Keep him talking. Buy time.
Those were her best options right now.
“How did you even find me?” Her voice shook as she asked the question. “How did you know where I was?”
He laughed—a short, bitter sound. “You think I’d let you disappear? You’re my wife, Millie.”
“Ex-wife.”
“Technicality. I’ve been tracking you since you left.”
Her blood ran cold. “What? How?”
“That dog of yours.” He glanced back at Biscuit and scowled. “Such a loyal little creature. Shame you care more about him than you ever did about me.”
“Biscuit?” Confusion swirled through her panic. “What are you talking about?”
“His collar.” Garrick’s smile widened. “Has a nice little tracker sewn into it. I’ve known where you were the whole time. But I needed to wait for just the right time to get away from work. I wanted to see the place for myself before I made my move.”
Millie’s stomach turned.
She hadn’t even thought about Biscuit’s collar.
And that oversight might be a fatal mistake.
chapter
forty-eight
Millie’s thoughts raced.“You’ve really been tracking me this whole time?”
“Of course.” Garrick said the words as if they were the most natural thing in the world. “I came by a few days ago—I left at night and was back by morning so no one knew I was gone. I just wanted to scout the area. Make sure you were really here.”
Her breath caught. “The PI. You ran into him, didn’t you?”
Garrick’s expression darkened. “I stumbled on some guy lurking in the woods. Watching the place with binoculars. He saw me.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You killed him.” Horror washed over her.
“I only meant to knock him out.” He sounded almost defensive. “But I guess I hit him too hard with that rock. It was tragic, really. But after it was done, it was done. I couldn’t do anything about it—except run.”
Millie’s knees went weak.
Garrick had killed someone. Because of her.
Was everyone at the house safe right now? Since Garrick had what he wanted—her—did that mean he’d leave everyone else alone?
Probably.
But she still hated the fact that she’d put others in danger by coming here.
“And Max?” The words came out barely above a whisper. “Were you the one who attacked him?”
“I tried to get onto the property through the kennel, but he was there.” Garrick’s jaw tightened. “If he saw me, it would have all been over. So yeah, I knocked him out. Had to.”
“You could have killed him too. Did you ever think about that?”
“But I didn’t.” Garrick stopped walking and turned to face her fully. His eyes bore into hers. “Don’t you see, Millie? This is all your fault. You make me do these things. You make me desperate.”
