But she didn’t.
Her stomach churned every time she glanced at the television and saw a photo of the girl they now had locked away in the cold, damp basement of wherever they were. Mark had it all planned out, down to having somewhere to keep the girl. Rayne’s suspicions that he had been wanting to do this for quite some time continued to mount with each passing second. He knew everything about Alexander and his family. He knew where they lived. He knew all the details of their security system. He knew how to access the online database and manipulate it. He even had the code and fingerprint to gain access to the house. It was as if he had been planning on doing this no matter what, so why did he need her?
She felt duped and betrayed. She thought he truly understood her pain and grief. Instead, Mark used that to his advantage, preying on her vulnerability.
“Will you sit down already?” Mark said, breaking through the stiff silence. “You’re making me nervous.”
Rayne continued pacing. “You should be nervous! Don’t you feel just a hint of remorse? That what we did was wrong?”
“You mean what you did,” he said in a condescending tone, picking up a newspaper and flipping through it. The Mark sitting at the table as if he didn’t have a care in the world seemed like a completely different person. Rayne began to wonder if she really knew him at all. “I only got you inside the house. Anything you did there is all on you.”
Over the past few hours, as she waited nervously for him to announce their next move, jumping out of her skin every time the sound of police sirens approached, she had heard him quietly talking on his cell phone in a language she couldn’t quite place. Ever since she’d met Mark, Rayne had thought he was second-generation Greek, as he had led her to believe. He had olive-toned skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and no accent. Now, it was all different.
“Which never would have happened if you didn’t push me,” she retorted. “Why did you care so much? What could you possibly gain out of me doing this? I’ve seen Alexander in action. He won’t stop until he’s turned over every rock, searched every abandoned warehouse, questioned every person who has any connection to him and his family. We may get away with this for a little while, but not for long.”
“I don’t need that long,” he said in a sinister voice. “Just enough time to get back what he has no right to.”
“What do you mean?” Rayne asked, furrowing her brow as a heaviness set in her chest. Her limbs felt like they were chained to the floor, a weight preventing her from moving.
“Exactly what I said,” he responded, barely looking up. “He’s wronged countless people over the years. It’s my job to make it right.”
“Why did you even involve me? It sounds like you were going to do something like this anyway.”
He glanced up. “I needed someone who had been in that house before and knew exactly where the girl’s bedroom was. Sure, I could have done it myself and figured it out, but as you saw tonight, the less time it took, the more likely we were to get away. And look at us! No one has a clue. Thanks to you, we were in and out of there in less than five minutes.”
Rayne crept toward him, the room spinning around her. “You used me,” she declared, hurt, upset, and frustrated, but more at herself for falling for this kind of trap.
She caught her reflection in a cracked, dusty mirror hanging on the wall. She should have known Mark wasn’t who he said he was. How could someone as attractive as he be drawn to her? Her appearance had deteriorated over the months, the woman staring back at her a shell, physically and mentally, of who she once was. She had no redeeming qualities. She treated Mark like crap, yet he still came back to her over and over. She should have known he had an ulterior motive.
“No more than you used me to try to forget about your dead fiancé. It’s been a year, Rayne,” he hissed with venom in his tone. “Move on. He’s not coming back.”
“You can’t compare the two!” she shrieked. “I used you for sex, to forget for a minute, not to commit a felony!” Her lip trembled, wishing this were all just one big nightmare. How could she have been so blind? She was smarter than this. Landon had taught her to be extra cautious. He liked to see the good in people, but he also said the devil often disguised himself in sheep’s clothes. She should have seen the signs earlier. Mark always seemed more interested in Landon and his line of work than her own past. At first, Rayne thought he was offering her a shoulder to cry on, allowing her to reminisce about the times she had shared with Landon. Now that she knew the truth, that he used her to commit this horrible crime, it all made sense.
“You’re just feeling a bit of remorse. It’s completely normal after your first time. I was paranoid after my first time, too.” He got up from the chair, slowly approaching Rayne.
She gaped at him, shocked that he could talk about this so nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. She wondered how many other felonies he had committed.
“You need to stop sweating the small stuff and look at the bigger picture here.” He placed his hands on her arms and met her violet eyes. “You can finally make peace with Landon’s death.”
“But his daughter…,” she pleaded softly. “She did nothing wrong. Why does she have to suffer?”
“An unfortunate casualty, but they need to be motivated to return what’s been taken. If we didn’t do this, they’d never see all the wrong they’ve done. They’ll never think twice about changing their ways.”
“What did he do?” Rayne asked, intrigued by the passion in Mark’s voice.
“I’ve seen countless families torn apart. I don’t have to explain to you how difficult it is to sit down to dinner and see an empty chair at the table.” He grabbed her hands in his. His expression softened, his eyes pleading. Mr. Hyde had transformed back into Dr. Jekyll. “Yes, I lied to you, Rayne. I’m sorry I wasn’t transparent with you from the beginning. I knew who you were. I followed Landon’s story on the news. I kept tabs on you. I’d observed you from afar and knew you wouldn’t talk to me if I just showed up on your doorstep, so I decided to go to the same grief counseling session you’d been attending. At first, my goal was just to find out more about Alexander Burnham. After all, you were engaged to his friend. Then something unexpected happened,” he said, his voice becoming soft as he gazed upon her with all the tenderness and warmth Landon used to.
“What’s that?” she whispered, a lone tear falling down her cheek.
He sighed, his taut stature relaxing. A smile spread across his full lips. “I fell in love.”