AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Was this revenge for what my dad did? For killing your son?”
Her stare hardens as I hit a nerve, no doubt. “I know you had nothing to do with that.”
“Then what brought you to Blackburn?”
“In a weird way, I kinda felt closer to my Jack. And then I met you soon after I got to town, and we formed a special bond. I knew I was meant to be there.”
My fingers grip the back of the metal chair, and I lean on it, trying to understand. But no matter how I look at it, there’s nothing to understand. What burns me the most is meeting the one person I loved in this world was orchestrated by this vile woman.
Anger and humiliation churn inside my chest. “Why the name change?”
She leans forward on the table. “I tried to get away from that bastard. I figured the last place he’d look for me was the town that took my baby. It took him a few years, but he found me, begging for me to take him back. So, I told him if he did this small thing for me, I’d consider it.”
Small thing?
“I can’t. I can’t do this anymore.” I glance over my shoulder at the mirror. “I’m done.”
“I’m dying, Kali,” she calls out to my back. Her words hang in the air for a beat. No, she didn’t. Does she think I’m going to fall for that? Show her some sympathy? Erase the torment she caused me?
I don’t think so.
“Well, I know where there’s a hole. It’s ready for you.”
The door opens, and I storm past Martinez. I can’t hold the tears back anymore. As I head for the quickest exit, I catch concerned glances from a few officers as I wipe my cheeks. Paxton catches up, grabbing my arm to halt my escape.
“Kali. Wait.”
With a deep breath, I turn, shaking my head. “She manipulated us.” I swipe another tear. “I feel like a fool. Like nothing is real.”
“Don’t.” Paxton moves close, maintaining a firm grip on my arm. “Don’t let her discount our feelings. They are one hundred percent real.”
“Are they?” I clip. He jerks back in offense.
“I fell in love with you the second I saw you in the diner.”
“I just don’t know what to think. I can’t trust my own feelings and thoughts right now,” I say out of frustration, disregarding his sweet sentiment all together. Everything she did was in vain because look at us. We’re not even together. “You lied to me, and then I had someone who I trusted throw me in the trenches of her convoluted game.”
His grip loosens, and he drops his hands, shoving them into his jeans, and I can’t help the sob that escapes my throat.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. Regret knocks the wind out of my anger at the resolve in his voice. “I didn’t know she was connected to our story. I really didn’t. And now…now I’m just as lost as you are. Mostly, I’m sorry I brought her into your life.”
I squeeze the bridge of my nose. “I…I can’t do this right now. What we had isn’t important anymore.”
Because there isn’t a we.
“I fucking beg to differ.”
“Paxton, I have to keep my focus on Ari.” My voice shakes. “I have to go.”
I spin around before he can say anything and storm out of the police station. The humid air hits my already heated face, and I scowl at the beautiful sunset, feeling a disconnect between Mother Nature’s tranquility and the turmoil inside me. I look up at the sky. “Why can’t you be on the same page as me?”
Back at the hotel, I can’t seem to sit still. My room feels suffocatingly small, almost claustrophobic. There is barely enough space to pace around the bed. My mind jumps from Pearl’s excuse to what Ari is going through to Paxton’s words—I beg to differ. The way he said it. As if there’s something there.
There’s enough energy running through my system, I could run a marathon. And we know how much I love running. My muscles tighten, and my scalp tingles when I hear a knock at the door. It has to be Martinez. He’s the only one who knows which room I’m in.
I glance through the peephole, and intense brown eyes meet mine. I rest my forehead on the door. Am I ready to see him again? Rehash the past? Because that went well earlier.
“Kali, I saw you look through the hole. Please open up.” I open the door and stare at him. “Can I come in?” He’s angry. Well, I am too. I open the door wider and then shut it after he passes.
