His eyes widened with surprise to see her standing there. Then, he smiled.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
She glared at him, her blood boiling. “No thanks to you. What the hell did you give me?”
“Just something to help you relax. I couldn’t have you taking another swan dive out the car, now could I?”
Asshole.
“Let me go, Caleb. You could just walk away right now and disappear. Start fresh somewhere. Everyone already thinks you’re dead, and I promise I won’t say a word to anyone. Just let me go. Please.”
He looked confused. “Why would I want to do that? That would defeat the whole purpose.”
“The purpose of what?” she yelled, staring back at him like the psycho he was. “You know you won’t get away with this. People are going to miss me. They’ll come looking for me.”
Caleb’s lips curled up into an arrogant smirk. “They won’t know to come here. And with everyone thinking I’m dead, no one will be looking for me, either. Maybe they’ll think you simply decided to run off on your own.”
“My car is still at my apartment, remember? My purse and keys are still in it. They’re going to know something happened to me.”
Eventually.
Charlie schooled her expression, refusing to let him see she had any doubts about being found.
“Hmm. Good point.” He nodded. “Big-time lawyer murdered. His ex-wife disappears without a trace. It’ll make for a good story.”
“This isn’t a story!” she screamed. The pain in her head increased, causing her to wince, but she kept on. “Jesus, Caleb. You killed a man in order to fake your own death, and then you abducted me. What the hell’s the matter with you?
He looked back at her with genuine bewilderment. “Nothing’s the matter, Charlotte. Not anymore. I have you back, now.”
Caleb took a step toward her. As he did, Charlie stepped back. Rage filled his crazy eyes, and he raised his arm, the gun’s barrel pointing directly at her head.
“Don’t do that. Don’t act like you’re afraid of me.”
He closed the short distance still separating them. This time, as much as it pained her, Charlie stood still.
Using the barrel of the gun, Caleb brushed her hair from her eyes. “I thought I’d die when you left me. I wanted to. I love you so much, Charlotte.”
“Right.” She jerked her head away from the gun. “You love me so much you beat the shit out of me for years.”
“That was for you, too, Charlotte. Sometimes you have to be broken down so you can be built back up. It’s what makes you stronger.” With a curled lip, he added, “Just ask your hero. He’d tell you. The entire military is based on the concept.”
“Except this isn’t the military, Caleb. This is mylife.”
“You’re right. Thisisbetter than the military.I’mbetter. Better than Derek West, that’s for damn sure.”
“No. You’re not.”
His face reddened. “You think West is so fucking smart? He’s in police custody right now because of me.” Caleb slapped a hand to his chest. Then, he laughed. “It was so easy, too.”
He always did love to talk about himself.Get him to talk, Charlie. Get him to tell you everything so you can help Derek.
“How’d you do it, Caleb? How did you get away with it all?”
She’d opened the door, and as expected, the narcissist stepped right in. Charlie listened closely as Caleb told her everything, committing every detail to memory so she could tell them to the police, later.
“It was so simple, really. A couple of cuts on my arm and a trashed apartment and the scene was set.”
He pulled one of his sweater’s long sleeves up to reveal a large, white bandage.
