“Doyouwant to do it again?” His fingertips slide along the curve of my shoulder. A hot jolt pounds through me, and I wish I didn’t have a leg over him because I’d love to clench them together to the ease the ache.
My heart beats faster. I lift my gaze to meet his. “I think so. And hopefully this time I’ll remember every detail.”
His eyes widen. “Youdon’t remember?”
“Sorry, but it’s a little hazy.” I bite my lip. “Actually, I wasn’t feeling all that great when I came home.”
All the delightful, teasing tone in his voice vanishes. “Okay, wait. What happened?”
“Nothing really. I went to look at some books, then ran into a neighbor from my old building, so we had some coffee, and then I came back. But once I got home, I started to feelreallyweird.”
His intense eyes focus on me. “Weird how?”
“Just sort of hot and itchy all over, like I was having an allergic reaction. But I was breathing fine, and no bumps or hives. So I figured it must have been from the stress of the fire and everything. My renter’s insurance hasn’t paid me a penny yet.” I shrug, not wanting to worry Josh unnecessarily.
But he stares at me, a hint of horror rippling over his face. “This neighbor—male or female?”
“Female—”
“Do you know her well?”
“Sort of. I haven’t known her that long, but if it weren’t for her, I might’ve died in the fire. She knocked on my door to get me out. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until she woke me up.”
“Did she try to save anyone else?”
I think about it. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember seeing other people with us, though.”
He stiffens. “Can you describe her?”
His reaction is a little unnerving, but I trust he has a good reason. “She has gorgeous, dark hair and stunning blue eyes. She seems to exercise a lot. Has the body for it. And her name is Zoe. She used to live in Vegas until she moved to Los Angeles for a job. She—” I stop because Josh is paler than the sheet. Even his lips are white. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
It takes a moment before he can speak. “Yes.” He shakes his head. “Uh, not really. No.”
He gets up and leaves the room, his long strides eating up the distance between the bed and the door. I stare at the door, suddenly breathless and feeling like I’ve done something wrong. I’ve never seen him this upset.But what did I say?
He returns soon with his phone. He leans over me, bracing himself on a hand next to my hip, and flips the phone around. “Is this her?”
I blink at a photo of Zoe on the screen. “Yes. How do you know her?”
“You need to stay away from her,” he says tautly.
“What? Why?”
“She’s my mother.”
My jaw slackens.His mother? Whaaaat?
“My mother.” The muscles in his jaw twitch. “The woman who gave birth to me. And she’s a fucking sociopath.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Josh
Klein’s eyes go round. She stares at me like she can’t understand what I’m trying to tell her. Regret and self-loathing squeeze around my neck like deadly vines. I should’ve known something was up when Mom stayed this quiet, this long, especially after Bryce told me she hit him—because that’s escalation. But I thought she might be lying low after trying to mess with Bryce and failing so spectacularly. Should’ve expected her to try something.
It was only a matter of time until she tried something with me—and it’s finally happened.
Klein continues to look at me like she’s waiting for an explanation. Normally, I don’t explain myself—or my past. I’m always scared of what I might discover if I talk about myself. The therapist said it’d be good for me to open up, but he would never understand the terror of realizing that you might end up like your amoral mother.
