side of his face and glanced in the window again. That’s when he saw Paul strolling out of Allie’s bedroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped from his body. His hair was wet. He looked like he’d just stepped out of the shower. Tony counted to ten trying to control his anger. Why was Paul showering in Allie’s house and where was she? Why wasn’t she answering the door? Paul opened the door with a smug look on his face. “Hey dude. What’s up?” “Where’s Allie?” He pushed on the door, but Paul stopped him by leaning on it. “She’s in the shower man. We had a nice meal and then we…well you know. She’s cleaning up, making herself presentable.” Blood boiled in his veins. How could Allie do this to him? He thought they shared something special. He thought they were growing closer. He believed they were in love. He scanned the kitchen and sure enough it looked like two people had shared a meal. A bottle of wine sat half empty on the kitchen table. He shook his head trying to understand where things went wrong. What would Allie see in Paul? “I’d like to speak with her so I’ll wait if you don’t mind.” He wanted answers and he wasn’t leaving until he had them. “I don’t really think that’s a good idea. She said something about going another round when she was done. That chick is insatiable.” Paul winked as if they shared some secret bond. “Go fuck yourself, Paul.” Tony stomped away down the porch and over to his place. He wanted to wring Paul’s neck but knew he couldn’t. Something was wrong. He felt it in his gut. Something was off about the setup over at Allie’s. Working off his instincts, Tony grabbed his binoculars and did the one thing he promised he wouldn’t do after he started getting close to Allie—he spied on her. Paul stood in the kitchen. He’d lost the towel and Tony thought he’d lose his dinner. Skipping over Paul he scanned the rest of what he could see in the house. Allie was nowhere to be found. He tracked back to Paul. He was standing by the kitchen table drinking a beer. Tony’s beer. “Bastard.” “Who’s a bastard?” Dale asked startling Tony. He turned to see Dale standing in his doorway. “And why are you spying on Allie?” “Instincts man, instincts. Something is off kilter.” Dale was in the other window sporting a pair of binoculars immediately. “Eeww. I’d say something is wrong. What is our suspect doing in Allie’s kitchen naked?” “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. He claims she wanted him there. I’m just not buying it. She wouldn’t do that to me.” At least he hoped. “You know women, dude. You can’t always trust them.” “Allie’s different, Dale. I swear. She wouldn’t cheat. It’s not in her nature.” “Whoa,” Dale said. “What?” Tony peered through the lens trying to see what Dale saw. “I think you’re right. We have an issue and it’s kinda big.” Tony couldn’t see anything wrong. He saw Paul disappear into the bedroom and nothing. “What Dale? Tell me.” “Allie is in the bedroom tied to a chair. She looks like her mouth is covered with duct tape. He has a knife.” “Damn.” They had guns so they could shoot if they had to, but neither knew how unstable this guy was and what he’d do if confronted. “We have to get her out of there before he does something horrible.” “Agreed. What do you propose we do?” Tony paced the living room trying to decide the best way to handle this. He knew they didn’t have much time. With Paul naked there was only one thing it could mean, he would force himself on Allie. A sickening thought came to mind. Had he already raped her? From the smug look on his face earlier it was a possibility. God, he hoped he was wrong. “We could easily pick the lock and sneak into the bedroom. If the bedroom door is locked we could bust it down. My only fear is he’ll use the knife on her.” Dale walked