Gazing at Gary Fuller, Jessica thought about what her next move should be. She felt much more confident that he wasn’t the threat he’d seemed to be when he’d straddled her chest early on the previous morning, but she couldn’t be positive. Maybe if she could get him to leave town, she could go to Barnes and tell him the truth.
She bit her lip as she considered all the consequences that would bring. Would Douglas Harrington just send someone else after her? Did he really know people who would harm her and those she loved? And if he did, how much time would she have before he sent someone after her?
It didn’t matter, she thought. I will stop this. Then she typed a reply to Gary Fuller.
I want you to quit your job and leave town. If you’re gone, I won’t report what I know to the police.
She saw him walk away from the group and read the text. His back was to her, but he was staring at his phone. After a moment, her phone chimed a message.
I’ll think about it.
No, she thought. I want you gone for good. Now. I want my life back. I want Kyle back. I want to feel safe again.
Anger fueled her reply.
If you’re not gone by morning, I’ll go to the police.
His reply was almost immediate.
You’d better hope I don’t figure out who this is.
Fear jolted through her. Now that she’d gotten under his skin, would he hurt her if he discovered she was behind the texts? She watched him through the binoculars, and frowned when he tucked his phone into his pocket and walked toward his colleagues, a confident smile on his face, as if he’d been texting a friend the whole time.
Not sure what to do, she watched him for a while longer, but when he stepped away from the group to help a customer, she pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive back to the motel. On her way there, she passed a sporting goods store, and on impulse, she stopped in to see if they sold pepper spray. She knew it couldn’t do much against a knife, but if she was prepared to at least incapacitate her attacker, that would give her a chance. And maybe that’s all she needed. Just a chance to get away, if it came to that.
A few minutes later she walked out of the store with a pink canister of the stuff tucked securely in her purse. Back at the motel, she read the instructions on the packaging, then used her laptop to go online and learn about the proper way to use it. To give her self-confidence a boost, she practiced what she would do if she had to use it, then put it back in her purse.
Next, she removed the wig and scrubbed off her make-up, then pondered whether she should go to Barnes and tell him what she knew. As the afternoon wore on, she still didn’t know what she should do. In the back of her mind, she feared that Gary really would hurt her and those she loved, but then she argued with herself that if she told Barnes about Gary and what he’d done, Barnes could protect her.
After going back and forth, back and forth, she finally decided that the only course of action that made sense was to contact Barnes and tell him what had been happening over the last two days. Once her decision had been made, relief washed over her. Yes, she thought, it’s the right thing to do.
Brimming with optimism, she put her purse over her shoulder and pulled open the motel room door. Gary Fuller filled the door frame, glowering at her. She gasped in stunned surprise, then fell back two steps.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” he said, his face filled with rage. “You sent me those texts today.”
Her mouth went dry. The man was huge and menacing, and she suddenly wondered if her assumption that he was just a used car salesman was correct. Shaking her head violently from side to side, she managed to whisper, “No.”
He walked into the room, then shut and locked the door behind him. “I think you’re lying.”
She moved backwards until the backs of her legs hit the bed, but she managed to remain standing.
He walked forward until he stood right in front of her, and then he glared at her. “You know what I did, huh? You want me to quit my job and leave town, huh? Is that what you want?”
Jessica’s mind flew in a million directions. He figured out it was me. He found me. What’s he going to do to me? Then she remembered her most recent purchase, and knew it could be her salvation. Trying to distract him so that she could reach into her purse and pull out the pink canister, she asked, “How did you find me?”
His eyes never left her face. “This isn’t a very big town, Jessica, and when I drove past the motel parking lot and saw a car that looked just like yours—you know, just like the one that was at your apartment—I checked the plates, and wouldn’t you know it? It was yours.” A nasty grin filled his face. “I guess today’s my lucky day.”
Her purse hung against her right hip, and carefully, oh so carefully, she slid her hand toward the opening. “I did what you asked. I changed my statement.”
His smile grew as he nodded. “Yes. That was good. Mr. Harrington is very pleased.”
“Then leave me alone.” Tears of terror filled her eyes as her hand reached the top of her purse. “I did what you told me to. Leave me and my family alone.”
“I would have, but then you decided to complicate things today.” He leaned closer, and his onion breath filled the air between them. “So you only have yourself to blame.”
Her hand slipped inside her purse and she frantically rooted around the large bag for the smooth cylinder. “What are you going to do?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” A look of contempt gleamed in his eyes. “I’d like to kill you, but I work for Mr. Harrington and I need to see if he’s okay with that.”
Her heart beat erratically in her chest. She’d been wrong. He was dangerous. Her fingers brushed against the pepper spray, and a burst of hope bloomed inside her.
“So for now,” he said, “I guess I’ll just have to tie you up while I wait to hear my instructions.”
She wrapped her hand around the canister and made sure her fingers were positioned as she’d practiced, then slowly, so Gary wouldn’t notice, she lifted the canister out of her purse. She knew she needed to have a little distance between them when she sprayed him, otherwise she risked getting it in her own eyes and mouth, which would make it difficult to escape.
With her hand at her side, and the canister ready to use, she inched toward the foot of the bed. If she could get there, she could move backwards and put enough space between her and Gary so that she could use the pepper spray. But she had to do it before he tried to tie her up. And she had to do it without him noticing.