Page 59 of False Evidence

“Get out of my home. Now.”

“It’s not your home. It’s Kendall’s. Her name is the only one on the lease.”

Her face drained of color. That he would use that excuse meant Kendall had shared that detail with him—to justify letting him in after Alexandra had banned him from the apartment? Betrayal cut deep.

“It’s my legal residence. On my driver’s license. I’m calling the police.”

Russ smirked and held up the cordless handset. “How are you going to do that without a phone?”

She reached into her purse and pulled out the BlackBerry. Her fingers shook as she jammed the headset plug into the jack and dialed 9-1-1.

“Where did you get that?” Brent asked.

“None of your fucking business. Now get out before the police get here and throw your ass back in jail.”

Russ yanked the headphone cord, pulling it from the jack. “Fuck you, bitch. Who did you drink champagne with and screw in my hotel room? The same prick you were with last night? Or is this a new john? Your slutty behavior will just back up my statement that you spiked the drink yourself because you wanted to play.”

Her whole body shook as he loomed over her. The call had gone through, but without the headset plugged in, the operator wouldn’t hear a damn thing.

She took a step back, but the four-inch heels got the best of her and she tripped, falling backward. She landed on her ass, slamming her head into the wall behind her.

Russ gave her a nasty grin. “You little cunt. You’ve fucked everything up with my work. Making a fool of me in front of my bosses.”

“That wasyourdoing. You shouldn’t have put GHB in my drink.”

“How do you know it was me? It could have been the bartender. Or some other guy you met.”

“They found the vial in your pocket.”

“It was planted on me by the cop.”

For a moment, the thought flashed in her mind that Jay could have spiked her drink while they were at the bar. But no. She’d finished that drink. The bartender made her a second one, on the house.

How twisted was it that Russ made her second-guess what she knew to be true?

Shit.Would a jury believe her? Would they believe Jay?

Russ was the older of the two men. Probably senior in the company hierarchy. Would he be more convincing?

“See, sweetheart? You fucked up, and now I’m going to make you pay.”

All at once, she remembered how thin the walls were in the apartment and let out a shrill scream. She banged her elbow on the wall at her back and shouted, “Call nine-one?—”

Russ grabbed the front of her dress, yanked her to her feet, and slapped a hand over her mouth. He shoved her backward. Head and shoulders slammed into the wall. Pain radiated from the base of her skull.

“Fuck, Russ. You said you wouldn’t touch her. We need to go.”

She kicked at Russ’s shins and scratched at his face.

Brent shoved Russ in the shoulder, pushing him toward the door. “Out. We can’t be here when the cops arrive.”

Once her mouth was freed, she screamed again. Louder, using all the air in her lungs to push out as much noise as possible.

Russ gave up and followed Brent out the door.

Tears spilled down Alexandra’s cheek as she lunged for the cordless phone and again dialed 9-1-1.

Twenty minutes later, police arrived to take her statement. She learned no one else had called—her next-door neighbor wasn’t home, and knocks on the door across the hall also went unanswered.

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