She won’t stop calling, and I’ve never been so glad in all my life that I entered her name in my contacts. Now I know when Lisa Swanson is reaching out to me.

And I can ignore her.

Nothing good can come from taking that call and I’ve had nothing but good things happening these last few days—minus Will’s news that he’s leaving for a week the beginning of December. I’m okay with it. I know he has a job to do and I can’t expect him to spend all of his time with me. I have Molly now. I can go stay with Mom if I get too freaked out, which I might. I’m so used to having Will with me, it’ll be weird when he’s gone. If I do decide to go spend time with Mom, she’ll be glad to have me visit. We haven’t had a chance to talk and catch up in a long time. I’ve become so caught up in Will, I haven’t had much time for anything else beyond school.

The phone starts ringing again—Lisa. Again. She’s called four times in a row. Left one voicemail that I haven’t checked yet. Ignoring the call, I wait for the ringing to stop before I go into my voicemail and listen to her message.

“Katherine, it’s urgent that you call me. I think I’ve discovered something about Aaron Monroe that you need to know. Please call me right away.”

I delete the voicemail, my mind reeling. She sounded frantic. Almost . . . scared? No. Nothing scares Lisa Swanson. That’s part of her on-screen persona. She takes on the tough subjects and never backs down. Viewers love her fearless attitude.

Will would definitely tell me not to call her. He’d probably delete her number from my contacts list and block all of her calls if he could. She brings nothing but bad news. He’s said that time and again.

Deciding against my better judgment, I call her back, startled when she answers on the first ring.

“Katherine, thank God. I’m so glad you called. There’s so much I need to tell you.” The words rush out of her and apprehension has me in its grip at the sound of panic in her voice. I fall onto the couch before my legs decide to give out.

“I shouldn’t give you the time of day after everything you’ve done,” I tell her, and she starts to say something but I interrupt her. “But I’m giving you five minutes. So talk.”

She takes a deep breath, as if she needs to calm herself down. “I’ve remained in contact with Aaron Monroe over the last few weeks, after the interview. He’s been acting rather . . . unusual lately.”

“How so?” Of course he’s been acting unusual. The man is crazy, and I don’t use that word lightly, especially when it’s in reference to him.

“He’s been talking a lot about being on the outside. What he would do if he were free.” Her voice lowers, and I swear I hear a tremor run through her words. “He claims we would make a perfect couple.”

“You and him?” I ask incredulously.

“Yes. He’s been mentioning it more and more, to the point where it was creeping me out and I stopped calling him. But he keeps reaching out to me, calling me collect at the office. I don’t think I want to talk to him any longer. He makes me too nervous.”

I don’t feel sorry for her. This is what she gets for showing him even an ounce of kindness. He takes advantage of everyone in his life, even a famous reporter who was only using him to improve her ratings. Now she’s been sucked into his sticky web and finding it hard to get away from him.

She sort of deserves it.

“He’s not happy that you and Will are together.” Lisa’s voice lowers. “He’s not happy about that at all.”

What a surprise. “And thanks to you, now everyone knows about it,” I retort, tempted to end the call right now. She’s not telling me anything new.

“He asked me to make that reveal,” she says defensively. Like that’s going to make a difference.

Whatever. I don’t really believe her. Maybe he pushed her to do it, but she was going to let the world know about us regardless. It’s what she does. What she enjoys. She’s the one who controls her news reports, not Aaron Monroe.

“Right, because you do everything a convicted killer tells you to. Listen, Lisa, I need to go,” I say, but she stops me.

“He has someone on the outside who’s spying on you. Who is monitoring your every move.”

I go completely still. Completely silent. Is she serious? Who could he have watching me? And why? Why does he still care? Because I’m the one who got away—or does it have to do with Will and me being together now? “Who is it? Did he say?” I ask after I swallow past the scratchiness in my throat. As if a name would matter—I wouldn’t know who he was talking about.

“He said . . . he said it’s Will.” She pauses. “That the only reason Will is with you is because he wants to get close to you and then . . . hurt you. To exact revenge for his father by getting back at you.”

My heart flips over itself at her words. Impossible. “No. That is absolutely not true.”

“How do you really know, Katherine? Do you know Will Monroe very well? You only just reconnected. He’s been this . . . enigma for years. No one knows much about him or what he’s been doing. He could be working with his father. It’s not too far out of the realm of possibilities. What is he really capable of?”

Lisa’s questions only confuse me further. I refuse to believe what she’s saying. She doesn’t know Will, not like I do. Not even his father knows him like I do. He’s a good man. He’s thoughtful and kind, without a cruel bone in his body.

I think of the few times I’ve seen him act violently, and always it was in defense of me. He’s protective. Protective of me. He would never hurt me.

Never.

“I know exactly what he’s capable of. He wouldn’t work with his father. He hates him.” I stress the word hate. “If you’re smart, you’ll steer clear of Aaron Monroe like we do.”

“Katherine, I’m serious. Watch out for Will. Pay attention. If he offers even a tiny clue that he could be talking or working with his father, get away from him fast. Don’t hesitate.” Lisa pauses. “I’m sorry for playing a part in this mess. I just wanted you to know that.”

An apology. I’m in shock. But it’s too late for that. She’s trying to convince me that I’m in danger by being with Will and that’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard. “Thank you. But I’d prefer it if you never called me again,” I say firmly before I end the call.

And then proceed to delete her name from my contacts.