Ash parked and opened my door for me, then pulled me into a hug. "I'm so proud of you. You're amazing and brave and the most incredible woman I've ever met."
He got on his knees and I nearly choked when he pulled out a small black box. "I know this is shitty timing, but I need you to know, before you do this, how much I love you. Catelyn Travis—Cat—will you marry me?"
I choked back tears and dropped to my knees in front of him, kissing him, but I didn’t take the ring. "I want to say yes. I'm so happy I could cry, but I can't say yes until this is over."
He started to argue but I put a finger over his lips. "Just hear me out. I don't know what's going to happen next. I might go to jail. I might be killed. I can't let you tie yourself to me until we know what's going to happen."
"I love you, sweetheart, and through thick or thin I'll be here. I'm not going to let you die," his voice choked on the word, "and if you're arrested, I'll spend my life fighting to free you."
I kissed him again. "And if you still feel that way when this is over, then my answer is yes. But only once this is over."
He took the ring out and took my right hand. "I want you to wear this, if not on your engagement finger, then on your right hand. It can be a promise ring, until you're ready to say yes."
He slipped the princess cut diamond onto my finger, the sapphires on each side like teardrops. It was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. "I love you, Ash."
"I love you, too." He helped me up. "I'm going to go let them know you're ready. Take a deep breath. You'll do great."
A wave of nausea rose up in me as I watched Ash approach the podium, and I rushed behind the building to empty my stomach of what little remained in it. I pulled out a water bottle from my purse and rinsed my mouth, then turned to go meet Ash when I felt the cold steel of a gun in my side. "Don't move or I'll shoot."
I knew the voice. My heart broke.
"Time to get me that book, Catelyn."
I turned to face an icy smile and cold eyes. "Why are you doing this, Bridgette?"
Chapter Thirty
Footsteps
MY HEART HAMMERED in my chest as Bridgette held a gun on me and made me drive home to retrieve the book. Once at my house, I went to my side of the closet and pulled out a false panel in the wall I'd rigged after moving in. Inside was a box full of the letters I'd gotten from Maxwell. I handed it to her. "This is all the research."
My hands shook and Bridgette looked through the letters briefly, shoved them back into the box and prodded me downstairs and into the car. "Don't make a sound. Don't call for help. Don't try to be a hero, Catelyn. Just drive where I tell you."
We drove for over two hours and I recognized the route. I tried asking her questions. Why was she doing this? Was she working with someone else? But she didn't answer, just kept that gun muzzle pointed at my head. I had to shut down, had to close off my emotions and bury the panic building in me and just focus on the road, on the few feet of asphalt I could see in the dark night.
My cell phone rang and rang and beeped and beeped until she threw it out the window. Poor Ash would be worried sick.
Professor Cavin's cabin looked different at night, more sinister than when the sun shined brightly. The lake was a gaping black hole that could have hidden bodies in its depth. "Why are we here?"
She didn't answer, just pushed me into the house and revealed a door to the basement Cavin hadn't shown me during our visit. Bridgette kept the gun on me as we walked down the stairs. It reminded me of something you'd see in a horror movie. There were ropes, a bucket that smelled like piss and shit, and bowls for food and water next to a stained and bug-infested twin mattress. "What is this place?" I gagged at the smell as my eyes buzzed and I pushed away my headache.
"This is where you've been keeping me prisoner. That's what everyone will think. Crazy Cat lost it and kidnapped her best friend, locking her up."
I couldn't hide my shock. "Why, Bridgette? You were my best friend. Why would you do this to me?"
"It's not personal. I had to get rid of you. I hated that you and Ash were together. He should have been mine.” She paused and laughed mirthlessly. “Okay, I lied. It is personal." She smacked her pink lips and smiled, but it was a cold and calculating smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Why did you need my mother's book? Her research? What does any of this have to do with you?"
"You just have to know everything, don't you? Sorry, sister, but this isn't an after school special where everything gets explained and wrapped up in a nice little bow. You're just going to have to die with this mystery hanging over your head." She pushed me in the back, prodding me forward.