A Twisted Love Story(89)
“Milo, I really am sorry about your relationship. If I had known posting a picture would lead to this, I wouldn’t have done it. I told Clarissa we weren’t involved, that nothing happened. And I never thought—”
“You never thought. That’s the problem today. People don’t think before they post on social media. They just take pictures and put them out there for the whole world to see, tagging whoever might give them some clout. Nobody stops to think about the ramifications. Nobody thinks about the people whose lives are affected by these posts.” Milo spits as he talks, practically foaming at the mouth. His rant sounds like it came from a think piece on the perils of the internet.
Ivy wants to tell him that if he hadn’t cheated on Clarissa before, none of this would be happening. But her self-preservation instinct is stronger, keeping her mouth in check. Ivy wishes she had brought her phone with her. It’s in the car.
She is only a couple feet away from it now.
“I agree—social media sucks,” she says.
“Yet you still use it.” Milo makes a face like he smells something horrible.
“I know, it’s stupid. Anyway, I have to get going.”
She turns and reaches out for the door handle. Behind her, she hears Milo’s footsteps moving closer.
73
Karen pulls up to her house and parks in the driveway. It’s late, and this has been a long day. Unfortunately, not a productive one, because Wes is still missing. So frustrating to work countless hours on a case only to have it screwed up like this. Even if it isn’t her fault.
She walks down to the mailbox, as she does every day, and retrieves the usual stack of bills. She still doesn’t like to bank online. Something about it makes her uncomfortable. Maybe because she’s seen too many people get in trouble due to their online activities. Karen has no social media presence at all. She won’t even join LinkedIn. Another result of being a cop.
She also has to pick up the paper. Yes, the actual newspaper, which these days is no longer delivered first thing in the morning. It arrives at some random hour and rarely makes it to her doorstep. Sometimes, it’s on the lawn; other times, on the sidewalk. Tonight, it’s in the gutter. As she steps off the curb, her phone buzzes.
The lab.
It’s late for them, though they’ve been working overtime like everyone else. She opens the email, expecting more bad news. Instead, a surprise.
The L?derach truffles.
When Ivy brought her those half-eaten truffles—the ones Wes had left when he was stalking her—Karen had sent them to the lab. She’d never expected them to do a DNA test. Those are expensive, reserved for the most serious crimes. Stalking usually doesn’t apply.
She was wrong. They not only performed the test; they have the results. Karen opens the report and scrolls to the end to get to the point. She expects to see Wes’s name.
Unknown.
Karen stands in the street, staring at the results, not understanding this at all. They have Wes’s DNA on file, and it should’ve shown as a match in the system. Must be a mistake. Has to be.
She doesn’t look up from her phone until she hears the car speeding down the street. It’s coming right toward her.
By then, it’s too late.
* * *
—
Ivy slams on the brakes.
An instinctual reaction, not one she thought about. It’s something she did when she felt the impact. And saw someone fly into the air after she hit them.
Ivy wasn’t trying to hit anyone; she was trying to get away from that psycho, Milo. If he hadn’t been out at a bar, talking to a woman who wasn’t his fiancée and asking for her number, this never would’ve happened. Milo thought he was going to get away with that, even after cheating before.
When he got caught, he did what men always do: blame the woman.
She looks back at the street.
A woman is lying in the middle of it. Despite the odd angle of her body, Ivy knows exactly who she is.
Karen.
Of all the people to hit, Ivy had to run right into the woman who arrested Wes.
Screwed. Ivy is completely screwed.
What she should do is call 911, just in case Karen is still alive and can be saved. That would be the right thing to do. The human thing. As she picks up her phone, she remembers this is the same woman who tried to take Wes away from her. The one who ruined her wedding. Ruined her life.
Someone shouts. A neighbor rushes out of their house and runs toward Karen.
Ivy hits the gas, speeding away. The neighbors will call 911. Good thing, because she has to get the hell away from this accident.
And it was an accident. She never intended to hurt Karen or anyone else. It never would’ve happened if Milo hadn’t shown up.
Why she ever thought beards were sexy is beyond her.
* * *
—
Ivy drives up to a house made of glass and concrete. Brand-new, in a subdivision called the Next Wave. She can’t go home. Not after that accident. The police are probably still in front of her building in case Wes shows up. When they hear about Karen, they’ll be waiting for her.
She pulls into a driveway alongside the house, hoping her car is obstructed by the huge trees, and runs up to the door. Ivy bangs on it once before it opens.
Heath.