Page 66 of On Your Life

There’s something almost unsettling about seeing him like this. The man in the photograph has a softness to him that I’ve never seen in person. The once excited smile has turned cold and unrecognizable.

I almost feel bad that I didn’t even know his first name. It’s not on his badge and everyone calls him Fox.

Probably something stupid to dwell on, but I figured we were at the very least on a first name basis now.

I continue down the page and see his emergency contact. My eyes scan the information and my heart sinks to my stomach. Listed is someone named Lydia. Relationship…

“Girlfriend?”

The word slips out and bounces around the vacant room.

“Ex-girlfriend. Are you jealous, little killer?”

Fuck. Me.

Chapter 34

Fox

She jumps up out of the chair so fast it rolls backward, fear written all over her face because she got caught snooping.

I can’t contain the laugh that slips out. She looks absolutely mortified. I forgot to remove my ex as my emergency contact. But who actually remembers to do that shit? I was eighteen when I filled out that paperwork.

“I—I…” she stammers.

“Snooping around are you?” I lean back against the doorframe, enjoying the way she squirms. “Ahh, what would the warden say if he found out an inmate was going through his belongings?” Her eyes dart toward the door. “Should we find out?”

I pull my phone from my pocket and pretend to dial, letting the tension simmer just long enough to make her sweat.

“I was looking to see if he had anything on his computer about those women,” she rushes out.

The amusement drains from my face. So this is haunting her too?

“Did you find anything?” I ask, wanting to know as much as possible.

“Not yet. I just got in here.” She rocks back and forth on her feet. “I couldn’t find anything else in the other offices. This is the only place I haven’t looked.”

Even though her words are coming out steady she looks like a mouse caught in a trap. Is it me that makes her feel this way?

Guilt washes over me. Originally, I had wanted her to know nothing but fear when she looked at me. I wanted her to feel the same helplessness that I thought she instilled in Conner.

The situation unraveling around us has made it impossible to keep pretending that she’s the only key piece on this board.

To be honest, I’m growing fond of my little killer. If she even is a killer.

“Can I show you something?” I ask.

The question is simple but it comes from somewhere deep. This is a huge fucking risk but she’s just as involved as I am, if not more.

She nods and slowly sits in the large leather chair. I pull out my phone and scroll through my emails until I find it. My thumb hovers over the screen for half a second before I hit play.

“Watch,” I say.

The footage starts. I know every second of it. Every detail is burned into my memory whether I want it there or not.

She watches silently until Tina’s limp body is thrown into the waiting SUV. She gasps.

“What is this?” she asks, horrified.