She wasn’t ready to do that. Maybe paranoia was getting the best of her, but something about their interaction in his truck made her scalp tingle.
If only she had family or a close girlfriend to call, someone she could ask for help.
She had no one.
She was utterly, completely alone.
What was happening outside her little bubble? Was Mason looking for her? Was Evan still collecting her mail? She knew in her bones that Tommy was out there somewhere, hunting her right now.
She’d worked herself into a corner with nowhere to go. Her cash was dwindling. Her panic was rising. She was running out of time.
The only thing she’d achieved by coming here was healing her body back to full health. But if Tommy found her, when he found her, he would hurt her all over again.
It was horrifying that someone had monitored her for six months. But even more frightening was the thought of Tommy crashing through that door.
The fear he instilled in her was crippling, and she fucking loathed him for that.
Stepping to the covered window, she inched the curtain aside, just a sliver, and scrutinized the empty parking lot. The setting sun created shadows across the cracked pavement and arid wasteland surrounding it.
Nothing in sight for miles. No looming danger. The world went on without her.
As if the past week had never happened.
Maybe she was delusional. Overacting. Wasting her time here. Hiding for no reason.
She released the curtain and yanked down the neckline of her shirt. Stroking her thumb over the curve of her breast, she traced one of the dozens of bite marks that covered her body.
Tommy had positively happened. He was real. His rage, passion, and intensity had been as authentic as hers, and if she didn’t do something soon, he would show up here more furious than ever.
Mason still lived in El Paso, a three-hour drive away. She could call him, and if she detected anything suspicious in his voice, she would have time to ditch the phone and put distance between herself and this town. She would steal a damn car if needed.
But was it worth the risk?
Just to ask why he’d reported her missing?
She really needed to know.
Moving to the bed, she sat on the edge and dialed his number from memory.
He answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Why did you file a missing-persons report on me?”
“Rylee.” The relief in his sigh chafed her nerves. “Thank God. I’ve been worried sick. Where are you?”
“Answer the question, Mason.”
“Tell me where you are. If you’re in trouble—”
“I’m on vacation. So imagine my surprise when Dean Hodge showed up, looking for me.”
“Why did they send him? I hate that sleazy creep. He has a hard-on a mile long for you.”
“You know what’s creepy? The fact that you know everyone I work with, even though we’ve been divorced for ten years, and I have a restraining order against you.”
“The restraining order expired.”
“I’ll file another one.”
“On what grounds? I love you, Rylee. My life is a goddamn meaningless pit without you. How long are you going to make me pay for a mistake I made when I was a kid?”
“You were thirty-one when you cheated on me, and as you already know, my grudges last forever. Why did you call my place of employment and report me missing?”
The sounds of his breaths rasped through the phone for several seconds. “Your neighbor contacted me.”
Shock chilled her spine as she lurched to her feet, heart racing. “My neighbor?”
“Evan Phillips. He said you were acting scared and disappeared.”
“That’s not at all what happened.” Her lungs crashed together as she raced to the window, obsessively checking the parking lot. “If he was so concerned about my whereabouts, why didn’t he call the police himself? Why would he call you?”
“You’ll have to ask him that question.”
“It doesn’t make sense. He’s collecting my mail. I told him I was leaving and where I was going.”
“Because you’re fucking him.”
“What?” Outrage whooshed through her veins and rang in her ears. “Are you watching me, Mason?”
“I keep tabs on you. Always have. I can’t let go, Rylee. I refuse to give you up.”
She waited for an itch, a tingle of sentiment, and felt nothing.
Should she ask him about Paul Kissinger? If he didn’t hire the man, the question would raise flags and needlessly involve him. If he were already involved, he would lie.
Because he was a dishonest, dirtbag cheater.
She had a remarkable gift for attracting the worst of the worst men.
“Tell me why you think I’m sleeping with Evan.” Her voice rose several octaves, all patience gone. “Tell me right fucking now!”
“When he called me, I asked him outright, and he confirmed it.”
Was Mason lying about that? Was he jealous enough, obsessed enough, to hire a man to watch her fuck her neighbor?
“I hate it.” His voice took on a bitter edge. “I hate every second you spend with other men because it’s another second you’re not with me. I hate that I had the entire world in my arms, in my bed, and I lost it all. I only have myself to blame. I lost you because I’m an idiot. You were the only woman I’d ever been with, and at the time, I thought…”