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I stumble over the threshold, catching a glimpse of a wide-eyed Leah in the front room, tied to a chair and gagged. I make a move toward her but Gary catches my arm and holds me with a strength I didn’t know he possessed.
“Your seat is at the table.” He forces me into a chair where a cup of cold tea waits. And Agent Fischer.
“You too?” At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised by who betrays me.
The agent flinches and stalks over to Gary. “What is this? You told me all I had to do was disappear for thirty minutes and let the girl wander off. You didn’t say anything about kidnapping and holding hostages.”
“Relax. Your job is done.” Gary reaches into his satchel and hands Agent Fischer a thick wad of cash. He starts counting the bills, but Gary snaps at him. “It’s all there.”
“How much did you sell two innocent women out for, Agent Fischer?” I sneer.
His shoulders bunch, but he doesn’t say a word as he sticks the cash in a bag and heads for the door.
“Your wife will never forgive you for this,” I call out to him.
He freezes, and for a split second, I have hope. But then he pulls open the door and walks out.
“I think his wife will be quite happy with their new home in the Caribbean,” Gary says, a gleam in his eyes. “Now that that’s settled.” He points to the cup. “Drink.”
Drink poison? No, thank you. Try again later.
“Why are you doing this?” I spit.
“Because I did a bad thing. And got caught by that idiot thief. But now…” He retrieves a key from a drawer in the kitchen and holds it up with a grin. “Now I can go free.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, which is great news for you because you can still release me and I won’t be able to tell anyone anything.”
But Gary isn’t listening as he opens my purse and pulls out the jewelry box.
“How did you know I had that?”
“Because I’ve been watching you for years.”
“What do you mean?”
“Justin was working for me. Do you think it was a coincidence you ran into each other at that bar two years ago?”
My heart drops to the floor. “No. He was working for Liam.”
“Yeah, in the last few months, he was. Turns out Justin double-crossed me and was scheming with Liam to put me behind bars. That’s when I moved in next to you.”
He inserts the key into the jewelry box and the lid pops open with ease. Then he opens a tiny drawer within the box and pulls out the most gorgeous ring I’ve ever seen.
The ring. That’s the one Justin was trying to find. Not my engagement ring.
“Why would Liam want you in jail?” I ask.
Gary’s eyes flick to mine, a terrifying smile dancing in his gray irises. “Because I killed his girlfriend.”
“Scarlett,” I breathe.
“Yes, Scarlett Winthrop, the little brat. Seems you’ve heard of her.”
My heart hurts for the man who still can’t figure out if he’s good or not. She was the biggest thing in Hollywood, a breakout star, gone too soon. Liam’s love.
Gary killed her, and Justin.
“Liam wasn’t the bad guy,” I say, almost to myself. I think back on our interaction at the salon. Liam promised he wouldn’t hurt me. And he never did. I was right. I mean, I was right fifty percent of the time. The other fifty I was for sure accusing him of being a serial killer.