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“Thank you so much for coming.” She shakes my hand like I’m made of glass.
“Of course. How are you holding up?” I force out the small talk even though all I want to do is grill her on the investigation and what she’s been doing with her time outside of her media appearances.
She sniffles. “Oh, as well as can be expected.”
“I hate to ask, but...” I lower my voice.”Do the police have any idea where he could be?”
She shakes her head. “They don’t have any idea. At least, not that they’ve shared with me. But I’ll tell you my theory.” She leans closer, the schnapps pungent on her breath. “I think he left because I was pushing him into retirement. That was his final straw. He’s been sick of me for a long time. And I’ve been sick of him even longer.”
The bastard blamed his wife for his delayed retirement when in reality, he was the one who didn’t want to stop working. Probably because that would mean fewer opportunities to prey on vulnerable young women.
Nancy takes another swig she doesn’t need from her mug. “So he disappeared instead of divorcing me so I can’t get half of his shit. To tell you the truth, I’m glad to be rid of him. I know he was whoring around behind my back, but he thought he was so clever and I was just the bimbo he married.” A dark chuckle before her fearful gaze flashes to me. “That makes me sound guilty. I swear I didn’t do anything to my husband. Thought about it. But didn’t.”
This woman is my hero. “You don’t have to explain to me. I get it. I hope they find him and you can get your alimony.”
Nancy tips her head back and laughs, pointing at me. “I like you. Let me know if you want any schnapps—I’ve got more in my car.”
I leave her to make the rounds, playing the doting, grieving wife to the masses. When I finally find Mack and Saint again, Mack is still giggling. My fists clench.
When she spots me, she grabs my arm. “Okay, we’ve talked to at least a dozen people and no one seems to be out to get you. I think this may be a dead-end.”
Behind Mack’s bright blonde head, Trevor chats amiably with Officer Rosario. He catches my eye and waves.
“I think you’re right,” I tell Mack. “I’m pretty sure Nancy isn’t my stalker either. She’s practically celebrating her husband’s disappearance.”
“And who could blame her?” Saint takes my hand and nods to the exit. “Let’s go.”
On our way out, a group of Nancy’s friends practically fan themselves as Saint passes. “Any of them wife material?” I tease.
“I’m looking at her.” His eyes on me, the sultry note of his voice, make my cheeks burn.
I dart a glance at Mack to make sure she didn’t hear that. But her face has gone pale. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought...I thought I saw someone I recognized.” She shakes her head. “Never mind.”
During movie night with Mack, she spends half the movie texting. She might be as in love as I am and she hasn’t even officially met the guy.
I toss a handful of popcorn in my mouth. “How is your giant, disgusting crush on Zayden Kingsley going?”
She pouts. “Much worse. I found out he’s a cat dad. How am I not supposed to fall for my long-distance crush when he has no flaws?”
“I get it. My favorite thing about Saint is how much Cookie likes him.”
“Yeah, I bet it’s definitely not the hot, wild sex.”
“That’s certainly high on the list.”
Mack sets her phone aside. “Speaking of Saint, how are you two doing after the revelation about your father?”
My blood boils at the mere mention of my father. Of what he did to Saint. What he did to an innocent woman. “Great, actually. You were right—he doesn’t resent me for what my family did.”
“See? I told you.”
He truly is a saint. In every possible way.
Still, now that I know the true extent of my father’s depravity, I wonder how much of that depravity exists inside me too. “Do you think you could be capable of murder? In the right circumstances?”
Thankfully, Mack doesn’t call me a psycho for asking the question. Instead, she mulls it over for a few seconds. “I’m not entirely sure. But I think maybe. I imagined killing James plenty of times.”
