Secret Obsession (13 page)

P
aige drove across the gravel parking lot and stopped in front of the room she’d reserved early yesterday. This wasn’t the best motel she’d ever seen, and it certainly wasn’t located on the best side of town, but it was perfect for what she was conspiring. For two full days and two full nights, she’d seriously considered a few different ideas, so that she wouldn’t have to go this far, but she hadn’t seen where she had any other choice—not when she’d already endured a full-fledged beating from Derrick and then deceived Covington Park Police Department personnel regarding her rape. She’d gone to what she thought was the extreme, but it still hadn’t worked. She’d even caused a temporary separation between Camille and Pierce, flown nearly two thousand miles across the country, and slept with him, but her sister and brother-in-law had found their way back to each other like nothing had happened. So on this occasion, Paige decided it was time she gave Pierce the proof he needed, the kind he could see with his own eyes.

Paige stepped outside of the vehicle, closed the door, and walked around to where Camille was sitting.

“Hey sis,” she said, shaking her. “Wake up.”

But Camille didn’t move.

Now Paige wished she’d only given her two pills instead of three, because she seemed nearly unconscious. She shook her again with all her might, and when Camille moaned and slightly moved her head and body, Paige beckoned for the tall man to come and help her. Thankfully, it was dark outside and the room was on the far end toward the back, because she would never want anyone to see what she and her new friend, Leonard, were up to. That was the man’s name—the homeless man she’d found wandering about yesterday when she’d driven out here to case the place. He’d looked like a natural bum and like he hadn’t bathed in months, but Paige had struck up a conversation with him and asked if he wanted to make a hundred dollars. He’d hurried and said yes, so Paige had rented the room they were now escorting Camille into, so she could help clean him up. Then, when Paige had returned from the nearest Target, purchasing several kinds of toiletries, he’d showered, shaved, and eaten the food she’d brought him. Shortly after that, she’d run to Macy’s and charged a pair of black dress pants, a white- and black-striped button-down shirt, and a package of Jockey underwear on her credit card. It had all been worth it, too, because the new Leonard looked like a million bucks and very much like the kind of man Camille would consort with—he looked like William, the fictitious man Pierce thought she’d had an affair with.

“Help me get her into bed,” Paige told him, and they gently laid her on her back. The print bedspread was already turned down, so Paige removed Camille’s shoes and jeans and pulled her thick off-white V-neck sweater over her head.

“Where am I?” she asked in a groggy tone.

“You’re home, sweetie,” Paige said.

“I’m…so…tired,” she said, dozing off again.

“So, who exactly is this nice lady?” Leonard wanted to know.

“No one important,” Paige said.

“Well, you must
really
hate her.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Okay, just so I’m sure,” he said, changing the subject. “All I have to do is sit here and wait for her husband to show up and then say, ‘I’m William’?”

“Yep.”

“And then what?”

“Well, for one thing, her husband will be pretty upset to find her at a motel with another man, so that’s when you’ll tell him you’re sorry and that you think it’s best for you to leave. Oh, and when you let him in, I want you to have your shirt open.”

Leonard unbuttoned it right then. “This man isn’t going to be so angry that he’ll want to tear my head off, will he?”

“It’s possible, but all you have to do is run, and I’ll be waiting down the street for you.”

“Whoaaa, now wait. If I’m gonna have to get my tail kicked, then that’s gonna cost you another hundred.”

“Excuse me?”

“Another hundred or I walk.”

Paige laughed and grabbed her purse. “You drive a hard bargain, Leonard.”

“Hey, I just wanna be paid.”

“I hear you.”

Camille moved her head to the side and slightly turned her body but never woke up.

“Okay,” Paige said. “I’m out of here.”

“How long do you think it’ll be?”

“Less than an hour.”

“Also,” Leonard said when she opened the door, “what’s your name?”

“Trish.”

“Oh. Well, nice doin’ business with you, Trish.”

“Same here, and I’ll see you in a little while.”

Paige walked a quarter of a mile from the motel, got into a rental car, and dialed Pierce. He answered in a huff.

“Paige, didn’t I ask you not to call me anymore?”

“I know, but this is important, and it’ll only take a few minutes.”

“What?” he yelled.

“It’s Camille.”

“What about Camille?”

“When she dropped me off at home, she went to meet that William guy.”

“Oh, Paige, please stop it.”

“I’m telling you the truth. I knew the only way you’d believe me was if I had proof, so I hired a private investigator to follow her. And he just called me.”

“I just spoke with Camille a little over an hour ago, so you’re lying.”

“Then why isn’t she home yet?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. She’s at a motel,” Paige said and gave him the address and room number.

“You’d better not be lying to me.”

“I’m not, and I’m only doing this because I love you, Pierce. I told you I would do anything for you, and I meant it.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he said.

Paige knew he’d hung up on her, but this time she didn’t care, because once he saw his perfect little wife shacked up in some shabby motel room with her lover, he’d practically come crawling to Paige, thanking her and begging her to forgive him. Camille was finally getting what she deserved, and Paige wanted to get out of the car and scream to the heavens—she wanted to thank God for all that was happening. He’d taken an excessively long time answering her prayers, but what mattered was that He had in fact come through for her. He’d finally given her what she’d asked for, and she was satisfied.

A
s promised, Paige had waited for Leonard, and thankfully, all Pierce had done was punch him one good time and tell him to get out. Of course, Leonard hadn’t been happy about it, but when Paige had offered him another fifty dollars, he’d seemed content. She’d then asked him where he wanted to go, and he’d told her to drop him off at a well-known shelter. Paige had thanked him for all his help, and he’d wished her well. Now she was standing in front of the overnight box at the car rental company, preparing to deposit the key to the vehicle she’d rented. When she did, she walked over and sat inside Derrick’s brand-new two-seater, and he pulled off.

“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re up to, but I’ve got some bad news,” he said.

“What?”

“You know that day I called you? While you were at O’Hare, getting ready to fly to Vegas?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, Andrea heard everything I said to you.”

Paige bugged her eyes. “She what? How?”

Derrick sighed and wouldn’t look at her. “Paige, I’m so sorry.”

“How did this happen, Derrick?” she ranted.

“Before I called you on my office phone, she’d called me on my cell, but I guess I didn’t end my call with her. I must’ve just set it on my desk, thinking she’d hung up.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not…and she heard everything. About the rape we faked and how you’re trying to take your sister’s husband from her.”

“Oh my God,” Paige said, dropping her face into her hands.

“I messed up, Paige, and that’s not the worst of it.”

“Meaning?”

“She also heard me say how you’ve let me bring my women over to your condo, so she’s threatening to tell Camille as payback.”

“She doesn’t even know my sister, does she?”

“They go to the same hair salon, remember?”

This was bad. Especially since Andrea had never cared all that much for Paige.

“You have to stop her, Derrick.”

“How? Andrea is mad as hell, and she’s only two seconds from kicking me out of my own house and divorcing me. So there’s no reasoning with her.”

“How could you be so careless?” Paige demanded to know.

“I’m sorry.”

If he said he was sorry one more time, Paige wasn’t sure what she might do to him. “Do you realize what this might mean?”

Derrick drove through an intersection but didn’t respond.

“Do you? It’ll mean all my hard work was for nothing. If Andrea tells Camille anything, Pierce will never speak to me again. He’ll hate me from now on.”

“I wish there was something I could do.”

Paige wanted to slap Derrick silly, but she couldn’t focus on him right now. What she had to do was direct her attention toward the matter at hand—this disaster Derrick had so recklessly created and the nightmare that might result from it.

For the next twenty minutes of the drive to her home, they rode in total silence. No radio, CD, or anything. So she sort of jumped when her phone rang. She checked the screen and was surprised Owen hadn’t called her first thing this morning since it was Wednesday.

“Yes,” she said.

“Hey, I just called to tell you, I’m through.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You’re free and clear.”

Paige was shocked. “You mean that?”

“Yep. You no longer owe me a single dime, and this is the last time you’ll hear from me.”

“Why’d you change your mind? Of course, I’m very grateful, but I just wondered.”

“You’re not worth it, Paige. You’re just not worth the trouble.”

Paige was speechless and, strangely enough, hurt.

“You have a nice life,” he said, and Paige was glad this whole blackmail drama was over with.

“Who was that?” Derrick asked.

“Owen.”

“What did he want?”

“Nothing.”

“You know, while you were on the phone, something dawned on me,” he said. “Maybe you should tell your sister everything yourself.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how you can fix this.”

“Derrick, just shut up, okay?”

“Fine.”

Paige never said another word to him for the rest of the ride. Instead, she hoped and prayed Andrea wouldn’t tell. She prayed for a complete miracle.

P
aige glanced at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time, wishing Pierce would call her. It was three in the afternoon, he wasn’t at work, and his cell had continually gone to voicemail. Had he and Camille somehow worked things out again? They couldn’t have. Not after last night. Not when Pierce had gone to that motel and witnessed everything. He’d caught her with another man, for God’s sake, and she couldn’t imagine any husband forgiving his wife for something so callous. Would he?

Paige took a drag of her cigarette, a habit she’d picked up only a couple of hours ago right after returning from the gas station, and wondered what she should do. Maybe she should try Pierce’s cell phone again, especially since she hadn’t done so for at least five minutes. Or maybe she should try calling Andrea. This morning she’d called Derrick, checking to see if he’d been able to talk some sense into her, but he hadn’t. He’d told her how Andrea was no longer speaking to him, and that she had indeed decided to divorce him. Last night, Derrick had said she’d only threatened him with divorce, but apparently things had changed rather quickly.

Paige picked up her home phone, preparing to call Derrick so she could ask him for Andrea’s number, but she set it back on its base when her cell rang. “Finally,” she said, rushing out of the kitchen and into the living room to get it.

“Hey,” she said but realized she’d answered way too quickly since it wasn’t Pierce at all. It was Camille.

“Hey sis,” Camille said, sounding wounded and troubled. “Girl, you won’t believe what happened.”

“What?”

“Pierce found me at a motel with some man who claimed he was that William guy. The man who I’ve supposedly been having an affair with.”

“No way.”

“Yes, and Pierce is angry enough to kill someone. We argued until the wee hours of the morning, and then when the kids went to school, he packed his things and left. And Paige, I think he’s gone for good this time,” she said, crying. “He was so hurt and disappointed.”

“But how did you end up at a hotel?”

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember is you and I stopping for coffee.”

“Well, that’s strange, because right after that, you drove me home.”

“All I know is that Pierce found me half-naked, and I can’t explain why.”

“Do you think maybe you’re having memory problems?” Paige said, lighting another cigarette and feeling a hundred percent better about things.

“Funny you would say that, because I’m starting to think the same thing. There has to be something wrong, otherwise how could I have sent emails to someone I don’t know, end up in bed with him, and then not remember any of it?”

“I think you need to see a doctor.”

“Paige, I really need you right now. I feel like I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know if I can handle this.”

“Do you want me to come over?”

“Can you? I’m going to call Mom and Dad, too, because it’s time I tell them what’s going on, but I really need my sister.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Paige said.

She went into her bedroom, dropped her phone inside her tote, grabbed her leather jacket, and hurried out to her car. She couldn’t have been more thrilled. Her plan had worked perfectly, and now that even Camille knew Pierce wasn’t coming back to her, Paige couldn’t stop smiling. She actually laughed out loud as she drove out of her subdivision, heading to her sister’s house—the house she would soon be living in and completely taking over. This had all been a long time coming, but now that the day was here, she decided it had all been well worth waiting for. It was true that she’d had to stoop to the lowest of levels and create more trickery and deception than most people saw in movies, but this was the reason she’d won. Her willingness to do whatever it took to get what she wanted had paid off, and if more people shared her philosophy they’d get what they wanted, too. But maybe they didn’t have the kind of drive or desire she had and would simply have to settle on being miserable and unsatisfied for the rest of their lives. If so, she felt sorry for them and wished them well.