Page 185 of His Reckoning

I don’t move. Don’t close the book or soften the way I’m looking at her.

“Yeah,” I say flatly.

She sets her purse down slowly. “I was going to show you tonight.”

“Were you?”

She hesitates, and that’s all it takes. Something sharp twists in my chest.

I stand, the book still in my hand.

“Which part?” I ask.

Her brows pull together. “What?”

“Which part were you planning to show me?” I continue, my voice constricting. “The part where your hero can’t sleep next to anyone?”

Her expression shifts again. Concern now. “Sawyer?—”

“Or the part where he loses his mind in the middle of the night?” I cut in.

Her lips part. “I didn’t?—”

“Or maybe the part where he flinches when someone touches his back?”

Silence settles between us. It’s heavy.

Her eyes widen slightly. Now she understands what I’m seeing, what I’m thinking.

“That’s not—” she starts.

“What, Kayla?” I snap. “What exactly is it?”

She takes a step toward me. “It’s not what you think.”

A humorless laugh escapes me. “Really?”

I hold up the book slightly.

“Because from where I’m standing, it looks a lot like you took everything I told you and turned it into this.”

Her face falls. “I didn’t take your story.”

“No?” I fire back. “Then why does it feel like I’m reading about myself?”

“Because knowing you changed how I understood the character,” she says, her voice rising slightly. “That’s different.”

The word feels wrong, like it doesn’t fit what I’m holding in my hand.

“I trusted you with that,” I say, my voice dropping. “With everything.”

Her eyes soften. “I know?—”

“And you turned it into material.”

Kayla flinches slightly. “I didn’t do that.”

“Didn’t you?” I step closer. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like coincidence.”