“Anything you want, Renée,” I said again, stressing the words so that she would know how serious I was.
“Hmm, I'll think about it,” Renée chirped. But her laugh told me all that I needed to know: she wasn't even considering it. Her mind was probably fixated on her obsession: the idea of killing Lexi.
And Lexi, I could only imagine what she must have been feeling. She would be terrified. So would Emma. Janice would try to hide her own terror to comfort the young girl, but she would be scared as well. And all of this was my own fault. Why had I been so stupid? Why hadn't I realized that Renée would do just this? A restraining order meant nothing to her. She was psychologically unsound.
“If I see the police, I'll kill her,” Renée said, her final words before she hung up the phone.
For a moment, trapped in my worried thoughts, all I could do was stare at the receiver and listen to the dead line. Then, I sprang into action, punching out the number that I had up on my computer screen. It was for a private security firm that I worked with. I had suspected that Renée wouldn't want the police involved. I fully believed her when she said that she would pull the trigger if she saw police. But the security firm would know what to do. They were trained for this sort of thing.
The phone seemed to ring for an agonizingly long time, despite the fact that it only took two rings before someone picked up. “This is Andrew Goldwright,” I blurted out. “I've got a Code Ultra Violet.”
“Location?”
I rattled out Renée's cell phone number, knowing that they could use that to trace her. It was all the information that I had for them.
Once I was satisfied that they were on their way toward Lexi, I called the police and directed them toward my house, telling them that there had been a break in.
Then, I sat back in my chair for a moment, wondering just what to do now. As much as I wanted to be the hero, I didn't even know where Lexi was. I couldn't swoop in and save her. God, I would die if anything happened to her.
I stood up, reminding myself that I could still go home and see Emma. Emma, who probably needed a serious amount of cuddles, ice cream, and therapy to get over this. My heart broke, thinking of how terrified she must be.
All my fault, that voice inside me reminded me again. I pushed it away and headed towards the parking lot. It was only after I reached my car that I realized how bad my hands were shaking. I probably shouldn't be driving in this state. I paused for a moment and then, in a daze, called a driver and instructed them to bring a car around to the front of the building.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lexi
I sobbed as Renée hung up the phone. Nothing Andrew had said had been directed at me, even though he must have realized that he was on speakerphone and that I could hear everything that he said. But it had been marginally calming just to hear his voice. I knew that he was going to try to rescue me.
Unfortunately, I'd have to figure out some way to stay alive long enough for him to figure out where I was and come rescue me. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to do that, not when Renée was standing there in a floor-length crimson gown, brandishing a gun at me. I kept expecting her to accidentally shoot the thing, what with all her theatrical posturing.
In some part of my mind, it was almost funny, watching her. But all I could feel just then was terror.
I wished that I could have given Andrew some information, some clue about where to find us. But even though Renée hadn't gagged me, I didn't seem capable of speech. I couldn't tell him much anyway. All I could see was that we were in some sort of warehouse, but in a city like Seattle, that didn't exactly narrow it down. I knew we must have driven someplace before Renée tied me up in this chair, but I couldn't remember that part. She must have knocked me out with some sort of drug when we were still back at Andrew's place.
I was just relieved to hear her say that Emma and Janice were all right. That had been my first concern, as soon as I'd come fully to my senses.
Renée stalked towards me, her eyes narrowed. “I still can't believe you think that you deserve him,” she snarled. “You're just some poor, white-trash, gold-digging bitch with a little brat. Andrew doesn't want you. You're not his type. He's only putting up with you because he's convinced that the brat is his.”
“Emma is his daughter,” I protested, even though I knew that I probably should shut up. I shouldn't provoke her, or who knew what she would decide to do.
“Bullshit, she is,” Renée snapped, swiftly slapping me across the face with the hand that wasn't holding the gun. “I put effort into Andrew, you know? I was grooming him to be my husband. We were going to take over the business world as a charming couple. We were going to be the cream of the crop of the elite. And then you had to come along and fuck that all up.”
She breathed out heavily through her nose. “I could have let it go if you had deserved him. If you'd been a worthy opponent. If you were someone else, maybe I would have conceded the match. But you're just some stupid little con-artist
who thinks that she can have whatever she wants. That's not the way the world works.”
“Please, Renée,” I said quietly. “You know that we can't choose who we fall in love with. I get it. You don't want Andrew to be with someone else. But killing me isn't going to solve that. You know that. It's just going to get you in more trouble. Andrew can't help it. He just doesn't want to be with you. But there's someone out there who does want to be with you. Maybe you've known him all along. Maybe you just didn't notice him because you were too busy trying to get with Andrew.”
“Andrew and I are perfect for each other!” Renée insisted, her voice turning shrill. “Now shut up. I don't want to hear anything else from you. Your words are poison.”
“Renée,” I sighed. “I don't want any trouble with you. Why don't you let me go? I promise I'll never go anywhere near Andrew again if you do. I just wanted what was best for Emma. This isn't it. Now that I see that, I'll leave. I'll go someplace where he'll never be able to find us.”
It hurt, just telling her that, even though I had no intention of doing it. But at that moment, I was ready to promise her anything if she would just let me go.
“You think I don't know that if you were out there somewhere, Andrew would spend the rest of his life looking for you?” Renée said, sneering at me. “You heard him on the phone. He thinks he's in love with you. I couldn't let you go, even if I wanted to. The only way is to kill you.”
I shuddered, absolutely terrified. From the way that Renée was talking, from the way that she was fixated on this whole thing, I could tell that she had lost her mind. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation. Nothing in my life had prepared me for this.