THE WOMAN BEFORE

Chapter 25

I S L A

     I RING THE doorbell and wait patiently. I still can’t believe Rosina is missing and Nick has nothing to do with it. Everyone thinks I’m responsible. The police. Evans. Dr. Flynn—I’m sure he would if he receives my voice mail. I tried his number several times to no avail. I know Parker would believe me. He’s the only person who cares about me and won’t doubt me if I tell him the truth.

      I lift a finger to the bell the second time but stop when the door opens and Parker shows up wearing a sleeved shirt and black jeans. An apron is tied around his waist. He looks funny, and I can’t stop laughing silently.

     “Isla,” he says, his brows puckering. “How unexpected! Come inside.”

     “Sorry. I know it’s too early for a pop-in, but I need to see you.”

     He opens the door wider, and I walk past him into the big foyer. Despite his confession about having feelings for me, I still decided to come here anyway. I had reasoned against it, but then I realized I had to see him. He leads me to a spacious living room with leather sofas arranged in a circular pattern. A table with a flower vase on top sits at the center.

     “I must admit I’m surprised to see you here.”

     “I didn’t think I’d come here, but there’s something I have to tell you,” I say.

     “You sound serious. I hope everything is all right.”

     “I wish,” I drawl.

      He smiles warmly at me. “Let me get you a glass of water and take off this apron.” He gives himself a once-over.

     I finally give in and giggle. “I didn’t know you cook.”

      “My housemaid traveled last week, so I’ve got no choice.”

      I nod. “Okay. I will be waiting.”

     His footsteps fade away as he enters the kitchen. I sigh and look around the place, setting my purse on the sofa. His house is almost as big as mine, and I love the gentle hues of the place. I pace around, passing a hand across the arm of the sofas. Something vibrates, and I turn around swiftly. His cell phone lies on one of the sofas. I walk to it and pick it up. I’m about to call him when the name of the caller catches my attention.

     Stifling a gasp, I answer the call and my heart sinks just from hearing Rosina’s voice.

     She says, “Parker, I’ve been trying to reach you for a while now. You haven’t updated me. Did the police arrest Isla already? I want all this to be over, so I can return to my life. I’m sick and tired of this Evans and Isla tantrum!”

     I hear Parker advancing behind me. Then suddenly, he covers my nose with something. I try to push him back, but he exerts a lot of strength I had no idea he possessed. His warm touch that soothes me whenever I’m sad feels different. Parker isn’t the Parker I thought he was. He has a monster in him I never knew. Soon, I see and hear nothing.

*  *  *

     Parker drugged me. When I sit bolt upright, I find myself in a chair, tied up. He stands in front of me with Rosina. I blink to make sure my eyes aren’t playing some sort of trick on me. Parker and Rosina! No. This isn’t possible.

     “You betrayed me, Parker!” I shout.

     “Shut up!” Rosina snaps. “You and Evans make me sick. You know what?” She faces Parker. “Just kill her already.”

     “I’m not going to kill her. We’ve talked about it,” he says.

     “She knows about us, Parker. I don’t need to remind you. If you let her go—”

     “She isn’t going anywhere.”

     “You’d have to kill sooner or later. I can’t believe you left your phone for her to pick up. What were you thinking!” Rosina yells.

     “You better keep quiet, so I figure something out. Your constant blabbering isn’t helping.”

     “You got us into this mess. She was supposed to take the blame for my disappearance. If they don’t find her, who’s going to take the blame?”

     “She wasn’t supposed to answer the call.”

     “But she did,” she retorts. “I don’t even know why you’re wasting time when you can kill her and end this once and for all.”

     Rosina stares daggers at me. I frown at her. If it weren’t for the ropes, I’d have surged forward and struck her head against the wall till she bleeds to death.

     “Both of you are crazy!” I shout. “I can’t believe Evans fell in love with such a nasty woman like you.”

    “You better shut her up,” she says to Parker.

     “Get me out of here! If I don’t get back, Detective Conor will start looking for me. I sent Dr. Flynn a message that I’m coming to you. He’ll tell Detective Conor and he’ll go straight to your house.”

     “Nobody will come looking for you. They won’t know where to find you,” Parker says.

     “I can’t believe I trusted you, Parker. I hate you, and if I get out of here, I’ll run a blade through your skull. You traitor!”

     “You’re not getting out of here,” he mumbles.

     “I’m tired of you two. You hired me to con Evans. That’s done. Send me my part of the money we stole. I’m leaving Amarillo. I don’t want to get involved with the cops.”

     She eyes me. “This is your mess. Take care of it. Good luck, Parker!” She stomps off and slams the door on her way out.

     I look at Parker, unable to comprehend anything. I trusted him and thought he was a good person only to discover he was a mess. Why do I always end up trusting the wrong people? It’s hard to believe Rosina is a con artist hired by Parker to trick Evans. And he fell for it.

     “Evans is your friend. Why would you do that to him?”

     He paces across the room, a sinister smile plastering across his face. “He took you away from me. Everything he owns now was because of my ideas. He stole everything from me.”

     His jugular veins bulge out as he retorts. I’ve never seen him talk with this hate in his voice. He’s kept this to himself for a very long time, and it only destroyed his soul. He’s a monster with a nice face.

     “So the best you could do to get back at him was hire a con artist to seduce him and take away his money?”

     “Oh,” he murmurs, “that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I’m not done yet. Evans hasn’t seen the worst of me.”

     “You two need a serious conversation. I thought I was the only one with mental issues, but you’re worse. You need to see a doctor.

     “Whatever is going on between you and Evans is none of my business. Just get me out of here.”

     “No. You’re not going anywhere. You have no idea how much I’ve been dreaming of doing this.” His face fills with a sadistic smile. That is when I know I’ve been kidnapped by a psychopath. A real one. I have to find a way out because the Parker I knew is long dead.