Kasey
Donovan and I ride the elevator down to the parking garage in icy silence. How could he say I fucked him for a story? I had to get out of that apartment. I couldn’t stay there another minute with my doubts, my insecurities. I knew he was too good to be true. It’s my fault, really. This is what I get for letting go of my self-restraints and following my heart. Guess what? My heart is a big, fat liar. I can’t trust this man any further than I could throw him. I’m still not sure if he had anything to do with whatever’s going on with my sister, but I am damn sure I can’t trust him with my heart. Not after that little assessment of our relationship.
We get to his garage, and he opens the car door for me. I get in and don’t look anywhere near him, staring straight ahead through the windshield. My mind is reeling. What is going on with us? How the hell did we go from making love to this anger and doubt toward each other in the span of a few hours?
He gets in the car abruptly, starting it without a word. He backs out of the parking spot, using far too much gas and slamming on his brakes to put it in drive before taking off. Someone a little upset? Good. Fuck him if he thinks I’m some kind of a whore for a story.
“Mind getting me home in one piece?” My snark isn’t met with a chuckle like it usually is. Not that I expected it to.
“Really? Just moments ago, you were accusing me of wanting to do ‘something’ to you to keep you quiet and now you have a problem with the way I’m driving? Pick a lane, Kasey. Either I want you safe or I don’t. Right now, the only thing I want is to get you home so you can have a moment to yourself and realize how ridiculous you’re being.”
He’s got to be fucking kidding me. He’s gripping the steering wheel like it somehow offended him, driving like a bat out of hell. Is this supposed to show me he cares? All it’s showing me is that he has a temper and apparently no concern for my safety.
I turn to look at him. I’ve had about enough of his righteous indignation.
“I heard you. Talking to Jackson and Aiden. I heard you tell them you think I slept with you for a story. That you think I knew the whole time my sister was writing a story on Jackson.”
He doesn’t acknowledge what I said, just keeps driving like a maniac.
We pull up to my apartment and he turns the car off like he’s going to come in with me. Yeah, not happening.
“What do you think you’re doing? I’m not inviting you in, Donovan.”
“I might be angry as hell right now, Kasey, but I would feel better if you let me walk you up and check out your apartment.”
Oh, it would make him feel better? Tough shit.
“I don’t think so. You aren’t going to go from accusing me of prostituting myself to being concerned about me, especially after telling me I need time alone because I’m being ridiculous. Has that ever worked out well for any man in the history of the world?” Seriously, the cojones on this guy. “You tell me I need to pick a lane? Try that for yourself.”
He’s looking at me with regret in his eyes, but I can’t find it in me to care. I let myself go for this man and he threw it in my face.
Sorry, fresh out of sympathy here.
He turns his gaze back to the windshield, nods, then looks back at me.
“I’m going to have Aiden come over and watch your apartment. He won’t come in, but at least let me do that. I know you don’t care whether it makes me feel better, but I would feel more comfortable knowing he’s here.”
“The problem is I don’t think I do know you and I don’t think you know me.” I look out the passenger window with tears in my eyes. It’s true. We don’t know each other very well and so far we aren’t passing any relationship tests being thrown at us.
“Keep me up to date on where he is with my sister’s case. I’ll hold off on calling the cops for the time being, but if I don’t hear anything soon, I’m calling. Fuck your reputation, Donovan.”
He nods at my statement. “Fair enough,” he says. I laugh joylessly at that.
“Nothing about this is fair.” I open the car door and get out. He doesn’t try to stop me. I walk up the stairs to the door of my building. He doesn’t come after me.
When I get into my building, I head straight for my door without turning to look for him. What’s the point? He won’t be there. We said awful things to each other. I honestly don’t think he could have had anything to do with Lindsey’s disappearance, but I let my mouth and fear run away with itself. Once I started on that track, I couldn’t stop myself. Stupid move, Kasey. I let myself into my apartment and close the door, leaning my head against it. How did we get here? We should be figuring this out together, not accusing each other of horrible things. I take a breath and stand up straight. Wine. That’s what I need right now. A moment to collect myself, then I’ll decide whether or not to call Donovan. Or the police.
I head toward the kitchen when I feel icicles crawl up my spine like fingers. The same feeling I got when Donovan and I were at the farmer’s market. I spin around and come face to face with a woman in my apartment. I notice her greasy hair and baggy clothes. She has a manic look in her eyes that promises violence and mayhem. I open my mouth to scream when she lunges at me and covers my mouth with her disgusting hand, pinching my nose in the process so I can’t breathe.
“I thought you would never come home,” she says to me. I’m trying to fight her off, but the moment I spent paralyzed in shock gave her the advantage. I feel a prick in my neck and move my eyes to her hand at my neck, seeing her inject me with something. Oh my God, what the fuck is happening? I fall to the floor, unable to move but still conscious.
“Time to see your sister,” she sing-songs. I feel her dragging me through my apartment out onto the secluded patio that I loved when I moved in. I thought I was so lucky to have a little extra space. She’s pretty strong for a mousy little thing. The fact that I can’t call out or fight her off may give her an advantage, though. There’s a small gate that I usually keep locked behind one of my tall cypress trees. As I’m staring at the sky while being dragged through the gate, all I can think is Donovan will never know where I went. He doesn’t know about the gate. We never made it out to the patio to enjoy the fresh air. We probably never will now.
Then it’s lights out.