she thought we ran off together, she’d be livid. It’s a win-win for you.”

“And then I come back without you and she wouldn’t give a damn again.”

“Then don’t come back right away. Help me find a hiding spot and hang out with me for a while.” What in God’s name possessed me to say that?

Desperation. Pure desperation.

He looked thoughtful for a moment but then shook his head. “I have work.”

“The trial is tomorrow. You were going to work on the day your niece’s killer defended herself?”

“No, I was planning on going.”

“Then, please help me.”

“You’re serious?” He eyed me. “You really think Brett is going to kill you?”

“I know what I heard, and I’m scared. If you asked me that same question a few hours ago, I’d have thought you were insane. I don’t know what to think now. I just need time and a safe place.”

“And then what? You can’t stay in your cocoon forever. Someday you’ll come out. Brett’s no dummy. If he wants to find you, he will.”

“By then, I’ll hopefully have the answers I need.”

“How?”

“I know a few ladies that will help me if I ask.”

Rand chugged down the rest of his beer and stood. “Sure, why not?”

Shocked at his agreement, I stood stalk still. “Great,” I finally said. “Let me get my suitcase.”

“Leave it.”

“But my things—”

“Won’t fit on my bike,” he interrupted.

“Your bike?”

He lifted the keys off the counter. “It’s the only wheels I’ve got, sweet thing.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why not? Brett does.”

“He also said he was going to kill me.”

“And I’m his replacement, sweet thing.”

I crossed my arms and scowled, but it only made him laugh.

“This might be fun, sweet thing,” he said, picking up his leather jacket. “Do you have one?”

“A jacket?” I shook my head. “It’s a hundred degrees out.”

“I thought it was in the eighties.”

“Well, it feels like it’s in the hundreds.”

Rand disappeared down the short hallway and into a room. He came back moments later with a helmet and a feminine version of his leather jacket. He tossed it to me.

“Put it on.”

“Who’s is this?”

“Emily’s.”

“It probably won’t fit,” I said.

“Try it.”

“Fine.” I slipped one arm on and then the other. It was snug, but as long as I didn’t hug anyone, the shoulder seams would hold. The zipper on the other hand . . .

“Can’t zip it?” he questioned.

“No,” I muttered, struggling to yank the jacket closed.

“Here,” he said, swiping my hands away. “Suck in.”

“That’s hardly the right thing to say to a lady.”

“If you’re riding on my bike, then you’re not a lady,” he said, a smile tinting his words that might have otherwise offended me. He managed to zip the jacket halfway. My other “ladies” wouldn’t let him go any farther. “That’ll do,” he said, stepping back to look. “Not bad, sweet thing.”

“Stop calling me that.” It was like a knife plunging into my stomach.

He shook his head. “Sorry, you’re riding with me now.”

“What does that have anything to do with it?”

“I never called Emily by her name while riding.”

“Then what did you call her?”

A wicked smile spread on his face. “My bitch.”

Hands on my hips, I cocked a brow. “It’s no wonder she left you.” I had no doubt that he would call Emily his . . . well, his whatever. But from his smile, I suspected he was intentionally trying to rile me. It worked. “Do you have a pen and paper?”

“For what?”

“To write a note.”

“For what?”

I huffed an exasperated breath. “To let everyone know we’ve run off and are going to be blissfully happy somewhere far, far away.”

“I think they’ll figure it out when we don’t come back.”

“They might assume we’re lying dead in a ditch.”

“They’ll call first.”

I sighed. “Fine, just bring your phone charger. I’ll need to borrow your phone for a bit later.”

Once we were geared up and on the bike, I put my arms around Rand’s waist as best as I could with the snug jacket restricting me, and winced at the close proximity to Rand. Well, there was one good thing that came from all this, I thought as he started the bike, revving it until my teeth chattered: At least I didn’t have to talk to the man while he drove. It’d give me time to think.

And cry.