My nerves settle a bit, a smile touching my lips with this playful game. I glance around, wondering if he’s watching me in the shadows, or if there’s a camera somewhere, but it seems to be only me here, at least for now. My hope is that the surprise referenced is him, and I am eager to work my way through what looks like only a few cards. I flip to the next one that reads:Pour yourself a glass of wine. It’s the Meiomi cabernet you love.
The man really listens to what I say to him,I think. He really does listen and remember what I share about my likes and dislikes.
I set the cards down and fill my glass, still feeling the pleasure of him remembering my favorite wine. Once I’ve sipped from my glass, I pick up the cards again and flip to the next one:Sometimes feeling uncomfortable is necessary. Just as fear tends to do to us, discomfort reminds us how much we want to live.
Something about the tone of the card snakes through me with a warning. I am no longer smiling. A ball of urgency forms inside me, and I flip to the next card:Remember when I told you I’d teach you to leave the Invisible Girl behind? The most important lesson is to remove everything negative from your life. Clear the path for a more confident, happy you.
There’s nothing more on the card, but for reasons I can’t explain, my hand is trembling, and my urgency to see the final card is a hundredfold. I flip to it and read:You once told me the one thing you loved about Kevin. His apartment in the sky, the one you think you will never deserve yourself. The one you confessed to me, that he told you, you’d never be ambitious enough to own without him by your side. Pick up your wine, set your cards down, and turn to the window.
I set down my wine and suck in a breath, a feeling of dread inside me. I round the table and stand at the window, the apartment across the street glowing with the brightness of what feels like a million lights. A man steps to the window, and suddenly I realize I’m standing across from Kevin’s apartment, acting like a voyeur that I am not but have currently been forced into. Kevin is moving about in the room, and everyinstinct I own screams of danger. The cards fall from my grip, fluttering about as I struggle to retrieve my phone stuffed in my tiny black purse. Finally, it’s in my hand, and I punch in Kevin’s number.
He answers on the first ring. “Are the police on their way, Mia? What did I do this time? Fuck someone that wasn’t you? Like Jess?”
I blink. Wait. What? “Did you and Jess—did you—”
He walks to the window and stands there, looking out across the city, as he often does while on the phone, and I wonder if he can see me, as I can see him. “What do you want, Mia?”
“Look across the street, into the building.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just do it. Now,” I command.
He does as I say before murmuring, “What the fuck? Is that you?”
“Yes. Listen. A man called me and he told me—” That’s when I see the figure in all black behind Kevin, approaching him. “Kevin, turn around. Turn aroundnow.”
But it’s too late. The person, whoever the person is, jabs something in his neck—a needle, I think. He crumples to the ground. I gasp and cover my mouth, not sure if Kevin is sedated or dead. That’s when I see the knife in the stranger’s hand.
Chapter Fifty-Three
The person in black, standing over Kevin, retrieves Kevin’s phone and with a gloved hand presses it to his ear. “Hello, Mia. I really must start this conversation by saying you look beautiful tonight.”
Adam.
It’s Adam’s voice.
“What is this?” I demand, my tone calm.I’m numb,I think, in shock. Or maybe I’m in denial. Or not. Suddenly I’m screaming at him. “What did you do to Kevin?Whatare you doing?”
“Keeping my promise. I always keep my promises.”
“What promise is that, Adam?What promiseis that?”
“I promised you that I would teach you how to change your life, the way I changed my life. This is me showing you how to take control of your world.”
“This isnottaking control.” I’m still shouting. “This is committing a crime.” I suck in a breath and force myself to calm, reason coming to me. “Unless it’s a game. It’s a game, right? Kevin’s in on it?Right?” My heart is beating too fast, a wild drum in my chest, punching hard. “Or did you ...” I can barely say the words, my hand gripping my throat as I whisper, “Did you ...kill him?”
“This is a means to an end, Mia,” he replies. “This is me creating a traumatic event that shatters life as we know it and forces us to value each moment with a little more appreciation.”
“I do appreciate life,” I argue, praying Kevin is alive, praying I can save him.
“Wrong answer. You fear every moment. So yes, Mia. Now we play a game. Here are the rules. You control what is happening in your life, or I will. Your move dictates my move. And because I know how you think, I’ll warn you now: don’t even consider going to the police. I’ll know. And they’ll know you have a motive to kill Kevin. You are, after all, the shunned ex-lover.”
“You don’t have to kill him.Please.Please don’t kill him.” I press my hand to the window, and my voice is small again. “Please, Adam. Please, I’ll do anything.” A thought comes to me, and I push off the glass, my voice stronger now. “The police will know that I’ve been talking to him anyway. You can’t kill him without hurting me. You’ve taught me a lesson. I’m ready to learn more.” I sound desperate, I think, but I am. I am desperate, but maybe he needs to know that. Maybe he needs to know his plan worked.
I will do anything to save Kevin, and so that’s what I say: “I will do anything to save Kevin. Do you hear me?Anything,Adam. What do you want? Tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“Be a good girl and your communication with Kevin will disappear forever, all of it.” He pauses for effect and then adds, “Unless, of course, you cross me.”
