Everything else I packed can be replaced over some internet shopping on my cell. He gave me a new one. I have to fight the urge to message Law that I’m still in town. He could easily come here and stay with me, but I want him to think I’m gone. I don’t want him to slip or for me to get caught. Hell, after he told me goodbye, he’d probably tell my dad I’m here. Law wanted me to leave just as badly as my father did. Suddenly, everyone is worried about my safety.
I step up on the platform and start running the large jacuzzi tub. Once the temperature is right, I get undressed and sink into it. I lay my head back and just enjoy the silence of it all, trying to decide what my next plan of action is. I can’t just sit here in this house until May. And eventually, my mother will speak to my father or my brother, and somehow, she will give me up that I never showed. And I bet this is the first place they will go looking for me at.
I finish up in the bath, not anywhere closer to having an answer to any of my problems. I get out, dry off, and wrap the towel around myself before grabbing my cell. I walk into my closet and open one of the many dresser drawers. I find a set of pajamas that were left here and slide them on.
Turning off the lights, I walk back into my bedroom but come to a stop when my eyes land on my bed. Fear crawls up my spine, my throat closing. I feel momentarily paralyzed as I see Vanessa sitting front and center, propped up against my pillow. A folded note rests in her right hand.
I look around my room, my breathing rapid. Slowly, I walk over to her like she’s going to jump out at me as if she’s a jack-in-the-box—a toy my dad used to have. That little shit gave me a heart attack every time he popped out.
I snatch it from her hand and open the folded piece of paper. My heart hammers in my chest as I read it.
Little doll, little doll, you ran away.
Little doll, little doll, you cannot stay.
Little doll, little doll, for now I must take you away.
I throw it on the bed as if it bit me as a tall figure steps out of the darkly lit hallway and into my room. “Henley.” A vile smile spreads across his face. “We meet again.”
I take a step back. “No,” I whisper, my stomach dropping at the sight of him. “Can’t be.” Had Law been lying to me this entire time?
The man reaches up and runs a hand down his jaw. “But it is.” He pulls a rag out of his jeans pocket. Then a small glass bottle out of the other. He pops the lid and pours the contents onto the rag, making sure to use every drop. Then he tosses the empty bottle to the side. “See, I’ve got some unfinished business with you.”
My throat closes on me, knowing that I’m fucked. No one knows I’m here. They think I’m on a plane ride to Switzerland for at least eleven hours. A lot can happen in that amount of time.
“I’ve been following you for a long time, doll.” He takes another step closer to me. “And it’s time I get to play.”
I dart over to my bed and run across it. He reaches out for me, but I manage to get by. I pull my bedroom door shut just in time to get me an extra second of him having to open it before he can run after me.
I race down the stairs and out the front door as I call Law on my cell.
“Hello?” he yells over blaring music.
Is he at a fucking party? Is that why he wanted me to leave? He got what he wanted last night and then just shipped me away. “You son of a bitch!” I scream, running down the driveway toward the gate. Fuck, I wish I had my car.
“Henley?” he shouts, and then the background noise fades away. “What are you …?”
“Was this your plan all along?” I ask with tears in my eyes. I’m looking over my shoulder for him, but I don’t see anyone. I quickly press the code in for the gate.
“Little doll …?”
“Don’t call me that!” I come to a stop, heart racing, bouncing on my feet as the gate motor turns on, slowly opening it. “Did you draw the short straw, Law? Huh? Was this your idea? To lie to me?”
“Listen,” he growls. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. But you better …”
“He’s at my house!” I cry out, quickly looking over both of my shoulders this time and running through the gate the moment I have enough room.