Chapter 67

Cami

I’d just stepped into the waiting room to find a woman walking in. It seemed I’d forgotten to lock the door after my last patient.

“Dr. Shaw?” The woman was about my height with short red hair and large brown eyes.

“I’m Dr. Shaw.”

“Are we alone?” She flashed me a nervous smile. “I need to talk to you.”

The way her eyes kept darting around had me on edge.

“I’m actually on my way home for the evening. Can this wait for another day? My boyfriend is picking me up soon.” I gestured toward the door, hoping she’d take the hint and leave.

“I’m going to have to insist.” She pulled a gun from her pocket before reaching behind her to close and lock the door. “You’re nothing like I expected. I can’t for the life of me figure out what he even sees in you. When I first saw your picture, I thought you might be one of those women who doesn’t photograph well, but you’re not very attractive.”

She had to be one of Xander’s fans who’d jumped the rails. I took a deep breath and did my best to remain calm.

“You’re right. I’m not his type. Once he goes on tour, I’m sure he’ll see that.”

Her brow scrunched in confusion. “On tour? What are you talking about?”

“The Reckless Release tour starts in just over a week.” I was surprised by her confusion. Surely, an obsessed fan of Xander’s would know when the Reckless Release tour started.

“You think I care about you letting that rock star fuck you?” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m tired of you stringing Mitch along. He’s mine. He always has been and always will be.”

“Emily.” I’d seen a picture of her, but she had looked much different. In the photo, she had long brown hair and looked much younger. The woman before me had lines around her eyes and mouth. She’d also lost a lot of weight since that photo had been taken, at least twenty-five pounds. Since she’d been thin before, the weight loss left her looking gaunt.

“So, Mitch did talk about me.” Her lips turned up in a pleased smile. “We’re meant for each other. Did he tell you that I was his first love—his only love? You’re just some slut who caught his eye.”

“I think you got the wrong impression about my relationship with Mitch.” My voice was still calm, despite my growing fear. “I’m dating Xander Marsh. I broke up with Mitch. We didn’t date long before that. He doesn’t know me very well.”

“I emailed him while pretending to be you,” she told me. “He went right along with it, acting all excited about getting back together. All the while, you’re acting like a whore.”

“I’m not getting back together with Mitch.” I didn’t point out that if she hadn’t started emailing him, he probably would have moved on sooner. At least, I had a better understanding of why Mitch thought I was still interested in him.

“None of that matters now. Once Mitch hears about your suicide, he’ll need someone to comfort him. I’ll be there, and then we’ll get back to what we had.” She hesitated and gave me a sad smile. “Even though you’re a whore, I’m sorry it has to end this way. I’d hoped for a simple accident. You were supposed to fall on the oil and crack your head open. I figured you’d bleed out while you were unconscious. I didn’t want a messy death for you.”

“You put the oil on the stairs?” I asked. “Someone else was arrested for that.”

“I know.” She let out a crazed giggle. “What a lucky break for me. When you didn’t die, I was afraid the police would figure out it was me. Fate is on my side.”

“Because a teenager was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit?” I sounded much less calm. Emily’s attitude pissed me off. “You do realize that if you shoot me, the police will figure out I didn’t kill myself, right?”

She shook her head. “I’ll put the gun in your hand, and they’ll think you shot yourself.”

She never watched any police dramas or crime scene shows if she believed that. It would be easy to prove I hadn’t shot myself. There was another thing she hadn’t considered. “We have security in the building. There are cameras in the hallway. If they find me dead, they’ll check the security footage. You might not even make it out of the building. Someone is sure to call the police if they hear a gunshot.”

She frowned. “Then we’ll go somewhere else.”

“When I don’t answer my phone, Xander will be worried. He may have already called the police.” The last was a lie, but she didn’t know that. Xander would worry when he couldn’t reach me, and he was likely to show up at my office, but he’d have no reason to call the police. “I know you have a lot going on. Let me help you. There’s no reason this has to turn ugly.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Emily’s eyes filled with rage, and her mouth pressed together in a firm line. “Maybe I don’t care if I get away with it. Have you thought of that? Maybe all I care about is seeing you dead. You ruined everything!”