Romeo shook his head.
Keeley strode around her desk and locked the door.The smile she shot at the camera was the same one she’d shot at the back of Chad’s head when he’d been unaware.
Chad was a conquest to her.
Chad was right.Romeo did want to kill her all over again.
His nostrils flared when Keeley touched Chad, rolling him onto his back.She rested her hand to Chad’s chest, over his heart.Romeo wanted to reach into the footage and snap her fragile wrist.
“That’s better,” she mumbled, before walking across the office.
She snatched something off her desk.
Romeo realized it was a remote control when the soundtrack of crashing waves got louder.Chad shifted beside him, uncomfortable with the sound and whatever it conjured up in his head.Romeo wanted to retake his hand, but feared he’d break all Chad’s fingers in his hard grip.
Keeley pressed down hard on the bridge of Chad’s nose until a low moan escaped him, then she crouched, taking one of Chad’s hands in both of hers.
Then she started speaking.
She told Chad how unhappy he was, how desperate, and lonely.
She told him nobody cared about him, they never had, and they were all out to get him.
Chad’s face twitched as she spoke, a minor ripple across his brow became harsher, and his breathing stuttered in his distress.
Romeo ground his teeth together.
Keeley filled Chad’s head with horrible thoughts about himself.
She spoke about Chad’s mother, Ally, Josh, andFranktoo.
She said they hated him.
Romeo tried to keep his breathing under control, but he heaved.His top lip twitched with rage.Chad squeezed his thigh, and he turned to him, searching his face.
The Chad beside him wasn’t in distress.His lips were pressed in a grim line, and his gaze was soft against the harshness of Romeo’s.
“I’m okay,” Chad mouthed.
“The only person you can trust,” Keeley began—Romeo looked back at the footage, seething when he saw how close Keeley leaned to Chad, “is me.My sessions always help you, and you leave feeling unburdened, lighter, but the more time you spend with untrustworthy people, the worse you will feel.It’ll eat away at you until all you can think about is ending it, all you can think about is jumping.You’ll find happiness if you jump, Chad ...when the time is right, you’ll know what to do to end the suffering.”
Keeley let go of Chad’s hand and got to her feet.
She flashed another cruel smile at the camera, cocking her head.“I’ve finally got him.”
Then she reached up and switched off the camera.
“Who was she talking to?”Romeo asked, “Herself or....”
“Someone else.”
Romeo widened his eyes.“Who?”
“Josh hasn’t found that out yet.When he got hold of her laptops and her email addresses, he found out she’d been sending the videos of her ...victims to another address.A Mr.X.”
“Is that a police term?”
Chad snorted.“No.He calls himself Mr.X, and he calls Keeley Mrs.Y.According to Josh, he encourages her.He was ...pleased she’d started on me,” he shook his head.“He also said she’d get bonus points if she managed to get Alexandra to jump with her son.”
