I suck in a deep breath and step inside her apartment. I pull the glasses off her face and set them on the entry table.My palms find her cheeks, and my thumbs swipe away tears slipping down her soft skin.
“Mags. Beautiful. What’s wrong?” I wipe more tears. “I was so worried when Ella said you were sick, but you hadn’t told me.”
Her hands grip my wrists. More tears fall when her eyes close, and a small sob leaves her lips.
“Please, baby. Are you sick?”
Her eyes open and find mine. She shakes her head.
“Tell me what happened so I can help you.”
She licks her lips, and her chest rises with a deep inhale. “Can we go sit on the couch? Or lie down?”
“Yes, baby. Let’s go.”
Releasing her face from my hold, I twist my hand so our fingers can intertwine and walk down the short hall to her bedroom. Helping her into bed, I quickly take off my shoes so I can climb in beside her. Once we’re both under the covers, her head on my chest with my arm around her shoulders, my tense muscles start to relax. My fingertips draw a circle on her arm as she traces the logo on my shirt. I don’t want to push her, so I let the silence settle around us in the darkening dusk light.
“I want to tell you something. Of all the people I’ve ever met, I don’t think I need to say this to you, but you can’t tell anyone.”
I wonder if she can feel the way my heart hammers just under her cheek. “Okay, I won’t tell a soul.”
“I don’t say this lightly, but it could be life or death if you tell the wrong person.”
Murderous rage flares through me. Instead of acting on it, I kiss the top of her head and settle back against the pillow. “I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.”
Her head shifts against me as she nods. “I believe that,” she says quietly.
I tighten my hold on her shoulder and stay silent, letting her tell me what this is in her own time.
“About six years ago, I met Reese. He was a few years older than me and was handsome, rich, and a bad boy. We started dating and got serious very quickly. I was working as a compliance manager for an insurance company, and I loved it. He told me he was in real estate development.”
My teeth clench with annoyance. I don’t want to hear about how much she cared about this man, but I’m also afraid of where this is going.
“Spoiler…he wasn’t, in fact, in real estate development. I started to doubt some of what he told me pretty early on, but I was so head over heels, I told myself it wasn’t that big of a deal. At first, it was just a few drug deals. He told me he did it to supplement his income since real estate can be unreliable.” Wiggling closer to my side, she wraps her arm around me, tucking her hand between my back and the mattress.
She’s silent for so long, I incline my head to see the top of her head. Since I can’t see her face, I wonder if she fell asleep. “Mags?”
“Sorry.” She sucks in a stuttering breath. “This next part is not great, and I’m scared to tell you.”
My hand goes to her head, and I run it softly over her hair. “Hey, look at me.” She shifts so she can set her chin on my chest. “Nothing you say will make me feel any different about you.”
Looking away, she lays her head back down, tucking her hand farther under me. “The first person he murdered in front of me was some fellow drug dealer, who he said hadcrossed him in some way. I don’t even remember the reason he gave.”
Every cell in my body feels like it is made of cement. I can barely move anything as I let the wordfirstecho in my mind.
“How many were there?” I ask so softly, I don’t know if she hears me.
But she did.
“I don’t know. I was scared to keep count.”
23
Maggie
“Fuck,” Ian grunts.
His fingers close against my scalp, tangling in my hair. I savor being here with him, telling him about the worst time in my life, even if I’m leaving out some of the more gruesome details. All I can hope is that he wasn’t lying when he said that nothing I tell him will change his caring about me.
