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“He’s a serial killer, little one,” Eric answered. “Scott went to see him the day you first came to work at TBK. That was his meeting in Georgia. Kip is in prison in Atlanta.”
“I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me then. Don’t you trust me?”
“Should we? You don’t trust yourself yet. Do you?”
It was true. She didn’t.
“Everything we’ve done, Megan, has been to protect you,” Eric said. “Time to come completely clean. I went to your house and got your modem when you were in New York with Scott. That, too, was to protect you.”
She was mortified that he’d been in her house, her mother’s house. The condition it was in was horrific. “I’m so confused about all of this.”
“Kip is in jail, but he’s had reach to the outside before and we believe he might have it again. There was no way we wanted you near him. If we told you, you would’ve wanted to see him, yes?”
She nodded, recalling how hard she’d tried to locate Kip to hand him divorce papers.
“Not possible. And we didn’t want you to have to struggle with knowing that. You’ve been through too much. We are cleaning things up. You’ll get your divorce. That’s what I want. That’s what Scott wants. And you? What do you want?”
“I want that, too.”
“You’ve got to learn to trust us,” Scott said.
“And yourself.” Eric brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Just because Kip conned you doesn’t mean you don’t deserve happiness.”
“Please wait.” Megan needed them to understand why, needed them to hear her story. “Hear me out, please, Sirs,” she added, hoping her submissive words would soften them.
Eric leaned against her desk, releasing her nipples. “Okay. Talk to us.”
She placed her head into his chest and let the tears fall. “Kip came into my life at my lowest point. My mother had died two months earlier. My grief was overwhelming. I wanted to die. Enter Kip, a charming, handsome guy who distracted me away from my sadness. He’s smart, maybe even a genius.”
“We know, sweetheart.” Scott reached over and touched her cheek. “He’s also a fucking murderous nut, genius or not.”
“This is the twenty-first century. I thought the closet was a thing of the past, but Kip showed me I was wrong. There are still holdouts in every part of this country that cling to bigotry. Kip knew that better than most.” The old memories rushed out of her like a flood, each syllable carrying ancient black pain, and with them, tears.
Eric kissed her tears. “Keep going, little one. You’re doing great.”
“One month of seeing me and he knew my weakness, my kryptonite. Men. I’m an idiot when it comes to men. He proposed.” Her words came in breathy shudders.
“Tell us, baby,” Scott said, urging her on with gentle words.
“I thought Kip actually cared for me. I even thought I had feelings for him. Even at twenty, I should’ve known better, but I didn’t. I said ‘yes.’ Next thing I know we’re in Las Vegas getting married. He had money to burn and he was making a bonfire of it. We stayed in a luxury suite at the Monte Carlo. I was a wreck. Twenty years old on my honeymoon. Then he dropped the bomb about what our marriage was really about—a sexless arrangement, nothing more. I was his beard so that he could pursue his ambitions unburdened by prejudice.”
“What did you do then?” Eric asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I didn’t know what else to do. I just didn’t want to be alone again. I was a fucking imbecile and he knew just how to use me. We went back to my mother’s house in Dallas. He settled in. A week later…well, you know the rest.”
Although she stared into Eric’s eyes, she could feel them become intensely still. Neither said a word for what felt like an eternity.
“Megan?” Eric spoke first.
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you tired of carrying all this guilt?”
“Guilt?” she asked, confused.
“Yes. Guilt. It’s quite a load you’re carrying, little one. You feel guilty about your mother’s death. You didn’t say it but I can see it in your eyes. You feel guilty for falling for Kip. You feel guilty for losing your mother’s possessions to the seizure. You feel guilty for not being able to get a divorce, for not being able to keep a job, and for even still being a virgin until you found us. Don’t you?”
How could he see into her so deeply? She sighed, pressing her head into his chest. “Yes. I do. All you said is true. I wanted to save my mother. I hated seeing her waste away little by little during all those fucking rounds of chemo. I made her fight even after she was ready to go.” She couldn’t tamp down her sobs any longer. “You know I was alone when she died. When they wheeled her body out of the room and shut the door behind them, I–I…thought I’d never have a family again. I want to be the kind of woman you guys need. I do. I promise I do.”
