Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
X anthe shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbed her coat as she stood.
“Still no answer?” Allistair asked. They had both come into the office for a few hours after Xanthe had met with her insurance adjustor at the cabin for his last appointment of the day. Seeing the ruins of her little home, knowing she would never live within its cozy walls again, was hard.
“Nope.” This was the third time she’d called Blaine today, and he hadn’t answered any of them. Not even this last one, when he’d literally just texted to say he was on his way back to his place.
Was something wrong? Or was he being an inconsiderate dick? How hard was it to answer a fucking phone call and talk to her? Or just send a simple text?
Allistair gasped. “I know that look. You going over there to see him?” He sounded way too excited at the prospect.
“Yep. I need to pick up some papers for the insurance company.” Yeah, she’d said casual to Blaine. But apparently that wasn’t sitting well with her. And besides that, something was very wrong. She was worried about him.
“Can I come?”
“Nope.” This was a solo mission. If nothing else, she wanted to make sure Blaine was okay.
“Aww, bummer.” Allistair’s shoulder slumped. “Not gonna lie, I kinda wanna watch this in real time.”
“I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Looking forward to it.” He leaned back in his chair, a giant grin on his face. “Go get ’em, girlfriend.”
Driving down the dirt access road that led to the highway, she took stock of her current situation, her anger building.
She was done.
Done with life kicking her in the teeth. Done with loss. With pain. Done with Blaine continually ghosting her without any explanation.
If he wasn’t comfortable letting her in at all, then she wanted to know now, to understand what kind of boundaries each of them expected in this…situationship. Only then could she decide if it was worth it for her to stay involved, even casually. Whether it was enough.
She could already tell the answer was no.
Traffic slowed ahead of her on the highway going north where a road crew was clearing a small mudslide. It added an extra ten minutes to her trip, and when she arrived at Blaine’s she had a full head of steam going.
The gates were open. When she saw his car parked next to another one in the driveway, her annoyance spiked. How long had he been back without bothering to return her call? And that had to be Maddy’s vehicle.
Jealousy tried to sink its claws into her. She shook them off, reprimanding herself. She’d never been jealous over a man in her life and wasn’t about to start now with someone she was just casual with.
Blaine and Maddy were just friends. Move on.
As she neared the front door, she slowed when she heard something from inside. Raised voices.
She hesitated on the welcome mat, leaning toward the door to hear better. At least two people were shouting.
Concerned, she entered the combination Blaine had given her this morning on the touchpad and cracked the door open.
The shouting immediately got louder. A man and a woman, coming from upstairs. Blaine and Maddy?
Xanthe stepped inside and shut the door. Froze when she saw spatters of blood on the wood floor near the base of the stairs.
Before she could process it, Maddy appeared in the entryway to the kitchen, face tight with strain as she held her phone to her ear. She stopped when she saw her. “Oh, Xanthe?—”
Then who was fighting with Blaine?
A shrill scream echoed through the house.
Xanthe rushed for the stairs, ignoring Maddy’s warning to stop. There were more bloodstains on the carpet runner.
Halfway up, the shouting changed to guttural grunts and shrieks. Something heavy hit the floor with a thud.
She put on a burst of speed, heart hammering against her ribs. At the top she turned right, heading for the room next to Blaine’s office where the shouting was coming from. The door was open a few inches, but not enough for her to see what was happening inside.
She shoved it open, ready to intervene and down whoever Blaine was struggling with. Only to halt there in the doorway in horror.
Blaine had an older woman pinned to the bed. His teeth were bared, face red from exertion. The woman’s hands were bound behind her.
She kept thrashing, screaming in fury as Blaine held her down with a hand across her collarbones. There was something in his other hand. He had it against her neck. Jerked it upward.
Xanthe saw the syringe in it. The blood dripping from a slice in his forearm. Running down to his wrist and hand, dripping on the bedding.
The woman let out one last enraged cry and then sagged as whatever he’d injected her with took hold.
Xanthe locked her knees as Blaine straightened slowly, breathing hard. She could see his profile, and his expression terrified her. He looked utterly broken as he stared down at the woman.
“Blaine.” Her voice wobbled.
His head whipped around. The pain on his face evaporated, instantly transformed into shock. Then raw anger, his eyebrows crashing together. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She blinked. “I?—”
“Get out!”
She held her ground, not daring to move yet. Not understanding any of this. Who that woman was or why he’d just done that. “You’re bleeding.”
“I said, get out! Get out now ! Maddy,” he shouted, his voice cutting through the terrible silence like a gunshot.
It felt like he’d slapped her.
Xanthe swallowed. Spun around and rushed back the way she’d come, gripping the wooden banister for support. Her knees were like rubber, her brain struggling to comprehend what she’d just seen. His rage at seeing her there.
Maddy stopped partway up the stairs when she saw her coming down. Her eyes were haunted. “Xanthe, you should go.”
“Who is that?” she managed, throat tight. They’d slept together. Yeah, they were new. But feelings weren’t rational, and it still hurt that Blaine was okay with Maddy being here and not her.
Sympathy flashed across Maddy’s face. “I’m not the one to explain that.”
“He’s bleeding.” She felt dizzy. Queasy.
Maddy nodded once. “I know. The police and ambulance are on the way.” She climbed the few steps separating them, gently took her by the arm. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Come on.”
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, jerking her arm free as scalding tears blinded her.
She jogged down the remaining steps to the foyer as fast as her boneless legs would carry her. Yanked the front door open and slammed it shut behind her as she rushed for her vehicle, fighting back the sob stuck in her chest.
She was scared. Confused. Hurt. Worried sick about Blaine. He’d looked at her like he’d hated her.
He’d also made it clear he didn’t want her here. So she was going.
And she wasn’t coming back.