North.
Well, I suppose this meeting was inevitable. Crossing the room, I grabbed my rental car keys off the side table and pulled open the door.
Sure enough, North stood on the other side, hands in his pockets, a scowl marring his brow. “You’re alive.” He brushed past me, pushing into the room.
“And on my way out.” I turned with a beleaguered sigh, closing the door behind me. “But do come in.”
North faced me, arms now folded over his chest. “I don’t enjoy having my calls screened. Especially after having the news dropped on me that a bloody serial killer found his inspiration from a part I played.”
“A part I wrote, old boy. Imagine how I feel. I dreamed up a twisted, complicated bastard of a character, one I was proud of … until someone brought his wicked misdeeds to life.”
Sympathy gleamed in North’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for both of us. We created him together, so you’re not alone in feeling unsettled by this.”
“Don’t you mean guilty?”
“No.” North shook his head. “We made a TV show, Theo. Like hundreds of creators before us have done. It is not our fault some sick fuck decided to carry out those murders.”
Growing agitated because he was distracting me from my distraction, I scrubbed a hand down my face. “I don’t want to think about it today, so if you’re quite done …”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What? Leave? Very nice. Is that it, then? You’re ghosting me like I’m a flexible gymnast you’ve grown bored with.”
Ignoring the jab at my previous sexual exploits, I shrugged with more nonchalance than I felt. “Believe it or not, you were one of the few people in this industry I didn’t mind having around. Thought I could trust you. Until you blabbed like a tween to Sarah’s cousin and sent him after me.”
“I won’t apologize for that.” North shrugged. “I was protecting Sarah. To get involved with her was wrong, Theo.”
“Why?”
Anger flickered over his face. “Because she’s a grieving member of staff at this estate who can barely say boo to a goose, and you shacked up with her when she was at her most vulnerable.”
“Sarah is an intelligent, talented thirty-one-year-old ex-member of staff, and she knows her own mind.”
“She doesn’t know you.”
“Do you?” I asked, losing my patience. “Do you actually know anything real about me, North, other than my work? No,” I answered for him, and his chin jerked back in surprise. “You don’t know a damn thing about me. But Sarah does. She knows me better than anyone. And I swear to God, if you try to come between me and Sarah again, I’ll ruin you.”
My old friend gaped at me, stunned. Silent.
“You can leave now.” I gestured to the door.
“Theo.” North took a step toward me, gaze searching mine. “I’m sorry, mate. I … I clearly got the wrong end of the stick.”
“Yes, you did. A stick that is rammed thoroughly up your arse.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I suppose I jumped to conclusions. I’ve just never known you to be serious about anyone.”
I looked away, still not entirely comfortable with the strength of feeling I had for Sarah but willing to deal with it to keep her. “Inever thought I’d be serious about a woman again.”
“Again?”
“There was a woman when I was younger. We met at uni and dated for a while. Thought I loved her. She … she had an affair with my father while my mother was dying. Then she marriedhim and stayed with him until he grew bored and traded her in for a younger model.”
North’s eyes widened in shock. “Fuck, Theo … that’s brutal. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, well, never really had much interest in relationships after that.”
“Until Sarah?”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I gave my friend a rueful smile. “She’s rather special. Don’t know what she sees in me.”
