The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(91)

I blinked at her. “You didn’t tell Mica.”

She looked stressed. “Mark made me sign an NDA.”

I swallowed, so confused by everything that was happening.

She grabbed my hand. “It worked out though, right? You and him?”

My eyes filled with tears. “He’s in jail.”

“Well, besides that part, it’s pretty great, right?”

I gave her my best WTF look and then we both started laughing. Until I started crying.

She wrapped her arms around me. “Come on, it’s going to be okay. I want you to go home and try to get some sleep.”





*



It felt weird to be back at home in the middle of the day. It felt even worse that Mica wasn’t home. I lay down, but sleep eluded me. All I could do was think about Mica and worry about what was happening to him.

When my phone rang, I lunged for it.

“Hello?”

“Charlie, thank God you answered.”

I sank back on my bed. “Hey, Andrew.”

He gave an embarrassed laugh. “I seem to have gotten myself in a pickle.”

I didn’t give a shit about Andrew’s problems. “You know, this really isn’t a good time.”

He talked over me. “I locked myself in my storage room in my basement. Can you come and open the door for me?”

I wanted to refuse. “Andrew.”

“Please,” he almost begged. “This is so embarrassing. I don’t want to call 911. They have enough to worry about. Can you please come in and let me out?”

It seemed churlish to refuse. “Sure, I guess so.”

“When you come downstairs, it’s the second door on the left. My front door should be open.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

I took Sniper with me, but I left Sasha at home. I slipped out the front door and walked two doors down.

True to his word, Andrew’s door was open. The dogs greeted me with happy wags. I headed downstairs and opened the second door. The room was pitch dark.

“Andrew?”

“I’m right here.”

I spun around, confused when I saw Andrew standing behind me. Sniper growled deep in his throat. I blinked in horror when I saw Andrew point a gun at Sniper’s head. “Tell him to sit.”

“What are you doing?” I cried.

“Tell your dog to sit or I will blow his head off.”

“Sit, Sniper,” I commanded with a shaky voice. Sniper’s entire body was trembling with rage, but he sat like the perfect dog he was.

Andrew bent down and stabbed him with a needle. Sniper yelped and lunged at Andrew. I screamed and watched as Sniper landed on Andrew, growling and biting. Then he went quiet. My hands were over my mouth when Andrew rolled Sniper off him.

“What did you do to him?” I cried again, rushing towards them.

Andrew pointed the gun at me. “He’s been given a mild sedative. You just saved your dog’s life.”

My breath was coming in and out of my lungs in a rasp as I stared down the barrel of the gun pointed at me. The entire world slowed down. “Andrew, what are you doing?”

“I’m doing what you’ve wanted me to do since the day we met. We can be together now.”

I stared at him with revulsion. “By pointing a gun at me?”

“You’re mine. You remind me so much of my wife. I knew when we met that you were an angel she sent to me to replace her. Now we can get married and be together.”

I shook my head. “This is madness. I’m already married.”

He smiled. “I’ve got it all figured out. You are sick of your husband’s philandering ways. You’ve packed your bags, along with your wallet and your ID, and you’ve left town. You’re going to send Mica a text telling him you’re done and you never want to hear from him again. As far as he knows, you’ll be gone.”

My heart pounded. “He’ll never believe that.”

“Mica won’t be out of jail for a while, anyway. He’s on the hook for Sabrina’s disappearance.”

I paused, looking around, trying to think about how to get out of this alive. “What do you know about that?”

“When you introduced Sabrina to me that night in the restaurant, I knew you were trying to ask me for help, trying to get out of your marriage.”

“What does that mean?”

“Sabrina has been integral in helping us be together.”

I whispered, “What did you do?”

“I arranged it beautifully. I set Mica up to look like he was upset with Sabrina. She disappeared, and he is on the hook for her disappearance. Her obsession with him only helped.”

“Did you kill her?” My voice shook.

“I would have, but she’s a wily one. She skipped town on her own volition. I’ll catch up to her one day and take care of that loose end.”

“So those texts from her were made up?”

“We made them up, and the plane tickets were a hoax. I even got her to meet up with him in public and pick a fight with him, so I could get some fantastic photos to send to the media.”

The horror of how this was unfolding made me feel like throwing up.

“Mica won’t believe I left.”