THE GREAT BETRAYAL (31 page)

Tonight was their first night back, and Kathryn couldn’t help remembering how the last time had been. She could not help feeling a bit anxious as she posed and pursed her lips for the camera…and for Ajay. Seeing him again, having vague memories of the things she’d done with him, made her very uncomfortable. The guy still gave her the creeps.

But you’re a professional,
Kate told herself.
You can do this
.
She still wished they could have Rudy back, though.

Lauren had promised all of them that what happened with the men that night would never happen again. It was back to photographs only. She was planning their Jamaican excursion for the following month, and they could hardly wait. Kathryn was planning to leave without telling her mother anything about it. Just to stick it to her. She couldn’t wait to see how her mom reacted to
that
.

“Okay, baby,” said Ajay, swinging the camera from his neck. “Great shoot.”

Lauren strolled through the door. “All done?”

“Yeah, done,” Ajay replied in his thick accent. “Kit-Kat here was the last one. The others went to get dressed.”

“Okay,” said Lauren, taking the camera. She turned to Kate. “I’ll upload these to the site and meet you girls out back. See you next week, Ajay.”

Ajay Patella walked out the back door of Lauren Samson’s Chalet of Beauty and signaled to the two men in the silver sedan parked along the fence near the street. The headlines flicked on and shown brightly in the darkness of the night. The car drove up to the door, stopping in front of Lauren Samson’s Corvette. Blocking it.

Ajay approached the car, and the man in the front seat passed him a gun. They exited the sedan, and the three men flanked the back door—to wait.

“
What happened to Rudy,” Kathryn asked Lauren as she joined them in the hallway that led to the back door of the salon. “How come he’s not back yet?”

“Yeah, what ever did happen to Rudy?” Holly chimed in. “He was such a funny guy.”

Lauren flipped off the light in the hallway. They started toward the door. “I wish I knew. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him. I’ve left messages, but I guess he must’ve found other work or something.”

Holly reached the door first and opened it. “Ajay! We thought you left. Wh—”

What happened next happened so fast that neither Kathryn, Jodi, nor Lauren would be able to recall every detail.

Holly screamed as Ajay grabbed her arm and thrust a gun to her head. “Don’t you
dare
scream again, bitch,” he said roughly. “Walk out slow. All of you.”

Lauren spoke. “Ajay, what the—”

“
Shut the fuck up!” he barked. “Let’s go!”

Holly’s eyes were wide with fright as she slowly stepped through the door.

“
You two,” he said, looking at Kate and Jodi. “Come out slow. Congratulations. You girls just won yourselves one-way tickets to sex-slave hell. You’re all off to St. Croix.” He looked toward someone who must’ve been standing just beyond or behind the door. “Grab ‘em.”

He didn’t see it coming. As soon as Holly’s foot had cleared the door, Jodi grabbed the handle and pulled, slamming the door shut. She threw the lock. “Run! Go call the cops—quick!”

“
Let’s go ’round the front!” they heard Ajay yell through the door. “Move!”

“
Oh, my God!” Lauren said in a panic. “
Holly
!”

“
Run
!” Jodi screamed.

Kathryn could barely hear anything above her heart pounding. Instinctively she turned and ran toward the front of the shop, but her mind was numb with panic. A frightened cry escaped her lips.

“
Go
!” Jodi yelled. “Before they beat us there and get in—go!”

All three raced down the hall and through the salon. The shop was closed, so Lauren scrambled with the locks to open the door and they raced out. Jodi grabbed Kathryn’s hand and they ran through the parking lot toward the street. “We have to go call the police!” she yelled, practically dragging Kate’s shock-stiffened body behind her. “
Heeelp
!” Jodi began screaming at the top of her lungs. “
Somebody heeelp uuuuus
!”

Time seemed to decelerate for the next few seconds, everything in freeze-frame.

Kate turned her head to see Lauren running behind them in her green Jimmy Choo heels.

Lauren tripped, tumbled to the ground.

Then suddenly a car came screeching around the corner of the building. Lauren was now scrambling to get up. She kicked off her shoes, preparing to run.

And that was the last Kate saw of anything.

She turned her head back around, let go of Jodi’s hand—and ran for dear life, screaming every step of the way.

Chapter 52

Leslie’s heart was pounding as she turned onto Perugia Way. Could Dawn really be having an affair with Luke? No. It was impossible. If this was true, Leslie would not know who in the world she was anymore. If her instincts were
that
unreliable, she’d have no choice but to question her very identity.

If this was true, would she ever trust
anything
in life again?

Her Lexus cruised along the street until it caught her eye. There sat Luke’s house. His refuge whenever their marriage was on the rocks. The place he had been spending most of his nights lately.

And their marriage had become all too familiar with those rocks. When what they needed more than anything was open communication, and though Leslie laid herself bare to regain his trust, he still ran away—to this house.

She turned her car into the driveway and stepped out. How could they do this to her? How could
Dawn
of all people, do this to her? It was funny—Luke’s betrayal she could comprehend, given the state of their relationship in recent years, but Leslie would
never
come to terms with Dawn’s.

She didn’t see their cars in the driveway. They must be parked in the garage, of course. Couldn’t risk the wrong person cruising by and recognizing them.

Walking up the stone path, she approached the front door.

Should she knock? What on earth was she going to say to them? In that moment, as she imagined seeing the two of them being intimate together, Leslie felt a stab of shame so sharp it took her breath away. What did she look like standing there? Like the world’s biggest fool.

Tears threatened, but she swallowed them. Now wasn’t the time for tears. She was here to confront them. To demand an explanation. To let them both know that their secret was out. Her days of being in the dark were over.

Raising her hand to knock, she stopped in midair. Autopilot:
Why not have a look around first
?

Leaving the doorway, she turned left, walking around the shrubbery to the side of the house. She peaked through the open blinds of the first two windows, and although they were dark, she guessed that the first was an office. Luke’s office. And the second looked like a bathroom.

Quietly she continued through the grass and went around to the patio. There was a swimming pool. Did they make love in it? Did they crack each other up with Leslie jokes while gliding around doing sidestrokes out here?

The kitchen window was dark.

Leslie peaked through the patio door. Between the vertical blinds she saw candles. So many candles. They lined the floor, disappearing down a hallway. It appeared that Luke had casually tossed his tie over a bar stool and followed the well-lit trail.

Damn them
, she thought.
Damn them straight to the pit of hell
. How could they do this?

Leslie resisted an urge to bang on the glass and scream at the top of her lungs. Her husband and her best friend. What a humiliating cliché!

There was a light burning in the next window.
That must be the master bedroom
, Leslie thought.
Where all the candles are headed
.

She started moving toward it, deciding to take a peek before saying anything, before making her presence known. That was when her cell phone chirped, softly. Thankfully it was still set to meeting mode. Grabbing it from her purse, Leslie checked the display.

It was Dawn.

Dawn
?

The bitch was actually calling from their love nest!

Turning, Leslie made a beeline back to the other side of the house. She answered the phone. “Dawn?”

“
Leslie, where are you? You’ve got to get home right away—Kate’s in trouble.”

“
What do you mean, she’s in trouble? She’s over at her friend Holly’s tonight. They’re having a sleepover. Lauren Samson picked her up.”

“
No, no! Listen to me. Holly was kidnapped! And Kate and Jodi just barely managed to get away themselves!”

Leslie froze. “
What
?”

“
They managed to run to a gas station and Kate called me, completely hysterical.”

“
Oh, my God…” Leslie stood there in shock. “
Kidnapped
? By whom?”

“
Don’t worry; she’s okay now. Just a little shaken up, I think. I’m bringing her home as we speak—so meet us there, okay? Do you know if Luke’s at home?”

Leslie spun around suddenly, shifting again to autopilot.

Slowly she walked back toward the pool area.

Luke. Was he alone in there after all?

“
Um,” Leslie stammered, her mind now completely off balance. “I-I’m not sure. I don’t think so, but I’ll try to reach him on his cell.” She blinked several times. She had to concentrate.

Think
, Leslie thought.
Think
.
What should you do now
? “I’m on my way,” she said finally. “Tell Kathryn I love her—I’ll be right there.”

Leslie clicked off her phone and pressed a hand to her chest. Someone had kidnapped Holly Samson? And, dear God, they tried to take Katie! Leslie suddenly felt faint. She had to go to her daughter…

Then she remembered where she was…and why.

Luke
.

Luke and Dawn. The messages. The e-mails.
What the hell was going on
? Why had she been so certain they would be here together?
Think
,
Leslie
.
Think
.

Dawn? Dawn was not in the house…
but someone else was
. Leslie sensed it. She could
feel
it. Somehow…she just knew.

So, if it wasn’t Dawn…who was it?

Quickly, Leslie walked back toward the brightly lit bedroom window, and peered inside.

The first thing she saw was the string of burning candles coming in from the hallway. Then, as if in slow motion, her eyes roamed the room…until they settled upon the couple in the bed.

The blood drained from Leslie’s face.

She stopped breathing.

Her heart shattered.

She stood staring at the two of them, unable to move. Unable to even blink.

Luke, her husband, lay with his eyes closed, his arms wrapped around the woman. She—definitely
not
Dawn—appeared to be asleep, tucked ever so snuggly against him beneath the sheets. Their fingers were entwined, laced together so intimately, her flaming red hair grazing Luke’s face.

It was almost as if Leslie were looking at
herself
lying there with him.

Almost. Because it was not Leslie lying there—it was
Grace
!

Her firstborn child
.

So traumatized by what she was seeing, Leslie screamed, “
Oh, my God
!
Nooo
!”

What in God’s name were they doing?
They had to get up! They had to get out of that bed!

In an instant, and not fully aware of what she was doing, Leslie had a rock in her hand. As she ran back toward the window, she hurled it with all her might.

The glass shattered loudly where the rock went through.

Eyes wide, she watched them jump up, leaping from the bed in surprise. Grace completely naked, Luke wearing only briefs.

Leslie’s green eyes blazed with shock. Her jaw dropped in absolute horror. She thought she was screaming, but in croak barely above a whisper, she said, “Luke! What the hell are you doing?! My
daughter
?”