“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, staring at Quentin as he propped himself up on one elbow and snapped the other edge of the blanket over his waist. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Too late.” His voice was flat. Hard. “Now repeat it so I can make sure my ears weren’t deceiving me.”
She drew a long, shaky breath. “I never told you this, though maybe you could sense it, but Adam hated our friendship.Hated it.He felt threatened by our closeness, and sometimes it made him lash out in cruel ways.”
Quentin stared at her, looking as if the blood had suddenly drained from his head. “Did he ever—”
“No, he never hit me. That wasn’t really his style,” she said, bitterly mocking. “He was more into psychological abuse.”
Quentin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Lexi squeezed her own eyes shut, as if by doing so, she could block out the painful memories. “If I wore a certain blouse or skirt, he’d sneer at me and ask me if I was going to see you that day. When you came over one time while he was supposed to be on a business trip, he swore up and down that we were having an affair. And sometimes when we made love he’d taunt me, accusing me of wanting you in our bed instead of him, asking me if you were a better lover and if you had a bigger ‘jackhammer,’ as he crudely put it. He made me feel so dirty when he talked like that, andnotin a good way.” She shuddered convulsively.
Quentin was deadly silent.
“Honestly, it’s a miracle I didn’t let him poison our friendship,” she continued grimly. “I think that’s what he wanted. And I think it gave him some sort of sadistic pleasure to bring women into our bed. It’s like he was getting even with me for something he thought I’d done, or wanted to do.” Her mouth twisted cynically. “In the end, when I demanded a divorce, he had the nerve to claim that my friendship with you drove him to cheat.That’swhen I really knew how depraved he was.”
“Son of a bitch.” The words exploded through gritted teeth.“Son of a bitch!”
Wearily Lexi held up a hand. “It’s all right—”
“The hell it is!” Quentin roared, his face contorted with fury. “That bastard wasnevergood enough for you, and I knew it the moment I met him! But I held my tongue because I saw how much it hurt you every time your mother criticized him. For two years I kept my distance from you as much as possible because I never wanted to give him any reason to think I was disrespecting his marriage. I missed thehellout of you, Lex, but I put your happiness and peace of mind above my own selfish needs. Theonlyreason that filthy piece of shit accused you of cheating was to ease his own guilty conscience!”
By the time he’d finished his furious tirade, Lexi was trembling so hard her teeth chattered. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, wishing like hell she’d never opened this Pandora’s box with Quentin. What had possessed her?
“I need his address.” Quentin’s voice was low with suppressed rage.
“No.” Her answer was swift, unequivocal. “Absolutely not.”
“Forget it. I’ll find him myself.”
“And do what, Quentin?” she cried. “Beat him to a bloody pulp?Killhim? And then what? You wanna rot in prison for the rest of your life, or until the State of Georgia puts you down like a rabid dog? Adam McNamara isn’t worth it! You hear me? He isn’t worth it!”
“That’s for me to decide,” Quentin snarled.
“No, it isn’t!I’mthe one who was married to him, not you. I’ve already warned you to stay away from him, but you’re so damn hotheaded!”
“It’s been two years, and I haven’t gone after himonce!”
“Only because he changed jobs and his phone number and address are unlisted! My God, Red, you’ve got the man living like he’s in the witness protection program. He actually told his lawyer that he feared retaliation from you!” She shook her head in angry disbelief. “I don’t need you to defend my honor or fight my battles. Last I checked,Ikickedhissorry ass in divorce court!”
“Not good enough,” Quentin bit off.
“It is for me!” Eyes narrowed dangerously, she jabbed a warning finger at him. “I’ve told you once, and I’m telling you again. If you get yourself locked up, I won’t visit you in prison. Not one single day! And I mean it!”
His eyes darkened, nostrils flaring. “That’s just a chance I’ll have to take.”
“Try me.”
“Alexis—”
“If you go to prison, you’ll kill me, too. Is that what you want?”
He averted his gaze, a muscle pulsing at the base of his tightly clenched jaw.
Silence, raw and volatile, lapsed between them.
When Lexi’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point, Quentin said in a low, sullen voice, “I’m sorry.”
