THE INNOCENT WIFE

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lisa kept replaying those crucial ten minutes in her mind. And every replay ended exactly the same. With Roseanne leaving, rightly thinking the very worst of Lisa.

In her own defence, the idea of Roseanne with another man had brought out every animal urge Lisa possessed. Lisa had felt a feral level of possession for Roseanne, and the certainty that Roseanne'd gone to another man's bed had made Lisa temporarily insane.

But the hurt Lisa'd seen on Roseanne's face... Lisa didn't know how she could ever set it to rights. The bed smelled of Roseanne. Lisa allowed herself to pick up a pillow and press it to her face.

Lisa's gut clenched with regret. What had she done?

So Roseanne'd gone out with another guy.

One guy, in three years. Three years after hearing nothing from Lisa. Nada. Zip. Niente. Lisa hadn't so much as sent Roseanne a Christmas card. Roseanne could have remarried in the time it had taken Lisa to get her act together.

She threw the pillow across the room with a guttural cry, then stood and stormed over to the window. Rome spread beneath her, but even the stunning view did nothing to quell Lisa's dark mood. She would go to Roseanne and apologise. Lisa would find a way to erase what had just happened, because she had to. She couldn't face losing Roseanne again.

A movement beneath the window caught Lisa's attention, and she scowled, leaning closer and scanning the driveway. A small white car, a fiat, was pulling to a stop. A taxi, she saw with a frown. Lisa's heart began to drop as Roseanne, a bag over one shoulder, stepped into it. It was unmistakably Roseanne. The blonde hair Lisa'd run her fingers through only a little while earlier had been styled into a loose bun, and Roseanne'd changed into a pair of black pants and a pale pink sweater, but it was Roseanne.

Lisa had not thought, for a single second, that Roseanne would actually leave Lisa's compound, and her protection.

Her temperature sky-rocketed as she watched the taxi pull out of her home and head towards the city. Panic gripped Lisa. As angry as Roseanne was with her, someone out there still wanted to hurt Roseanne.

Lisa had thought she could not feel any worse. Lisa had hurt Roseanne, perhaps beyond repair. But she'd also pushed Roseanne right back into harm's way.

She looked around for her phone, and saw it on her bedside table. Lisa snatched it up, and dialled her number by heart. It rung out. She made a sound of frustration and dialled again. This time Roseanne hung up on her, without even letting it ring out. The third time Lisa dialled Roseanne's number, it went straight to voicemail. Roseanne'd switched her mobile off.

Lisa groaned and dialled Jisoo's number instead.

"Si?" Jisoo spoke down the line in her usual no-nonsense way.

"I have a problem. I need your help."

Jisoo, had she not already been sitting down, would have fallen off her chair. Lisa Manoban did not make a habit of asking for help. Nor did Lisa sound desperate or worried, as she did in that moment.

"What is the matter?"

"It's Roseanne." Every fibre in Jisoo's body seemed to spark with electricity. Her military training flooded to the forefront.

"Has she been taken?"

"God, no." Lisa could only pray no harm would come to Roseanne, because of her own stupidity. "We argued. I was... I was... I was unreasonable. Roseanne's upset." Lisa pressed her fingers to her eyes. "Roseanne left. I don't know where she's gone."

"When?"

"Only a few minutes ago. In a taxi."

"Right. I'll pull the security feed and get the number plate. I'll be able to track it through the depot, but it will not be instant. At least it can give us an idea of where she's headed."