Page 73 of The Voicemail

A laugh breaks out of me before I can stop it.

“You were stalking me,” I shoot back. “I was terrified of you. Of course I ran.”

“I tried to warn you.”

“Warn me about what?” I ask. “You’ve been the biggest danger in my life.”

His eyes darken as he scans my body. “You have no idea what kind of trouble you’re in,” he says, his voice low.

At first I think it’s a threat, until he adds, “You never should have gotten involved with Russo.”

“He saved me from you.”

Tomaso shakes his head like I’m disappointing him. “You still don’t see it. He got into your head.”

“You stalked me for months.”

“I watched over you.”

“You sent flowers with creepy notes.”

“I sent flowers because you deserved something beautiful.”

My stomach turns. I think of Claire. How she believed him. How she thought he was some heartbroken ex I had mistreated. How easily he must have made himself sound wounded instead of dangerous.

“You crossed a line,” I say. “They weren’t beautiful, they were unsettling.”

He looks at me with confusion. “No.”

“Yes.”

“No, Elena. You were scared because he wanted you scared.”

I stare at him.

There’s no reaching a person who has rewritten reality this thoroughly. The safest thing is to keep him talking and learn whatever I can.

“Where’s Maya?” I ask again.

His mouth tightens. “You care about her more than she cares about you.”

“She’s my best friend in the world,” I say. “If you really cared about me, you would know that.”

“She’s the reason you’re afraid of me.” He moves closer, lowering his voice like we’re sharing a secret. “She told you I was a stalker. And she got Alex involved. She put you in danger.”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” I say, shaking my head. “Maya hates Alex more than you do. She thinks he’s toxic.”

“Well, at least she’s right about something. But she doesn’t know you like I do, Elena. I know everything about you.”

My throat closes. He smiles a little, like that should comfort me.

“I know you hate coffee after noon because it makes you anxious,” he says. “I know you buy cinnamon gum from the bodega because it keeps you from chewing your nails. I know you stay late at the gallery because Bellamy takes advantage of you, and you let him because you think being useful will make people decide to keep you around.”

The room feels too small. He steps close enough that I can smell his cologne under the leather of his gloves.

“I saw you before Russo did,” he says. “I saw how tired you were. I saw how alone you were.”

My hands curl behind my back.