“You’re going to leave that box in Polly’s car, then walk down the street to my blue Hyundai Kona.”
Her heart began to thump, her gaze going to the car, then back to Nel. “What about Polly?”
“Just do it. I don’t want to shoot you, Maggie, but I will.”
She swallowed, lifting the box as Nel picked up her bag, then they both rose.
Maggie’s lungs seized at the sight of Polly hunched over her wheel. “What did you do to her?”
“Move. She’s not dead, but mess with me and she will be.”
She didn’t want to leave her best friend, but the way Nel said it, Maggie believed her.
The last thing she saw was a folded piece of paper on Polly’s dashboard before walking down the street. Nel walked so close that the muzzle of the gun pressed firmly into Maggie’s side, making her heart beat that much faster.
What the hell was going on? All of the stuff that had happened to her, the stalker, the missing things—was all of thatNel?
They reached the Hyundai, and when Maggie tried to stop by the door, Nel jabbed the gun harder into her side. “Keep going.”
Dread pulled at her limbs as she continued to move, finally stopping at Nel’s trunk.
“Nel,” she tried, a shake in her voice. “Come on. Let’s talk about this.”
Nel popped the trunk open.
The gun disappeared from her back—and Maggie reacted on instinct, turning and throwing an elbow into Nel’s midsection.
She grunted, but before Maggie could run, Nel pistol-whipped her with the barrel of the gun, causing Maggie to fall forward into the trunk.
Ethan spedtoward Lilith’s house. Maggie wasn’t answering her cell. And neither was Polly.
Worst-case scenarios were spiraling through his head, and fuck, he couldn’t stop them.
Had something happened? Was her aunt involved in this just as Nel was?
Nel. Jesus. He’d done a background check on so many people in this town, but not her. Why?
But he knew the answer to that. Because she hadn’t crossed his mind as being a possible threat. Not once.
She’d crossed Jay’s mind though. And what Jay had found was so fucking shocking that Ethan could still barely wrap his head around it.
A restraining order. Dismissed misdemeanor charges. Documented mental health episodes. The list was endless.
Nel’s full name was Janelle.J—just like every fake account that was created to follow and harass Maggie.
Jay’s research had also revealed that, while living in Bozeman, Nel had become obsessed with a woman. So much so that she’d begun to stalk her life on social media. Nel had learned where the woman lived, then taken things from her home, including photos. Sent the woman messages from fake accounts.
There’d been no jail time though, just a temporary restraining order that had later been extended to a two-year civil protection order. The misdemeanor trespassing and harassment charges were filed but dismissed in exchange for six months of court-mandated therapy, a no-contact agreement and proof of mental health treatment compliance.
After that, Nel moved back here. And outwardly, she’d seemed fine. Kept a low profile. No one had suspected a thing.
But everything she’d done to the woman in Bozeman matched what had been done to Maggie. It was her. Ithadto be her.
Was that why she’d dated Ethan? Because she knewMaggiehad dated him?
He turned onto Lilith’s street at the same time Joel pulled in from the other end.
Joel got there first, jumping out of his car and racing to Polly’s vehicle.
