Page 107 of If We Never Met

"I know, but it wouldn't be the same. The end would just be looming over us."

She could see he wanted to argue. Dante was the kind of man who got what he wanted. But a car pulled up out front. Her mother and Mark had arrived.

She opened the front door as they made their way into the house with two large pizza boxes and a bottle of wine. Her mother looked at Dante in surprise.

"I didn't know you were here, Dante."

"I just arrived," he said.

"I hope you'll stay for pizza," Mark said, as they all walked toward the kitchen. "We got plenty."

When they entered the kitchen, Mark set down the pizzas and offered to open the wine.

"That sounds good," her mother told Mark. "I know Keira needs to speak to me for a few minutes. You and Dante can entertain each other while we're gone."

"No need for that," she said. "We all need to talk.”

Her mother gave her a confused look. "About what?"

"Let's sit down at the table." She pulled out a chair and sat down as the others did the same.

"This isn't about Dante, is it?" her mother asked.

"No, it's about Mark," she replied, her gaze moving from her mom to Mark.

He looked straight back at her. "All right," he said. "I'm happy to talk about whatever you want to discuss."

"Well, I'm not," her mom said with a look of annoyance on her face. "Keira. I told you I would talk to Mark on my own."

"Have you?" she challenged.

"Not yet, but I will."

"Well, time has run out. Dante, why don't you tell Mark what happened at the inn?"

"At the inn?" Mark echoed.

"Your room was vandalized tonight," Dante said. "Lizzie left you a message. The police also want to talk to you. Didn't you get those calls?"

"I saw a couple of voicemails, but I was driving. I didn't have time to listen to them. What happened to my room?"

"I ran into the woman you were arguing with a few days ago in the hallway outside your room. She gave me an odd look and then ran down the stairs. I noticed your door was still ajar, so I went over to let you know. When I opened the door, I realized the room had been trashed. There was a threatening message on the wall that said:YOU WILL PAY. I got Lizzie. She called her brother, who is a police detective, and I'm sure they're both trying to reach you."

Mark had paled during Dante's explanation. He pulled out his phone. "Yes, I have several voicemails. I should listen to them."

"Before you do that, you need to tell us who this woman is and why she's threatening you," Keira said.

"Keira," her mother interrupted. "This is Mark's business, not ours."

"This woman could be dangerous, Mom. You're spending time with Mark, and he's someone's target. I don't want you to get hurt. Mark needs to decide if he wants to see you and tell us the truth, or if he wants to leave and take care of his own business. But I'm not going to stand by and do nothing." She blew out a breath, knowing she'd probably overstepped, too, but she didn't care.

"Keira is right," Mark said, turning to her mother. "I believed I could handle the situation, Ruth, like I've done in the past, but Mandy is in a bad place. I thought she left town yesterday. She promised me she was leaving, but apparently that didn't happen."

"When did she promise?" Dante asked. "Was it after she scratched your car? We both know that's who did it."

"Yes, it was after that," Mark admitted. "I met with Mandy, and I told her that the police were getting involved, that she was captured on the security camera, and that I would only stop her from being charged if she left town. She said she would go."

"Who is this woman?" Keira asked. "What does she want you to pay for?"

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