Susie tilted her head to look at her friend. “Are we talking BDSM, because . . . gross. And if you tell me he ties you up or uses handcuffs, I’m dragging you out of here right this second!”
“No!” Carlise hurried to say. “If anything, he’s always asking for permission to touch me. It’s . . . nice. He just has control over his emotions. What he does. What he says. He’s not going to hurt me, Susie. I wish you could see that. Actually, I’m sure you will when you meet him. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love him, and now I realize anything I felt in the past was just a poor facsimile of what I feel now. So much so, it’s almost ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? You said you loved Tommy too,” Susie said in a tone Carlise couldn’t interpret.
She opened her mouth to answer but heard Baxter whimpering and scratching at the front door. “Crap. I can’t leave him out there. I feel awful. Do you mind if I bring him in? Maybe he’ll be better now that we’re sitting, and he’ll see you aren’t going to hurt him.”
“I don’t know,” Susie said nervously.
“Maybe I could put him in the bathroom?” Carlise mused. “I could put his bedding in there and maybe even his food. That should keep him busy.”
“I guess that’ll work,” Susie said. “The door is sturdy, right?”
“Yes. He’ll be fine in there. Hang on.” It didn’t take long to get Baxter and bring him inside. But instead of the dog relaxing when he saw Susie on the couch, the hackles on the back of his spine rose once more. It took a little bit, but eventually Carlise got him settled in the bathroom. He wasn’t happy, but thankfully he didn’t try to get out of her hold or attack Susie.
“There, that’s better. What were we talking about?” Carlise asked as she finally sat back on the couch with her friend.
“How much you love this guy you just met, even though you said you loved Tommy,” Susie said, almost accusatorily.
Carlise sighed. “I want you to like and get along with Riggs, Suz.”
“And I can’t do that until I meet him. When is he getting home?”
Looking at her watch, Carlise said, “I don’t know exactly, but according to his estimate when he left, maybe another forty-five minutes or so—”
Susie stood abruptly, and Carlise looked up at her in surprise. She blinked in confusion . . .
Then her eyes went wide when her friend reached into the pocket of the coat she hadn’t bothered to take off, pulling out a gun—and pointing it right at her.
“Get up,” Susie said in a voice Carlise didn’t recognize.
“What?” she said, struggling to understand what was happening.
“Stand up. I need you to get a piece of paper. You’re going to write Riggs a note—and we’re leaving.”
Carlise laughed incredulously. “You’re kidnapping me? I think that’s going a bit far, don’t you?” she asked. “And can you please not point that gun at me? It’s not loaded, right?”
“Oh, it’s loaded. And I’ll absolutely use it,” Susie said. “Now get the fuck up and get a piece of paper.”
At that moment, she realized this wasn’t some really poor joke. Fear instantly flooded Carlise’s veins. “Susie?” she asked as she slowly stood. “What’s happening?”
“You’re so goddamn stupid,” Susie scoffed, shaking her head. “First for dumping Tommy. You’ll never find a man as good as he is. You hurt him—and you didn’t even care! Well, don’t worry about that part. I stepped into your shoes. The only problem is, he still thinks about you . . . which is unacceptable.”
“What?” Carlise asked, her brain swirling in confusion as she tried to keep up with what she was saying. “You’re dating Tommy?”
“Yes. And we’re going to get married.”
“No,” Carlise whispered, shaking her head. “You can’t, Susie. He’s abusive! He’s going to hurt you!”
“No, he isn’t!” Susie screeched loudly. “He’s mine! I’ve always wanted him! When you two started dating, I tried to be happy for you. I really did. But you never deserved him. And you’re a bitch for leaving him like you did! I comforted him after you snuck your shit out of his house without warning, and one thing led to another. He loves me now. Regrets not choosing me in the first place.
“But every now and then, he still brings you up . . . said he regrets hurting you and making you leave. He even admitted he had hopes of patching things up with you before we got together.”
Susie barked out a deranged laugh. “But that’ll never happen. You dumped him. Accused him of terrible things! And since we’re friends, you’ll keep coming around, like a bad fucking penny. The only way to help him realize how much he loves me is to get you out of the picture once and for all. Then he can concentrate on me—and only me.”
Carlise shook her head. “But . . . he’s yours already. And I have Riggs. I’m hoping to move here, to stay with—”
“But that’s not enough!” she interrupted, ranting. “People are talking! Saying bad things about him! When the cops delivered the restraining order—at his workplace—it got him in trouble. They automatically assumed he’s a dirtbag, and he almost lost his job! You’ve ruined his reputation by spreading your fucking lies about being abused. He was never going to hit you. Your screwed-up childhood just made you see something that wasn’t there. You’re a liar—and you’ll never get him back!”
Carlise wanted to tell her friend that she didn’t want him back, but she didn’t get the chance before something unbelievable occurred to her. “Wait . . . was it you?”
“Was what me?” Susie asked.
The woman in front of her looked like her friend, but the gun pointed in her direction and the angry words were nothing like her best friend. “The notes. The texts. My tires.”
Susie smirked. “Yup.”
“Why?” Carlise asked, truly shocked and appalled.
“You tried to ruin Tommy! That wasn’t fair. I thought it was only right that you got some payback. Didn’t you say this Riggs guy would do anything to protect you? Well . . . I’m doing the same for my man.”
“I was terrified,” Carlise said, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that the woman she considered a sister was the person who’d been threatening her for weeks. “I confided in you.”
“And Tommy and I laughed about it,” Susie said, her smirk turning cruel.
She was deranged. Carlise couldn’t think of another explanation for why Susie would act like this, why she’d do anything she’d done.
“But then you disappeared, and I couldn’t have fun anymore, and it pissed me off! It’s a good thing you called when you did because I was all set to have a little chat with your mom . . . use a little physical persuasion to find out where you were hiding. I was actually in her parking lot when you called.” Susie flashed another evil smile. “But when you were saying all that ridiculous shit and sounding so happy? Well . . . I couldn’t have that.
“I need you to suffer, Carlise. Like you made Tommy suffer! I tried to get you to come back to Ohio, but you were too damn stupid. So I did what I had to do . . . and here I am. Now—get that fucking piece of paper!”
Susie emphasized her point by pulling the trigger on the gun and firing at the floor.
Carlise jumped so badly at the loud noise, her entire body immediately began to shake. Her mind, though, was still frozen. Still thinking of everything she’d just heard.
She couldn’t believe her best friend had actually planned on torturing her mom.
Baxter growled in the bathroom. Loud, vicious growls that made the situation all the more terrifying.
“Now!” Susie screamed.
Moving quickly and trying to figure out how the hell she could get out of this, Carlise went over to the pad she used to take notes while translating books and tore out a sheet. She held it out to Susie. But her former friend merely shook her head.
“Write,” she ordered. “I’ll tell you what to say.”
Carlise didn’t want to, but at the moment, she had no choice. So she picked up the pen that was next to the notebook and began to write as Susie dictated.