"Let me go!" the woman shouted before slamming her forehead into Cole's.
He jerked back in pain, letting go of her wrists. She rolled away and light filled the room seconds later. Cole winced as he rubbed his forehead, his eyes on the woman who had somehow gotten back her frying pan.
She held the makeshift weapon in front of her as if it were a sword. "Why did you break into my apartment?"
"Lisa?" Cole repeated, not believing the woman in front of him wasn't his first love.
"Lisa's dead. You know this. Now, tell me why you broke into my apartment."
Cole was still on the floor. He lowered his hand and gaped at her. "You're alive."
"Was it because you spotted me? Is that why you're here?"
Cole shook his head in confusion. "Spotted you? Lisa, what are you talking about?"
"You found out I was the private eye your weirdo girlfriend hired," the woman explained.
Cole shook his head. "Lisa, I—"
"Stop calling me Lisa. I'm not her. My name is Mina. Mina Cruz. Lisa was my cousin. Let me guess, my perfect cousin never told you about her doppelganger relative?"
Lisa's cousin? Private eye? Girlfriend? Cole closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"Breaking and entering is illegal," Mina said. "After watching you for weeks, I have to say this is probably the most exciting thing you've done. I had to make things up when I reported to your girlfriend. I should probably warn you I told her you liked to dress up in women's underwear every Thursday night."
"What?" Cole's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Trust me, it's to your benefit. It confused the hell out of her but at least it made you interesting. All you do is work. You should spend more time with your girlfriend. Treat her to a meal or a movie. She's obsessed with you. I've never seen a shrine like the one she has of you in her guest room."
"Shrine?"
Mina rolled her eyes. She was dressed in loose brown pants, a gray sweatshirt with the word Paris emblazoned on it, and khaki raincoat. Her hair was pulled back in a braid but wisps of dark hair framed her face. "You haven't seen it? She literally has a cutout of you surrounded by pictures and candles. I've never seen anything like it. I thought it was weird but I don't get paid to judge my clients. Besides, your girlfriend pays me well."
"I don't have a girlfriend." Cole looked up at her before placing his palms on the floor and pushing himself to a standing position. "The woman you reported to—was it Vivienne Crawler?"
"I can't tell you on account of confidentiality and all that jazz," the woman said, shrugging. "But for the right price, I could possibly nod or shake my head."
Cole shook his head, hoping to expel the confusion crawling into his mind. "You've been spying on me."
"Yes, but it's my job. I'm a private eye. Usually, I help people catch their spouses cheating. Your case was unusual because I was told to just observe you. I was just going to make something up tonight. Who would've thought you'd break into my apartment? Why are you here, Cole Hollister?"
"You expect me to believe you're not Lisa? You look exactly like her so what game are you playing?"
She smirked. "Lisa and I are pretty much identical. We aren't twins but we both look exactly like our grandmother. We used to trick our parents all the time."
"She never told me about you," Cole said, suspiciously.
"Why would she? By the time we were in our teens, we stopped hanging out and getting along. Our parents lived in different cities, so we weren't that close anymore." Mina looked around the room they were in. "This apartment belongs to my aunt and uncle. After Lisa died, they moved to Australia. The place was empty, so here I am."
"You just conveniently moved in?" Cole took a step forward. "Did Lisa ever tell you what happened with us and the merry-go-round?"
Mina's forehead puckered in confusion and she lowered the frying pan. "Why would she?"
"We were at a park one day and I was spinning the merry-go-round. She thought it would be fun to jump off. She did but she scraped her knee on a sharp rock."
"What a dummy," Mina scoffed. Cole stared at her, and she jerked her head back. "What?"
"I want to see your knees," he demanded.
"Why?" Mina tightened her grip on the frying pan.
"Lisa's knee was scarred after that fall. You want me to believe you're not Lisa, you need to show me your knees."
"If I show my knees, how much are you going to pay me?" Mina asked.
"Pay you? I'm not paying you anything."
She shrugged. "Then I guess you aren't seeing my knees, Mr. Boring."
"I'm not boring," Cole argued. "You're Lisa—just admit it."
"You're delusional--just admit it!"
Cole cursed before reaching for his wallet and pulling out a hundred-dollar bill. He tossed it in her direction. "Show me your knees."
Mina cursed and bent over to pick up the money. She held the bill to the light, checking its authenticity before muttering something about rich people being idiots. She tugged at the hem of her pants until both knees were visible.
Cole stepped forward, his eyes narrowing on her knees. He reached forward but Mina took a step back. "No touching or that costs extra."
He sneered at her. "You sound like a hooker."
She tilted her head to one side. "How would you know? Visit a lot of hookers? No wonder your girlfriend hired me to spy on you."
"Where's the scar?"
"Listen carefully. I'm not Lisa. I'm her cousin. My name is Mina and I never fell off a merry-go-round. Do you want to know why? Because I'm not an idiot like my cousin. If you want proof, there are even pictures of us together when we were kids. They're up in the hallway."
Cole strode past her and flipped on the light in the small hall leading toward the bedrooms. Mina pointed to a picture of two identical ten-year-old girls. One was smiling while dressed in a ballerina outfit while the other wore a sullen expression and a softball uniform.
"There really were two of you," Cole whispered.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Mina said softly. "I know you two were dating. She and I weren't as close as we had been, but I knew about you. I'm surprised she didn't mention me. Then again, Lisa was keeping a lot of secrets. We all learned that after she died."
"Your father—"
Mina sighed. "My father, what?"
"Was he the driver?"
A beat of silence passed before she answered. "Yes. It's one of the reasons I moved here. He escaped death but my cousin didn't. The guilt eats at him every single day. He tries to drink it all away."
"He's an alcoholic?"
She didn't answer that. Instead, she said, "Lisa's death was the downfall of our family. Her parents never forgave my father. I can't say I blame them. Still, it's been difficult."
A banging on the front door startled them both.
"Are you expecting company?" Cole asked.
"Not exactly," Mina answered, running towards the sliding doors and locking them. "Be quiet."
A deep voice shouted from outside, "Mina! We know you're in there! Come on out. Don't make us come in after you." Laughter from several men echoed that statement.
"Who are those men?" Cole asked.
"Loan sharks," she answered.
"You borrowed money from loan sharks?" Cole whisper-hissed.
"Don't look at me like that. It wasn't for me. It was for a case I was working on. I tried to give the money back, but they charged me too much interest and I couldn't afford it. Now, Salvatore sends his men to try and shake me up for money."
"Have they ever been violent with you?"
Mina shrugged, looking away. "It's nothing I can't handle."
"We should call the police."
Mina gave a bitter laugh. "The cops are in Salvatore's pocket." She hurried to the kitchen to grab her purse before running to the bedroom. She pushed open a window.
"What are you doing?"
"Escaping. That guy out there is Tony. He's Salvatore's top henchman. He's not a good guy. He probably kicks puppies in his free time."
Mina crawled out the window as Cole followed her.
"She's over here!" a male voice shouted.
"Now what?" Cole asked as three other men dressed in black joined the man who spotted them.
Mina stared from the men to Cole and shouted, "Run!"