Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six(53)

Her phone pinged: I’m waiting.

Liza let the cool of the night air wash over her, give her strength. She felt stronger, the pain in her head lessening just a fraction.

Be strong, she told herself. Be solid.

When she found the path on the side of the house, she followed a quaint little white sign that read: Guest Cabin.

And how in the world had he found her here? Gained access to this place? She ticked through all the details. It had been Trina, Mako’s old assistant who had booked this place for them. Liza had never liked her, but she’d been good at her job. She was a disgruntled ex-employee now, one of many. Had Brandon somehow gotten to Trina maybe? Or had he somehow hacked into their computer? He worked with computers. You always heard how easy it was for people to install spyware on your devices.

More laughter echoed through the night, and Liza felt lifted out. Like she was operating on another plane from the rest of the world. If only she’d stayed on the straight and narrow path, this wouldn’t be happening to her. They were in the light. She was in some netherworld of darkness and pain, fear.

But she was stronger than she looked.

In the pocket of her jacket, she gripped her small gun. A yogi with a gun! Can you imagine? It was Mako’s. He kept it in a locked box on a shelf in the master closet by the safe—where they kept her nice jewelry, a big stash of cash, their supply of marijuana gummies. She’d taken it a month ago and had been carrying it everywhere with her since he started online stalking her. She figured it was only a matter of time before he turned up someplace, maybe tried to hurt her. She was a pacifist, of course. But she was no victim.

The cabin was dark, but the door stood ajar. She marshalled her resources, pushed back her pain, her fear, her sadness. She waited, looking back at the big house with longing.

Then she walked up the path, and pushed into the open door.

There was a shadowy form standing in the dim living area.

“Liza.”

Brandon. They’d had a white-hot affair starting after that first yoga class. Nearly five months, she’d seen him off and on, meeting at nice hotels, once at his place, once on the beach late at night. Then she’d ended it abruptly.

Mako, she knew, was often unfaithful. She didn’t mind. Her love was expansive and total. She forgave this flaw of his as the flipside of his power, which was a major turn-on for her. Many powerful men were broken in this way, unable to stay faithful to the women who loved them.

So she hadn’t felt that guilty when she’d embarked on her own fling.

Until she did.

Until she realized that she couldn’t live with her own infidelity. She might endure Mako being unfaithful, but she couldn’t abide that type of flaw in herself.

And then there was the matter of the positive pregnancy test. Who’s child was it? She’d already miscarried twice; she hadn’t even told Mako she was pregnant.

Now, she thought, grief-stricken, maybe she wasn’t.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “What do you want?”

But when the person stepped into the light, it wasn’t Brandon at all.

It was Joshua. Cricket’s new boyfriend.

She grappled with it, trying to make sense. What? Why was this happening?

“You look pale,” he said, moving toward her. He seemed genuinely concerned.

“What do you want?” she asked, making her voice hard. “What are you doing?”

The room spun and wobbled. The pain came in great waves. Her head hurt so badly; it was a like a siren she couldn’t silence. Maybe this was a nightmare? She’d wake up in the bed upstairs with Mako beside her. Please.

“We just want what everyone wants.”

The voice came from behind her.

Liza spun to see a woman she recognized but couldn’t place right away. Wait. Disparate pieces, ideas, tried to fit themselves together but didn’t click.

Finally: Trina. Mako’s old assistant.

Some of the pieces clicked then.

“You,” she said. “Where’s Brandon?”

Trina laughed a little, and Liza remembered how fakely sweet she’d always been, how there had always been something dark behind her gaze.

“Your Brandon’s long gone.”

“I don’t understand,” Liza said, tears threatening. The texts, the online stalking. Who had it been? Then finally she got it.

Trina. It had been Trina all along. But why?

“You have something that I want, Liza. Brandon moved on long ago. He probably doesn’t even remember your little fling.”

Trina held up her phone to reveal the text chain Liza thought had been with Brandon.

“What do you want?” asked Liza, wrapping her arms around her middle. “Is this blackmail? Because whatever it is—you can have it. Just leave us alone.”

Her hand rested on the gun. She wasn’t even sure how to use it. Was there a safety, was it engaged? She knew she should take it out, at least. Point it. But she felt so weak, so sick. She quaked now with fear.

“Do you know what your husband is? The things he’s done?” asked Trina.

Liza didn’t answer. She did know Mako and all his many flaws. The rumors about him at Red World. The truth was that she didn’t care who he was in the world outside, only who he was to her. She forgave him everything else.

“Why do you stay with him? All he does is cheat and lie,” said Trina. “He’s still sleeping with her, you know? Cricket.”