times I ever felt lonely were when I missed Jamie and what we’d had together. Or when I thought of Skye and our quiet afternoons.
Or when I had flashes of my life before my adoptive parents died.
Perhaps it was my disposition to be content with my own company, or perhaps it was just what I was used to.
I was in the middle of responding to Cassie’s updates when I heard the lock on my front door catch and then turn. Assuming Jamie had returned, I pushed aside my laptop to give him my focus. I was determined to make him see my point of view, but I’d be far subtler about it.
It wasn’t Jamie who stepped into my apartment.
It wasn’t Jamie who closed my door and locked it.
It was Frank Kramer.
Fear chained me to the couch.
A man of medium build with broad shoulders, a paunch, and a head of thinning, pepper-speckled dark hair, Frank Kramer wasn’t a particularly intimidating figure. However, one look in his eyes was enough to make me shiver.
His eyes were the coldest black I’d ever seen.
“The locks in this building are embarrassingly easy to pick,” he said, taking a step toward me. His heavy boots thudded on my wooden floor, and I finally came unstuck, pushing off the couch.
“Uh-uh.” Frank stepped toward me, smiling. “Just stay there. No sudden movements.”
My stomach roiled as I nervously licked my dry lips. Sweat gathered under my arms, and the adrenaline spike his appearance caused made me tremble. “What are you doing here?”
He considered me. “It comes as no surprise that you recognize me. Do you know why, Jane?”
I tried not to react to the use of my real name.
“Because I’m not dumb. And neither is Mr. Steadman.”
I took a step back.
“What did I say?” His voice flattened. “Stay put.”
“Get out of my apartment.”
Frank chortled. “Don’t be brave, baby. It’s not going to save you from this mess.” He looked around the apartment. “You know this is a nice place for a single woman in LA. You’ve done well for yourself.” He shrugged, squinting at me in confusion. “Why would you fuck that up?”
My heart raced out of control. I was afraid. Afraid of a man who had hospitalized his own wife. Who had framed Jamie. But I was more afraid that Jamie would come home, and Frank and Foster would take him from me again. “What do you want?”
“You think Foster didn’t know who you were? You think he’s dumb? As soon as his only son started spending lots of a time with you, he looked into you. Found out about the name change and the foster care … and what should appear on a little Google search for Jane Doe, Glendale, California, but photographs of Skye McKenna’s funeral. There you were, front and center, all cozy with Jamie McKenna.”
Oh my God.
Frank tsked. “All you had to do was keep your nose clean. Foster was perfectly willing to believe that you were moving on with your life, and your friendship with Asher was a coincidence. But we monitored you. Not a lot. Now and then.” He stepped toward me, the air around him chilly with menace. “I was lucky when I saw you with Elena Marshall. A random surveillance day to check up on you. And there you were with Elena. So, I followed you for the day, and who did you have a date with that night? Lincoln Gaines, Ethan Wright’s partner. Then I see you with Elena one week later. That wasn’t a coincidence. Foster doesn’t think so either. Is Jamie McKenna involved in this?”
“I haven’t seen Jamie in two years. Since the last time I visited him in prison.”
He nodded, like that’s what he expected. “He’s been smart enough to get out of state. To move on. He’s been smarter than you.”
I glanced surreptitiously around, searching for a weapon. There was nothing useful in my immediate vicinity. The deadliest were behind me in the knife block on the kitchen counter.
“This is a warning visit, Jane.” Kramer shrugged out of his leather jacket and laid it across the back of my armchair, as if he were just stopping by for tea. Then he began unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves.
Terror made my knees shake.
At my expression, he smirked. “I’m not going to rape you, Jane.” He pointed to the gold band on his left ring finger just before he took it off and put it in his pocket. “I’m a devoted husband.”