"Does Connie know you were using her?"
He shrugged. "Probably not."
She sank to a chair and started to cry. "Leave me alone."
He stopped at the door. "I'm sorry, Lisa. I never meant to hurt you. I love you."
"Go away," she said in a strained voice.
After he left, she went to her room and crouched beside the bed to pray. But words never came to her lips, only long sobs. The one person she thought she could trust had turned on her. Actually, he had simply displayed his true feelings. Everyone had tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen. Allen was no surprise. From the time they broke up, she knew it could come to this if he were left to his own devices. What Howard provided was an excuse. He did so unwittingly. She had been the one who had betrayed, and the person she had betrayed was Yancey. Yet Howard said he hired Allen because she asked him to investigate Yancey. That wasn't true. Allen had come to the house before she asked Howard to check on Yancey. So why had he really hired Allen?
"Lisa!" Yancey called from inside the house. His footsteps sounded down the hallway and he continued calling her name frantically. When he saw her, he dropped to her side, deep concern in his eyes. "I banged on the door, but you didn't answer. It was open, so I came in. Are you alright? What happened? Was Allen here?"
His questions and many of her own tied her tongue. Finally she answered with a question of her own. "How did you know Allen was looking for me?"
"He called the house and Mom answered the phone. She thought he was a friend and told him you were at the house. I came in a few minutes later and she told me. I couldn't get you on your cell phone, so I burned the highway getting here. Where's Len?"
She stared at him blankly. "Len?"
"I left a message for him to check on you." His troubled gaze held hers. "What happened?"
"Allen came here to ask me questions about you. I told him I didn't know anything and he tried to strangle me. Howard came in and stopped him."
His face turned pale and he pulled her close. "God, Lisa. I was so afraid when I found out he called the house. I knew he was capable of something like this. I knew it when he caught you alone beside the pool."