I pull on the clothes, the cable-knit sweater failing to insulate me from the chill creeping up my spine. The thought of Vaughn being in Columbus, so close, makes my skin break out in hives.
I shake my head, banishing the dark scenarios threatening to invade my thoughts. I’m fine. I’m safe. Ryder will handle Vaughn so he won’t bother me again.
Yes. I’mfine.
A small smile curls my lips, the tone of that word in my head mimicking Ryder’s.
Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, I pour myself some water and head into the living room. In the still quiet, my head screams, but before I can grab the tablet that controls Ryder’s smart apartment to put on some music, I hear the faint, unmistakable beep-beep-beep-beep of the PIN pad by the front door.
Ryder said Arthur wouldn’t be long, but it’s not even been three minutes since he left. I freeze. My heartrate accelerates as the door slides open and...Vaughn.
My knees damn near fold under me. Fear grips my heart, squeezing it like a sponge. I’m glued to the spot, the glass in my hand slipping out and smashing against the wooden floor.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Vaughn coos like we’re old friends.
He wheels himself inside, slowly shutting the door behind him. The lock clicking into place sends my pulse into overdrive.
“I missed you,” he adds, taking off his baseball cap.
He looks worse than he did last time I saw him. I didn’t get a good look in that car, but compared to the man I was on the run with,thisversion of him is unsettling. He looks... smaller somehow, skin pallid and sickly, cheeks sunken like he hasn’t eaten in days.
The panic I’ve been suppressing thus far explodes behind my ribs when I glimpse the gun in his hand.
The gun aimed atme.
My stomach flips, bile climbing my throat. “How—” My voice cracks. “How did you get in?”
“I watched Koby putting the code in. I was here earlier. You looked phenomenal in that green dress, sweetheart.”
God, how long has he been watching me? How long has he been lurking in the shadows, undetected?
“You’re supposed to be at the hotel,” I whisper.
“I was,” he says with a shrug. “Briefly. I made sure Ryder’s software picked me up outside, made sure he’d see me check in. They’re predictable, sweetheart. I knew he’d take the bait. It was almost too easy to draw them out.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. “There’s security outside,” I say, checking the clock.
Arthur will be here soon. I just need to stall until he bursts through the door.
Vaughn chuckles, the sound humorless, haunted. “Everyone has a price, Bianca. I approached the concierge in a bar a few days ago. He was more than happy to let me in through the private entrance and his price was far less than expected.”
He raises the gun higher, finger grazing the trigger. “You’re wasting our time, sweetheart. We don’t have much. Grab the essentials. We’re leaving. I’m taking you home.”
The tears I’ve been holding back spill over, my vision blurring. The two men outside have no idea Vaughn’s here.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His expression softens. For a moment, I see the man I thought I could trust. The man who helped me when I had no one else. But that man is gone, replaced by this unhinged, paranoid ghost of a person.
Desperate. Delusional. Dangerous.
“Don’t cry,” he whispers. “I won’t ever hurt you. I want to keep you safe. Away from those criminals. I know how quickly they can brainwash an innocent girl like you.”
“I’m not brainwashed! You’re sick, Vaughn, you need help. You need therapy. Please, I—”
The safety on his gun clicks, rendering me speechless. My stomach ties into knots, cold sweat coating my back.
“You don’t know what’s right anymore. I know it’s not your fault. You’ve always been such a good girl. It’sthemthat cause trouble. They poisoned you the same way they poisoned my Hailey. I can’t save her, but Icansave you.”
