I’m startled out of my thoughts by the ringing of Parker’s cell phone. Pulling it out of her pocket, she wipes away her tears before she answers and I watch her face fall and her mouth drop open.

“I’m still with him. We’ll be right there. Call the fucking police.”

I struggle to get up off the floor and Parker gives me her hand, pulling me up next to her.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Garrett’s at your place. Olivia’s car is still there, but she’s not. Your office is a disaster area, like someone tore the room to shreds in a hurry.”

Ice flows through my veins and panic bubbles in my chest.

Parker’s next words bring a whole new meaning to the word fear.

“He found blood by the front door. He thinks someone took her.”

I FEEL WATER on my face and I blink a few times, bringing my hand up to wipe it off, but it just keeps coming. Opening my eyes fully, a sharp pain shoots through my head as I press my hands to the ground to push myself up, wondering why I’m lying in wet grass. Slowly looking towards the sky, I realize the water I’m feeling is rain. It’s coming down slowly, big fat raindrops splashing against my face before falling down and off my chin. I see a flash of lightning across the sky, quickly followed by the rumble of thunder and I know I need to get inside. We don’t see many thunderstorms here, but I know enough to get in out of the rain when it happens.

I gingerly push myself up onto my knees, trying not to jar my aching head, wondering what the hell happened and why I’m outside. When I finally get to my feet, I turn around slowly and notice the wooden frame of a partially constructed building a few feet away from me, the plastic covering some of the wood flapping in the wind and smacking against the beams. Taking in the tractor and bulldozer parked next to the structure, I realize I’m at some sort of construction site.

The rain starts falling faster now, plastering my hair to my face and neck and my clothes to my body. I bring my hand up to my head to try and quell the pounding.

Where the hell am I? What happened?

My mind is full of flashes of words and people, but I can’t make anything fit together.

“Ahhhh, she’s finally awake.”

Startled, my head jerks towards the sound of the voice, the pain bringing on a wave of dizziness. I breathe deeply through my nose, trying to steady myself. When my vision clears, I see the vague outline of someone standing in the middle of the structure, protected from the rain by a small roof that juts out in front.

Everything comes rushing back to me so quickly that my knees threaten to give out. The look on Cole’s face, the words he threw at me, waking up on the floor of his house and coming face to face with the devil who ruined our lives. My hand clutches the back of my head and I rub the knot left behind from the blow delivered as I tried to escape.

I shiver as the wind picks up and the thunder and lightning rumble and flash all around me, one right after another. The idea of being any closer to the evil that lurks in the shadows makes my blood run cold, but I know I can’t stand out here in this storm.

“So, how do you like the house? It’s nice, isn’t it? Well, I guess you can’t really tell right now, but I’ve seen the floor plans and it’s going to be amazing when it’s finished,” I hear over the hard pounding of the rain.

I watch arms spread, the shadows giving the vague perception of a bat’s wings unfurling, as the source of my anguish indicates the structure before me, speaking as if it’s just another day and this is the most natural thing in the world.

“He was building this house for you, did you know that? As soon as he got home, he purchased the land and contacted the construction company. I thought it was a pretty stupid move since he didn’t even know if you’d speak to him again, but he didn’t care. Cole had love in his eyes and you are the only thing he cared about. Isn’t that the most pathetic thing you’ve ever heard? How many times did we tell him to do something with his life and yet, this is what he chose?”

I want to allow those words to warm me, knowing that Cole planned for a future with me before we even saw each other again. Suddenly realizing exactly where I am, I have to shut down the urge to cry. We drove by this piece of land a year ago, right before he left for the Dominican. I saw the For Sale sign and I made him stop the car, hopping out before he even put it in park. A half-acre right on the cliffs, overlooking the ocean, it was completely perfect and I told him we should build a house here. We stood on the edge, looking down at the waves crashing against the rocks as he wrapped his arms around me and told me he’d give me anything I asked for.

I take a few steps back, figuring I’d rather get struck by lightning than move any closer to the shelter of the roof and the person standing under it. My feet come to a halt when another flash of lightning spotlights the object pointed right at me.

“It would probably be wise for you to come in out of the rain, Olivia. Might as well check out your dream home before I put you out of your misery.”

I see movement and hear the ominous sound of the slide being pulled back on the gun and a bullet entering the chamber. Swallowing nervously, I wish more than anything that Cole was here right now, but I know that isn’t going to happen. He’s been poisoned with lies for years and, when it counted most, he believed them, not even offering me a chance to explain.

We thought we knew who the real head of the Vargas family was, but we had it all wrong. Neither of us had any idea who was actually pulling the strings.