She did her best to keep it together, though there were tears.Somehow, she made it through, even agreeing to the condescending hug he’d offered when he was ready to leave.It was only as she sat on the park bench and watched him walk away that she allowed herself to fully weep.
But that’s not all she did.Once she wiped the tears away, she decided she wasn’t going to be a passive participant in her own life any longer.So, she followed him back to his hotel.When he left his room, she snuck in and rifled through his trash, finding balled-up paperwork and several receipts that told her who he worked for.
She went downstairs just in time to see him check out.In a moment of boldness unusual for her, she decided she wasn’t just going to let him go without a fight.So, she got in her car and followed him all the way back to L.A.and his house—the one she was currently in.
What she discovered when she got here was a shock she couldn’t have anticipated.As he got out of his car, a woman opened the front door and greeted him with a kiss before they both went inside.Holly sat in her car, dazed.She felt as if she’d been punched in the face.
She thought that her whole world had fallen apart when Jason dumped her.But this was so much worse.He’d had her believing that they couldn’t be together because of his unsuitability as a life partner.But the truth was that he already had one.Jason Mannix was a liar and a cheat.
But she’d only discovered the tip of the iceberg.Over the next week, as she followed him around the state, staying in the same hotels as him and ignoring calls from the restaurant that she’d be fired if she didn’t return, she uncovered the magnitude of his deception.
The woman in Los Angeles, whose name was Lauren, was one offourwives Jason had up and down the state.None of them seemed to have any clue about the others.All of them seemed blissfully unaware of the lies that were their lives.
And none of them seemed to understand the most important thing: that despite his manipulations and deceptions, Jason Mannix was hers.He just didn’t know it yet.He’d need to be taught.
So, she’d done the only logical thing one could expect at that point.She eliminated the competition.It required some doing.She tracked his wives, noting where they hid their extra house keys and using the zoom feature on the video camera that she’d purchased to check the keypad entry codes to their homes.Within days, she knew how to get into each woman’s place.It was just a matter of timing now.
All that was left was for her to sneak into Jason’s firm’s downtown L.A.offices, pretending to be a temp in the secretarial pool.Then she’d hidden in the women’s restroom until the end of the day.Once everyone was gone, she went into Jason’s office, accessed the travel calendar on his desktop, and took photos of it on her phone.Once she knew where he’d be on which days, it was easy.
She’d simply walked into Lauren Mitchell’s Windsor Square home using the key hidden under the flowerpot by the door.Unlike now, when she was dressed normally, she’d worn all black that night, including a ski mask to hide her identity in case something went wrong.But nothing did.First, she used the taser that she kept for personal protection.Then, with Lauren incapacitated, she moved on to the carving knife she’d bought at the home goods store that afternoon.
She wouldn’t say that killing Lauren was fun.It was more of an unfortunate necessity.The same was true with Sarah Winters in San Diego and Nicole Thorington in Santa Cruz.They were the competition and had to be removed from the equation.The police officer with Nicole was collateral damage, but he knew the risks of the job when he signed up.
Holly would have tried to get to Allyson Rhodes, her last remaining romantic obstacle, if she could have.But once she saw that Nicole had police protection, however inadequate, she knew that Rhodes would too.So, she had to make a command decision.Try to access the sole remaining wife despite the security around her or come back to L.A.
The latter made more sense, primarily because that’s where Jason was.So, she made the long drive back south.But something changed along the way.Somewhere around San Luis Obispo, she had an epiphany.She no longer wanted Jason for herself.Even if it was somehow still possible—which it clearly wasn’t—he didn’t deserve her.
Suddenly a whole new world opened up to her.She didn’t have to try to convince Jason that they should be together now that there were no more wifely impediments.All she had to do was make him pay.
That’s why she was currently waiting in his darkened living room, sitting on a couch not far from where she’d cut Lauren Mitchell’s throat.In one hand, she had her taser.In the other, she had her carving knife.
Time seemed to stand still while she waited for his potential return.And then, as the sun was beginning to set, she heard the sound of tires as a car pulled into the driveway.Headlights flashed through the window glass.She heard the car turn off, followed by the sound of footsteps on the path.
She stood up and waited for her destiny to be fulfilled.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Despite how unsettling it was being back here, Jason was hungry.
He headed straight for the kitchen.Without even turning on the light, he opened the refrigerator, there wasn’t much there.Lauren didn’t like to shop for more than a couple of days’ worth of groceries at a time.And because of …what happened to her, the fridge hadn’t been re-stocked lately.He might have to order out.
He closed the fridge and turned around.For a second, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.It looked like a figure was standing there in the fading light, right across the center island.Then the figure moved.He screamed.
“Don’t do that, Jason,” the person said, moving out of the shadows.He recognized her immediately.It was Holly Martens, the beautiful but unstable girl from Santa Barbara who had started planning their future together after just a couple of months of casual hookups.He’d had no choice but to dump her.Now she was standing in his kitchen.
“What are you doing here, Holly?”he asked.
But he already knew the answer, even before he saw the knife in her hand.
“Payback, lover,” she said sweetly.
He started to back away when she held up something in her other hand.
“Don’t try to run,” she warned.“That will just make me mad.Besides, this thing will stop you in your tracks.Right now, all I want to do is talk, but if you try to leave, that may change.”
“If all you want to do is talk, why are you holding a giant knife?”he asked.
“Let’s call it an insurance policy, my love.Now I’m going to need you to move into the living room so we can chat.”
