“Haven’t you done enough?” I snap at her, causing her to stop short just a few feet away. I don’t miss the flash of hurt that flits across her face, but right now I couldn’t care less about her feelings. Not after the bomb she just detonated.
She wipes at her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Lex,” she cries out. “I thought they were going to hurt Lee. I panicked and—”
“I DON’T CARE!” My voice cracks as I scream at her. “I don’t care why you did it! I just care that you did it! That you could even do such a thing to me! To Teagan!”
Capri flinches at my harsh words. “That’s not fair. I’m not the bad guy here, and you know it.”
The broken laugh that escapes my lungs makes me even more furious with her. “You don’t get it. You never have to suffer like the rest of us. You have the perfect life. The perfect job. The perfect husband. You have no idea what it feels like to claw your way up from the bottom to get the things you want in life. It’s all just been handed to you.”
I’m shaking as I step closer to her, the adrenaline in my veins pulsing with anger and rage. “You have everything! You just destroyed Teagan because you were too selfish to give up one of your own coveted secrets. And yet you’re the one who still has everything! But I’m the one being unfair? I’m not the only villain in this game, Capri.”
The expression on her face and the tick of her jaw make me take an involuntary step back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Capri angry before, and if I’m being frank…it scares me.
Capri’s eyes bore into my soul. “You know nothing about what I’ve been through,” she hisses through clenched teeth. Her body shakes with fury as she closes the distance between us again. “You can blame me all you want for the mess you’ve put yourself into. But don’t for a secondstand there and assume you know a damn thing about me or my life. You wouldn’t last a day in my shoes, Lexi.”
Her hazel eyes are filled with a blazing fire that I’ve never seen in her before. I swallow hard and take another shaky step backwards to put some distance between me and that barely restrained anger pointed wholly at me.
“You’re right,” I say just as Lee comes running down the hallway towards us. “I’m sorry.”
Lee finally reaches us and wraps his arm around Capri’s shoulder. “You okay?” he asks her. His eyes meet mine, and he raises an eyebrow at me.
Capri’s face transforms before me. You’d never have guessed that she looked like she was moments away from possibly murdering me. She smiles up at her husband and shakes her head. “Perfectly fine. I’ve tried calling Teagan several times, but her phone must still be in her room.” Her voice is calm and collected again. So unlike the rage it was laced with just moments ago.
“And you?” Lee nods towards me. “Are you okay?”
I brush a hand through my ponytail, trying to appear as unaffected as Capri. But my entire body is on edge because my best friend is actually pretty terrifying when she’s mad. “I just really need to find Teagan and fix this. After that, I’ll be golden.”
“I think I can help you with that,” Lee says. “Henry said dinner is being served shortly and was looking for everyone. He thought he saw her head into the garden not long ago. That’s why I came looking for you two. I know the three of you can work whatever this is out. You’re best friends, and that kind of thing doesn’t just get erased after one mistake.”
My chest tightens with regret at his words. “Thanks, Lee. I’m going to grab my jacket and phone from upstairs before I look for her. Capri, do you want to come?”
She shakes her head. “No, I think this is something that you and Teagan need to talk about first. My being there might just make her even angrier.” Capri steps out of Lee’s embrace and places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing softly. “But you need to fix this, Lex. I don’t know where any of us will stand if you can’t.”
She doesn’t need to say it, but I know she’s telling me that she’s on Teagan’s side.
Why does everyone choose her over me?
The temperature here in Scotland is nothing like the hot, humid nights back home in the south. The air here has that bone-chilling quality to it, frigid enough that I can see my own breath as I exhale.
I wrap my brown peacoat tighter around me as I head into the garden with nothing but a heart full of regrets and my phone to use as a flashlight. The moonlight helps illuminate the area, but it’s still dark enough out here to make me jump at every slight noise.
I wonder what our host must think of us. We got out of his twisted game and still haven’t met the man. Not that I plan on giving him the time of day after this stunt he pulled on us. If it were up to me, I’d be on the first flight out of here because I have zero intentions of meeting and swooning over my ex-favorite author after what he put us through. As if locking three grown women in a dark room and threatening to kill someone is just some sort of fun hobby for him? He’s a freaking psychopath! Pierce and that stupid lizard shoes man are both on my hit list tonight. I don’t know how, but I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to us.
A frog croaks loudly from deeper in the garden. I clench my teeth together to keep from screaming. I’m already having enough trouble finding Teagan in this maze of roses; the extra tidbits of sound thrown in from Mother Nature are wholly unnecessary. I strain to listen, hoping to hear my best friend’s voice.
There!
I creep around a perfectly trimmed square hedge and follow the faint sound of laughter. I can’t tell if it’s Teagan, but I know I hear someone in this fortress of floral doom. I’ve never been much of an outdoorsy girl, so as gorgeous as this estate is, I prefer to stay indoors. Even if that means being caged in the same walls as a crazy pants author.
I swat at what I hope are imaginary bugs and continue down the trail—thankful that the owner didn’t decide to turn this garden into an actual maze. So far, it’s been a pretty straight path. It would be hard to get lost in here.
My heels sink into the plush grass as I stop short. I hear a man’s voice just beyond me, “I have to do this. Just once.”
I quickly turn the flashlight off on my phone and sneak around the bend as quietly as I can. It’s Teagan and her mysterious acquaintance. He has her pressed up against a large oak tree and has his hands pressed against the trunk just above her shoulders, boxing her in entirely as he whispers something to her.
Usually, this would be a cause for concern, and I’d be the first one in line to kick this man between the thighs for accosting my best friend. But the way Teagan is looking at him stops me. She’s completely and utterly smitten with the man as he snares her like a prized mare.
How can she be over Josh this fast? They just broke up, and she’s already throwing herself at the first man to give her an ounce of attention? I know we both agreed to a solo-trip together, and even joked that we’d find our own hot Scottish men here—but I would have never actuallygone through with that. Not with how shattered I feel about Josh ending things with me. He’s the only one I want.
