Chapter Nine

Silence dominated the ride back to the city.

Marnie mostly stared out the side window, lost in thought. She'd spent most of the night wondering how she could've had sex with a man who kidnapped her. She empathized with his story. Did that mean she was filled with full-blown Stockholm syndrome? And if so, then could she really trust any of the emotions flooding through her?

"Do you … would you…" Reece cleared his throat. "Do you want me to drop you off at Rebecca's house?"

For some reason, she didn't think that was the question he was going to ask.

"Yes, please. My car is there."

They fell silent once again. Truthfully, she had no idea what to say to him. It took a few hours before he pulled into her sister's driveway and placed his truck in "park." Then they both sat there. Now that it was time for him to leave, she faced the realization that she didn't want to say goodbye. Did that make any sense?

"I just want to say once more that I'm sorry," Reece said.

She nodded, acknowledging his words. "For what it's worth, Reece, I forgive you."

His shoulders relaxed. "Thank you." Marnie lifted the cat carrier and opened the door, but he grabbed her arm to halt her exit. "Do you think there'd be a chance for communication in the future?"

"What? Like between us?"

"Yeah. Between us. I know I fucked up, but I think we could have something."

She hesitated, but not because she didn't want that. Just the opposite, actually. She wanted to say yes, but there was too much between them to just jump in with both feet. Perhaps a little pause was the prudent thing to do.

"Okay," she said softly. "But you'll have to give me some time."

A smile curled the corners of his mouth. "I can do that."

Warmth spread through her as she hopped out of his truck and gave a wave as he backed up. He returned it, then he was gone. Marnie turned to her sister's front door, when a body suddenly pushed into her. When she dropped the cat carrier, the door popped open and the cat sprinted away. Panic bloomed and she struggled to get free, but the man who pinned her wasn't budging.

"You've been a bad, bad girl, Rebecca," a deep voice hissed in her ear.

"I'm not Rebecca," she managed to get out despite the restrictions on her lungs.

"Shh," the man whispered. He licked the shell of her ear, and she trembled in revulsion. "I tried to forget you. I told myself I had to go back to being Anna's husband. But I realized I can't walk away. He can't have you. I've left my wife, so it's just you and me now. And you know what I'd love to do with you? I want to show you my other passion. Then we can be together forever. All mine. My beautiful Rebecca."

He clamped a hand over her mouth and yanked her away from the door, lifting her up when she tried to wiggle away. No one, not one neighbor, witnessed her second abduction.

****

Reece had this feeling he shouldn't have left Marnie, despite the fact she asked for time. He came to a halt at the four-way stop at the bottom of her road in front of the open gate and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Indecision warred with her need for space, but something in his gut told him he should turn around and go back to her. Blowing out his breath, he carefully did a U-turn. As he drove back to Rebecca's house, he mentally shifted through excuses he could tell her. Then a car sped by and it took his brain a second to realize it was Dan's car. What was Dan doing here?

Something was wrong. Again, his gut was telling him to follow, so he did another U-turn, speeding up a little to make sure he didn't lose Dan. Confused, he placed a call to Dan's wife, Anna. When she answered, tears were thick in her voice.

"Anna? What's wrong?"

"He l-left," she said, a hiccup breaking her words.

"Left?"

"He said … he said he loved another woman."

Ice filled Reece. It was Dan's car. "Oh, shit."

"Reece? Do you know this woman?"

"I don't know her, but I know her sister."

A sob came over the speaker. "Did you know he cheated?"

He sighed. "Not until two days ago. And I tried to do damage control."

"Why?" she whispered. "Was he unhappy? Why didn't he talk to me?"

"Anna, I promise I'll get you some information. Right now, I'm following him. Let me call you later."

"Okay," she said, suddenly sounding tired.

He disconnected the call and hurried after Dan, from Rebecca's expensive neighborhood, through downtown, until they were in the country.

"Where the fuck are you going, Dan?"

When Dan turned from the asphalt onto a dirt road, Reece slowed down. He knew the only thing at the end of the road was an old asylum that once housed orphans back in the early 1900s. Recently, the state had given it historical status.

Historical. For a moment, he felt dizzy. No. It couldn't be. No fucking way, except it all made sense now. How the arsonist got away from being detected. He placed another call, this time to his boss, the fire chief. He didn't even wait for him to give a greeting.

"It's Dan! Dan is the arsonist!"

"Reece? Wait. What? Dan? Are you sure?"

"I'm following him now. He's heading to the Bradshaw Asylum. Get here quickly."

He hung up and stepped on the gas. He had to stop Dan from setting another fire.

****

Marnie wrestled and fought with the man she'd deduced was Dan, Reece's best friend.

He'd failed to tell her his BFF was certifiably crazy. She looked around as the car turned onto a dirt road, and had no idea where they were. The only thing she knew for certain was that they were outside the city limits.

In her head, she worked out the scenario on how she planned to escape. When the car parked, she was going to make a run for it. Just get out of the vehicle quickly and start running. She hoped that element of surprise, and the fact he had to go around the car to chase her, was enough. She'd figure out the rest along the way.

Up ahead, an old building sat, under some type of repair. Scaffolding surrounded it, and lumber lay in the yard. The grass was pretty torn up from the construction. The car slowed down and came to a halt, and Marnie realized now was her chance. Only, when she went to open the door, it wouldn't budge. She threw her weight at it, praying it would cooperate with her escape plan, but nothing. Then he was on her, wrestling with her. Marnie screamed, but Dan was unrelenting, and before she could fully process what was happening, he had zip-tied her wrists together.

"Don't be a bad girl," he told her.

"Let me go, asshole! You've got the wrong person."

He sighed heavily, as if her words exasperated him. Then he opened his door. Fucking child locks. She thought they were only installed in the back ones, but apparently, she was wrong. Dan didn't retrieve her, though. Instead, he went to the trunk and pulled out a cloth bag and a gas can, then made his way to the building.

Unease slithered over her nerves. When he bent to place the bag on the ground, she shifted a little to see what he was doing. He pulled something else she couldn't make out and arranged them at the door before soaking it with the gas. Then poured it as he walked slowly away, leading the trail to the edge of the property. He set the gas can and his duffle bag to the side and retrieved her. She fought, because she had this sick feeling he wanted her to be in that building when it went up in flames.

"What are you doing, asshole?" She tried pulling away, but he only gripped her upper arm tighter. When she tried kicking him, he smashed her leg with his foot. She screamed at the pain that radiated through her body. Her leg threatened to buckle, but his hold on her prevented her from falling. "Please, don't."

He looked down at her. "But I have to. You'll be all mine after that. No one else will take you from me. It's going to be so beautiful."

She shook her head. "No. It won't. Fire isn't beautiful."

"Fire is everything, Rebecca. It's life."

From his pocket, he pulled out a lighter. Fear exploded and she began to fight again. No way was she going to burn to death without doing all she could to escape.

Then she heard an engine and the unmistakable noise of tires crunching over dirt and gravel. Dan heard it too, and he turned. It was Reece's truck. Relief zipped through her.

"What is he doing here?" Dan muttered under his breath.

The truck came to a screeching halt, and a moment later, Reece exited the cab. His hands were up in a placating manner, and his gaze was laser-focused on Dan.

"You shouldn't be here, Reece."

"Let her go, Dan, and step away from the jerrican."

Dan shook his head. "You won't stop me from being with Rebecca. We're in love."

"That's not Rebecca. That's her identical twin. That's Marnie."

"Oh, no. No, no, no. You fell for her, didn't you?"

"Dan—"

"No! She's mine. I saw her first, coming out of a hotel, and I knew. She and I were destined for each other." He gave a little chuckle that sounded like he'd lost all reality. He turned his head to look at her. "I tried to forget you and go back my clueless wife, but I couldn't. I was drowning. After you called demanding your money by Monday, I knew we had a deeper connection. Why else would you call me again? I knew then that the money had been an excuse."

"What about Anna, Dan?"

A frown settled in his forehead, and he turned back to Reece. "What about her?"

"She's your wife."

"She doesn't make me feel alive!" he yelled, causing Marnie to jump. "I've been stuck for years not living. It's all just a waste of time. Wife, kids, a mortgage. Go to work. Eat, sleep, repeat. It's been strangling me for years. And now, now I've finally found something to make me feel. Do you have any idea what that means, Reece?"

Slowly, Reece shook his head as he inched closer. "No, because everything you have, I wish I did. I want a wife and kids. I want to bring flowers home when I'm late and miss dinner. I want to struggle figuring out how to get to soccer games and dance recitals when they're at the same time. I want the ugly Christmas sweaters and being Santa Claus. That's life, Dan, and you've thrown it all away like it was nothing."

"It is nothing," Dan said in a tone devoid of inflection. "And I don't want to be nothing anymore. So, you can't have Rebecca. She's mine."

In that moment, he relaxed his grip and Marnie took advantage. She yanked out of his hand and ran, knowing Reece would take care of him now that she wasn't in the way. When she was far enough away, she turned and saw Reece looming over Dan, one hand holding onto his shirt and the other in a fist. Dan, however, seemed to have been knocked out. She ran back to Reece, and he caught her in his arms.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, holding up her wrists. "I'm fine. Or I will be once these are off."

Reece reached into his back pocket and took out some pocket tools, folding out the small knife to cut through the zip-tie. When she was free, she practically jumped on him, hugging tightly.

"Thank you for coming for me," she said.

"Always, babe."

The endearment shocked her and she pulled back.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

He obliged, wrapping one hand around the back of her neck, leaning down to meld his lips with hers.

The sound of sirens reached them, and they broke apart to wait for the cavalry to arrive.