“Let’s go see Larry’s wife now.” I rubbed my body dry and stared at Jakob’s reflection in the mirror. “I want to see if there’s anything else she didn’t tell me before.”
“Sure, I think that’s a good idea.” He nodded and licked a drop of water off the back of my neck. “But we have to be smart about it. This could be a setup. There has to be a reason Larry wants us to go see her. We need to remember that whatever she says might be for show—but she could know more than she’s been letting on. Maybe she knows the real truth behind everything. If she does, then we’re going to try our damnedest to figure it out.”
“I hope so.” I walked into the bedroom. “And I need to call Rosie—she must be worried about me.”
“When do I get to meet her?”
“Soon.” I thought about Rosie meeting Jakob. She was going to think I was crazy to be dating the man that had kidnapped me, and I couldn’t blame her.
“You don’t want her to meet me, do you?”
“Well, not right away.” I made a face as I pulled my clothes on. “Maybe when all this is sorted out.”
“She’s your best friend.”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Yet she never called the police when you were gone for a week and she’s been flaking on you since you’ve been back, even though she knows you were kidnapped.”
“Yes.” I sighed. “She thought I left the bar with a guy I’d met and she’s dating this guy and, well, I haven’t been available. . . .” My voice trailed off as I realized how weak my explanation sounded.
“She doesn’t sound like a great friend.” He pulled on a shirt. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Let’s go.”
“You know where Larry’s wife lives?”
“She lives out on Long Island. I have the address in my bag.”
“Okay, then. Bring your notes and we’ll go over the clues again and see what we missed.”
I grabbed my handbag and we exited his apartment. As we took the elevator down, all I could think about was my own place. I wanted to go back and check up on it. It felt strange to miss it, but in a way I felt that I had betrayed it by staying with Jakob. I missed my space and my bed. I missed just being there.
“You okay?” Jakob squeezed my hand.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about my apartment.” I gave him a half smile. “Just hoping no one’s gone back there.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “We’ll have to get your stuff and move it into my apartment.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re moving in with me. I can’t let you go back to that place.”
“I’m not moving in with you, Jakob, that’s way too fast.” I shook my head. What was going on here?
“Just for now, until we figure out everything.”
“I can’t stay with you forever.”
“We’ll talk about it later. We have bigger concerns to deal with now.”
“You’re not the boss of me, Jakob. You can’t tell me how to live my life.”
“Like I said, we’ll talk about it later.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” Larry’s wife came outside as we were walking up the driveway. “You both need to leave.”
“Larry sent me.” I walked up to her. “He said you’d have some papers for me.” I could feel Jakob’s eyes on me. I’d omitted that part, and he wasn’t happy about it.
“I don’t want to get involved.” She looked at Jakob and then back at me.
“Mrs. Renee, please. This is important.”
“I told Larry I’m done. I don’t want any part of this anymore.”
“Any part of what?” Jakob stepped closer to her.
“I never signed up for this life, you know.” She looked angry. “When I met Larry, I thought he was a good guy. I didn’t know he was married.”
“Married?” I looked at Jakob and we exchanged a glance.
“I didn’t know.” She looked guilty. “I didn’t know he was a father, either.”
“Father? He has kids?” My eyes widened. “What?”
“He has a daughter.” She nodded. “She hates him.”
“He has a daughter?” I repeated, my heart beating fast.
“Yes, he didn’t have much of a relationship with her until a few years ago.” She looked at me. “That’s when everything changed. I knew something bad was coming. I just knew it.” Her face looked bleak. “I thought it was my payback for ruining a marriage. I thought I deserved the hostility and tension for being a home wrecker, but this is all too much now. His daughter coming back into his life ruined everything.”
“Why?” I breathed out.
“Roma was bad news. I could see it in her eyes, the very first time I met her.”
“Roma?” Jakob’s voice rose and I froze. “Her name is Roma?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Renee nodded. “Evil girl she was.”
“Where is she now, Mrs. Renee? How do we get in contact with her?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “She and I are not close. I don’t even know where she lives and I don’t want to know. I want a divorce from Larry. I’m not letting Larry take me down with him.” She took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s my penance for splitting up his first marriage. This is the price I had to pay. That’s how karma goes. You can’t ruin a marriage and expect your marriage to go perfectly.”