The world tilts sideways as I stare down the barrel of a gun. My heart slams against my ribs like a caged animal. Charlotte holds the weapon confidently in her trembling hand, a mixture of fear and determination in her eyes. What. The. Fuck?
“I will shoot you if you don’t listen,” she states plainly when I can’t make myself move.
My mind races, searching for an escape plan or a way to talk her out of this madness, but what can you say when faced with cold steel and sheer panic? I reluctantly obey, opening the door of the passenger side and sliding onto the seat, feeling as though I’m stepping into my own grave.
“Text Sebastian and tell him you need time and space away to think and that you’ll be back in a few days.”
I shake my head.
“Do it!”
I gulp audibly, trembling violently as adrenaline pumps through my veins. I open my text message stream with Sebastian and, with tears running down my face, text him the words she told me to. She’s all over me, watching so closelyI have no hope of sending a secret message or hitting the alarm. Much like with Samil, she’d stop me before I could manage it and likely hurt me or my babies. I hit Send and whimper out a pathetic sob.
“Good. Now drop your phone and that ankle charm bracelet,” she orders, her voice cracking ever so slightly, betraying some of her desperation, and I give her a questioning look. “They’re tracking devices.”
The phone I figured she knew about. She has the same apps on her phone, but I had no clue she knew about my anklet. Sebastian had insisted upon it after what happened with Samil.
“How did you know about my anklet?”
“Phaedra told me all about them. She even showed hers off to me.”
Right. Because she was caring for the children for the last three weeks. A woman who is clearly not afraid of violence and obviously has some serious secrets she’s been keeping. My fingers fumble to unclasp the anklet, then I hang them both out the open window and let them fall to the ground, my lifelines severed just as abruptly as my sense of security.
“Put this on,” she commands, thrusting a tie at me. It’s one of Sebastian’s. And despite the ridiculousness of it, I’m fucking jealous and furious that she has one of Sebastian’s ties. Did he tie her up with this the way he does with me? It’s a useless, unhelpful thought, and I immediately shove it away, watching her hands shake, though the gun hasn’t wavered from its target.
“What do you want me to do with this?”
She gives me an unimpressed look. “Blindfold yourself.”
I wrap the cool silk around my eyes, something I’ve felt so many times before when my husband touched me with love and lust. All of that is gone now.
“How’d you get his tie? Since we’re already here you might as well tell me all the ugly truths I don’t want to know,” I add, hoping she’s nervous enough to run her mouth.
“I took it. I figured I might need a few of his items as leverage if things with you two continued to turn south.”
Hmm. Okay. So not fucking him yet.
In the darkness of the blindfold, my other senses sharpen. I hear the stutter of Charlotte’s breath, the rustle of her clothes as she shifts in the driver’s seat. Most of all, I feel the car’s movement beneath me, the steady thrum of the engine as she pulls me away from everything I know. The unknown stretches out before me like a black void, swallowing me whole.
“Why are you doing this?” I whisper, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising tide of panic.
“I overheard you talking to Sebastian about firing me and I can’t let that happen.”
“I was upset and jealous,” I tell her. “I saw you kiss his cheek. He’s been nothing but distant with me and yet he talks and laughs with you.” I sigh. “He wasn’t going to fire you. He sided with you. You don’t have to do this. Whatever it is that you’re after, Sebastian would give it to you.” My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out all reason and logic.
She laughs caustically. “That’s why I’m doing this. Because he’s searching for something—or should I say someone—I want.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”
“You honestly haven’t figured it out yet? I thought you would have started looking into me after you found out my mother abandoned me. That’s when I took Sebastian’s tie, a pair of his cuff links, and some of his cologne if needed.”
“Wait,” I say. “Hold up. You’re throwing way too much at me at once. What were you going to do with all of Sebastian’s things if I had looked up the situation with your mother?”
“I would have made it look like we were having an affair. He obviously would have denied it, so either I’d have blackmailed him over it for information, or I’d have made you leave him so he wouldn’t know what I was after.”
“Okay,” I say slowly because I guess I see some logic there. “What information are you after? Who is it you’re searching for?” Only the moment I say the words, I know exactly who she’s looking for. “Marie is your mother.”
“See, I knew you were smart enough to figure it out.”
