He really was.His vibe was off though.She couldn’t get a read on him.
“I was out with Gav and missed your call.”
Noticing the cut on his lower lip, she frowned.“What happened?”
“Had to escort someone out of the bar.”
“But you’re okay?”He looked unbearably hot standing there, big and powerful and calm except for the turbulence in his eyes.
“I’m fine.Just worried about you.Ivy messaged before I saw you’d called.”
“I was at my mom and stepdad’s place for dinner.She came over earlier.Actually, we had a really amazing talk.”
“That’s good.”
“It is, yeah.”She forced a smile, feeling off-balance and awkward.She’d wanted him to come over, and now that he was here, she was dreading the conversation.
He waited until she was seated on the couch before lowering himself on the other end, his gaze level and steady as he watched her.“For the record, I’m glad you called me.”
“Same.”Didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous as hell right now, though.They were already on uneven ground.What she had to tell him might make things worse.
“So, can we talk?”
She nodded, yanking herself out of her head.Get out of your own way, Cass.You’re a big girl.Just tell him.Whatever happens after that, he’ll know everything.“What did Ivy say?”
“That you’ve identified the prime suspect you think is behind all this.”
“That’s all?”
“No.”The look in his eyes hardened.“You think it’s your ex?”
She expelled a breath, cringing inside even though she was glad to finally have it out in the open.“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Has to be.I thought he was still in prison, but he’s not.He was released, and I wasn’t notified.”
His expression darkened.“Why the hell not?And what did he go to prison for?”
“Ivy’s digging deeper into it, but it’s likely some administrative problem.As for what he did...”She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.This was so ugly and embarrassing.She’d been practicing her explanation in her head all afternoon, but nothing had seemed right.Now that the moment was here, she just wanted to tell him and move forward.“We were together for more than three years.Moved in together about six months after we started dating.”She’d thought she was in love, and that he loved her.It made her want to laugh.
“In Vegas.”
She nodded.
“Was he a cop?”
“Yes.Things were okay at first.I was...dazzled, I guess you could say.He was incredibly charming and romantic at first.Pursued me relentlessly until I gave in.But once we moved in together, things started to slide.”His veneer had slipped bit by bit, in direct correlation with her sinking self-worth.
“Slide how?”His voice was low.Angry.And she knew that quiet rage smoldering in his eyes was all for Rob.
“He was a controlling narcissist.Only I didn’t see it until it was way too late.”She got up, unable to sit or look at him as she continued.She needed to move.“It was years of guilt trips and manipulation and gaslighting.Getting the cold shoulder whenever he was mad at me for some perceived slight.We drifted, and that only made his behavior worse.I wanted out, but he refused to let me go, would apologize profusely and beg me to stay, promised he’d do better and be all attentive and loving.But the cycle kept repeating.”
She’d kept hoping it—that he—would change.“It got to the point where we’d drifted so much, I was convinced he was cheating on me.But I never had any proof until I finally got hold of his second phone he didn’t realize I knew about.And what I found...”
“Go on,” Tristan said quietly.
“There was a message chain about a big party with an address.He’d told me he was going over to a friend’s place.So I showed up at the address after I got off shift.I was still in uniform.”Just thinking about it made her want to throw up.“I found him and a bunch of other off-duty cops high as hell on coke and ecstasy, having sex with a group of prostitutes we had frequent dealings with.Unprotected sex,” she added.
