I marched past him and pulled the driver’s door open. The sweet scent of Remi’s perfume slapped me across the face as I leaned in to grab her phone. Snagging her purse by the handle with one hand, I palmed her phone with the other and righted myself.
“Fourteen missed calls, six text messages, and three voicemails,” I murmured as I unlocked it, putting in the code she used for everything despite my protests otherwise. For once, I was glad she didn’t listen.
“What are you looking for in there?” Aaron asked, worry lining his forehead.
“No fucking idea. No missed calls from Mark though. Here, hold this.” I pushed her purse into his arms.
“Well, if they’re together, that would make sense.”
Aaron continued to drone on about all the reasons that we were probably overreacting, Remi’s purse tightly clutched to his chest, but I tuned him out as I scanned her cell. Aside from the missed calls, I couldn’t find anything that would give me even the slightest hint about where the hell she was. Mark had texted her a few times over the last few days, pleading for her to talk to him, but she’d ignored them all. When I started to turn my gaze back to the car, something shiny glinted in the sunlight and caught my eye.
Her phone cradled in my hand, I dropped to a knee to take a closer look. My breath lodged in my throat as I picked up a silver stud earring on the edge of the driveway.
“What’s that?” he asked.
I held it up so he could see it and frowned before looking back at the ground. “Must have fallen out when…”
The words died in my throat when I noticed crimson-red specks on the concrete. I braced myself as I bent forward to inspect them closer, though my brain already knew what I was looking at. With trembling fingers, I swiped at the cluster, smearing them.
Blood.
It was blood on the ground.
It was Remi’s fucking blood on the ground, right beside her lost earring.
My heart hammered as my own blood roared in my ears. The icy grip of fear raced through every vein in my body.
“Call the cops,” I whispered.
“What is it?” Aaron asked, dropping into a squat beside me. “Is that—”
“Call the fucking police!” I roared.
Remi
“How could you be such a heartless bitch?” Mark seethed. “I gave you everything. I did everything right. I took care of you when you were sick, always brought you home dinner from the bar, kept the fridge stocked with your favorite wine. Do you have any idea how many nights I spent listening to you ramble for hours about fucking plants? I dedicated half my life to you. And it still wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t good enough.”
Mark’s phone buzzed in the cupholder, but I didn’t dare pull my gaze away from the maniac at the wheel.
Think, Remi. Think!
I had to do something. The longer Mark was left to his own thoughts, the louder and more menacing he became. I had to find a way to distract him, to calm him down. All I needed was a moment with his guard down and maybe I could get away from him. I might have been his captive, but I wasn’t going to be a victim ever again.
“I just want you to love me the same way I love you!” He finished on a shout, his fist slamming on the center console.
I fought the urge to press away from him and instead scooted closer. “Mark,” I purred, my voice intentionally soft, “I had no idea.”
He scoffed. “Don’t give me that bullshit.”
“I swear to you. I didn’t know you felt that way about me. You’re right. I should have seen it. I was so stupid for not seeing it.” I swallowed the vomit that crept up my throat and mustered the courage to keep going. “I see you now though. I see everything you’ve done. For me. For us.”
He craned his neck toward me, his suspicious eyes blazing as they roved my face. “Bullshit. You only see what I’ve opened your eyes to.”
I shook my head hard and my hair slapped my face. “No, no. I mean it. The silly spa nights I forced you into. Fourth meal at Rusty Nail after the bar closed. All the ways you worked so hard to make sure I stayed safe while showing houses. I missed all those clues along the way.” I paused and pinned him with a stare, my hand snaking out to rest on his arm. “But I promise I realize now how lucky I am that I have you.”
His arm jerked away from my touch, and even though I needed him to believe me, I had to admit a wave of relief washed through me that I didn’t have to touch him. “Please, give me a chance to prove it to you.”
