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The wide eyes of disbelief transformed into a murderous rage.
Her jaw tensed, the muscles buckling beneath her tightly clenching teeth. She hunched forward, darting one challenging finger out to me. “Look, I’m not sure what Lyndsey has told you, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. And, if someone is threatening her, then she brought it on herself. I don’t know if you think she’s pretty, or you’ve just fallen into that whole charm of hers, but she is not exactly innocent. Lyndsey gets exactly what she deserves.”
She couldn’t be serious. I’d spent more than enough time with Lyndsey to know she didn’t deserve any of this. And no matter how rich anyone was, she certainly didn’t deserve to be terrified for her life.
“She didn’t deserve to have her house burned down,” I explained.
“You mean my house?”
“It wasneveryour house.”
Vanessa eyed me suspiciously, as if I’d accidentally revealed something without knowing it. Heat rose to my throat suddenly, choking me without warning.
“Do you like her? Is that what this is all about? She should really keep you out of her personal affairs. This is a business relationship the two of you have—nothing more. Otherwise, I might have to have a talk with little Miss Lyndsey.”
Great! Trying to help wasn’t making any of this better. Instead of getting to the root of the truth, I was about to get Lyndsey fired. I waved a hand out in front of me to deflect suspicion. “She didn’t volunteer the information, Vanessa. I was one of the people who put out the fire at the house.”
Her anger gave way to confusion. “So, you met her before?”
“Yes. Though I didn’t realize it was her at the time.”
I hadn’t known in that first moment, or even that second moment, that the woman I was slowly growing attached to was the one woman my sister hated more than failure. “And, we were discussing how my date went and what to improve when she came across the note. She was pretty shook up about it.”
“I bet she was.”
A wicked little smile played across Vanessa’s lips. She was enjoying Lyndsey’s misery far too much, though it still didn’t mean she was capable of sending the note. “Something doesn’t go right in her life just once, and the spoiled brat can’t even handle it.”
“She’s not spoiled, Vanessa.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, tell me you’re not falling for her little sob stories. Look, Lyndsey is fine. She gets whatever she wants, one way or another. You really can’t feel sorry for someone like that.”
“So, you’re telling me you have no idea what I’m talking about?”
“What? With the note?” she asked, playing the part too well to be lying.
There are twenty-five years of history between us, and I would know by now if my sister was telling the truth or not. She appeared genuinely confused, even if thoroughly entertained by the idea of Lyndsey’s suffering. “No. I mean, we’ve all heard about the fire by now. I guess, I just didn’t realize you would have been there. Though, it makes sense.”
Even if Vanessa wasn’t involved, that didn’t necessarily exclude her husband. Kyle could have orchestrated the entire thing without Vanessa knowing. Though she had said they were a team. They did everything together, sought the same goals, and worked toward them in tandem. He wouldn’t go behind her back when it came to something so colossal.
Would he?
There had to be someone else. Someone they were missing entirely. Someone who also wanted revenge. Though Lyndsey claimed she’d lost touch with most of the people in town since she’d left home, it was still possible someone hadn’t forgotten her.
I needed to see her. Needed to explain Vanessa’s confusion and ask if anyone else could be involved.
Though the truth was, I just wanted to see her again. She looked so shaken up after I left her, and not just from our brief moment together.
Our mistake, she’d call it. Though for me, it was the first thing I’d done right in a long time.
I needed to check on her and check on the house—anything to bring this jumble of thoughts into order. I left my house shortly after, regrettably leaving my mother alone with Vanessa. I arrived at Lyndsey’s house, surprised to see another car already in the driveway.
Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea.
What if she was with her supposed boyfriend? What if she was with a client? I should have called first. I hadn’t thought things through. I’d been so blinded by my need to see her, I broke all boundaries and protocol to come here.
So what do I do now?
It’d be even creepier if I sat here in my car, watching the house.
