Page 80 of Montana Heat

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the fuzziness. “What?”

“The parts I could do—the notes, the messages, even the animal blood in your house—I did. The other stuff…I hired out.”

“Hired out,” I parroted.

“You know, the physical stuff. Knocking you down in that parking lot a couple months ago. Taking you from the cabin tonight. Tampering with your car. I wasn’t capable of doing those things myself, so I hired it out.”

I didn’t even know what to say.

“And some of the technical stuff. Finding out you were in Garnet Bend and where your boyfriend’s cabin was. I have some basic computer experience, but not for stuff like that, so I paid someone else. Actually, I learned that from you.”

I felt like I was Alice falling down the rabbit hole. “From me?”

“At one of your workshops, you mentioned hiring out meniallabor so that you could spend your time focusing on what was important. So that’s what I did.”

Stalking and kidnapping as menial labor. It sounded so reasonable coming from her lips.

Which made this all the more terrifying. I tested the zip ties at my wrists again, wincing as the bindings dug into my raw flesh.

“Why are you doing this? If I did something to offend you, I promise that was never my intention.”

“No, no. If anything, I respect you.” She met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “I admit, after the first one, I came to your workshops more for research about you. But each time, I learned something. You’re such a gifted teacher.”

Great. I’d somehow taught this woman everything she knew about stalking and kidnapping.

“But why are you doing this?”

I watched her face in the mirror as a soft smile came over her lips. “Because I love my man, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure we make it.”

“Your man?” I asked, but I had a sickening feeling I already knew.

“Alan Ard. I know you have to remember him.”

I knew it. I knew Alan had been behind all this somehow.

“I remember his fist crashing into my face and him throwing me into a wall so hard it dislocated my shoulder two years ago. He’s in prison, you know.”

That sigh again. “Of course I know. That’s where I met him when I went to visit my brother. But what happened to you was a misunderstanding. Alan freely admits he lost his temper. But he’s different now. He’s changed.”

What happened to me. She made it sound like I’d tripped on an uneven piece of carpet. Nothing hadhappenedto me. Alan had attacked me, and I had been sure to press charges.

“He’s abusive, petty, and a bully. That’s a bad combination, Jada. You should stay away from him.”

“You don’t know him at all anymore!” Her scream caught me off guard, and I sank back against the seat. “He’s changed. He’s different now. But he talks about you enough that I know he’s not over you. If you would just leave us alone, he and I would be fine!”

I took a breath, trying to regroup. Jada was unstable. I needed to handle this with as much care as possible, no matter how I felt about Alan.

“You’re absolutely right. I see that now. But I promise you, I have no intention of getting back together with Alanever. You guys make a much better couple than he and I ever did.”

Especially given how they were both psychotic.

She seemed to relax a little. “I know. But you’re still on his mind. So, I need you out of the picture, far away. I need you to never come back to Colorado. That way, he and I can have a fair chance at a normal life. He can build up his reputation as a Realtor again, without you holding him back like you were before.”

“Okay. Consider it done.” I had to grit my teeth between words, but I would tell this woman anything to get out of this in one piece. “I’ll leave Colorado for good. Never see or talk to Alan again so that you two get the happily ever after you deserve.”

Jada glanced at me. “Oh, come on. That’s not possible. You’re too big. You’re too established in the industry. Truly, I respect what you’ve done, but because you’ve been so successful with all of it, there’s no way you can just step back. But soon as you’re out of the picture, Alan can have a chance at the life he deserves. With me.”

I sucked in a breath. “Out of the picture?”

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