Rose stumbledback through the front door of the bar, then headed down the short hallway to the bathroom, hoping it was empty. After locking herself in a stall, she stopped holding back the tears and let them run down her cheeks while she dug out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. She still didn’t cry while the call was connecting, or when it began to ring, but when Vanessa picked up, she couldn’t hold back.
“Malcolm and I had a fight,” she sobbed. “I know it’s late, but could you come pick me up?”
“That asshole,” she said. “Where did he leave you?”
“I’m at that bar where he likes to play pool,” she sobbed. “It wasn’t his fault, I’ll explain when you get here, I promise.”
“Okay, I’m on my way,” Vanessa said. “But if he hurt you, I’m going to kill him.”
“I’ll wait for you out front,” she said, fighting to stop crying. “Thank you for being there for me.”
“Anytime, just sit tight,” Vanessa said. “You can tell me all about it over a gallon of ice cream. I’ve got rocky road stashed for just this kind of occasion.”
That made her laugh, and she felt a little better. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.”
After taking a few minutes to calm down, she came out of the stall and splashed cold water on her face, reminding herself that it wasn’t the end of the world. Malcolm was just a man, there were plenty more out there if that’s what she wanted. Just because he made her feel things she’d never felt before didn’t mean someone else couldn’t do so as well.
It wasn’t meant to be between them; she’d been naïve to ever think that it could have worked. She’d been sent there to spy on him; their entire friendship had been based on a lie. It was not much of a foundation for a good relationship. She’d just have to put it behind her, take the entire experience as a lesson learned, and move on. There were choices to make, a world out there to explore, a job that she could keep if she wanted to; the options were unlimited.
Feeling better, she dried her face and hands, then ran a brush through her hair, calculating in her head how much longer it would take Vanessa to get there. When she couldn’t think of anything else to kill time, she straightened her shoulders and left the bathroom, relieved to see that no one was looking at her. Her mad dash to the bathroom had clearly gone unnoticed, and she walked by the doorman with a wave, then stepped outside to wait like she’d promised.
It wasn’t until she was standing at the curb that she realized she didn’t know what Vanessa’s car looked like, wishing she’d suggested they location share until her friend got there, she dug out her phone. Just as she was about to call Vanessa, a car pulled up to the curb, the window on the passenger side slowly slid down, and she saw someone waving to her. Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, she walked over to the car and opened the door, but when she looked inside, it wasn’t Vanessa; instead, Sandra was grinning at her, a gun in her hand.
“Get in before I blow your head off right here,” she purred, cocking the gun. “I’m only going to ask once.”
She looked around, but there was no one to help her. She was on her own. “Sandra, let’s talk about this,” she said. “You’re not in too much trouble, but if you…”
“I said get in…” Sandra screamed, pointing the gun at her with two hands. “I’ve got nothing to lose, I’ve lost everything, killing you won’t make it any worse.”
“That’s not true…” she tried again, but to her horror, Sandra pulled the trigger on the gun, firing over her shoulder into the air and cutting off her words.
“Get in the car or the next one won’t miss,” Sandra growled. “You’ve ruined my life bitch, I’m going to get even.”
She slipped into the front seat of the car and, shaking with fear, closed the door. “Put on your seatbelt,” Sandra barked. “I’m not getting stopped for some stupid reason like that.”
Trying to stall, she fumbled with the buckle, only half pretending she was having trouble with it, then was finally forced to click it home when Sandra pressed the gun up against her temple. After letting out a satisfied grunt, she put the car in gear and sped out of the parking lot, a mad gleam in her eyes that frightened Rose more than the gun she was holding.
“What are you going to do with me?” she finally asked, trying to think of a way to escape. “You won’t get away with it.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Sandra said, grinning at her, the madness in her eyes making them look like they were glowing. “I have some friends who have…unusual tastes, a little gem like you is just what they’ve been looking for, and when they’re done with you, no one will be able to trace it back to me. Even better, they’re willing to pay me for my trouble, so it’s a win-win situation. I get out of debt with some very scary people, and you aren’t there to get in between Roger and me.”
“Get in between you?” she asked, confused. “I’m not…”
“Don’t play innocent with me, I know your game,” Sandra hissed at her. “Well, you’re not going to get Roger, he’s mine, and you’ll never get your filthy little hands on him.”
“I don’t want him, I swear, I want Malcolm,” she pleaded, noticing that they’d left town and were speeding down a dark road. “Sandra, you have to believe me, I don’t want Roger.”
“No more talking,” Sandra screamed, pointing her gun at her and taking her eyes off the road, causing them to swerve and almost wreck. “You’re nothing but a spoiled little rich girl, and now you’re going to learn not to touch other people’s things.”
CHAPTER 16
***MALCOLM***
Malcom was lying in his bed staring up at the ceiling running Rose’s words over and over in his head, already regretting the way he’d handled things, but still too mad to reach out to her. He needed some time to cool down and a few more honest answers before he could even think about forgiving her, but it would be a long time before he could trust her again. Not that it would probably matter, now that she’d been outed, she was probably going to leave, which would probably be for the best, then he could get back to his plan without any distractions.
The thought of his real estate empire didn’t bring him much joy right at that moment, which made him even angrier, so when his phone began to ring, he picked it up without looking at the screen. “What do you want?” he demanded. “This had better be important.”
“Malcolm, Rose just got into Sandra’s car, and I don’t think she went voluntarily,” Vanessa said, her voice full of panic. “I called the police, but they just wanted to send out a car. I hung up on them, and I’m following the car now. I don’t know what to do, Sandra shot at her, I heard the gun go off…”
