“Don’t,” I interrupt, cutting him off, “you told me to trust you, Zayn. You begged me to trust you.”
“And you can trust me, baby, please,” he starts again.
“Did you kill my father?” I shout.
The question sounds utterly absurd leaving my mouth. And still. I have to know.
“Of course not!” Zayn huffs out. He’s more flustered than I’ve ever seen him. “Jesus Christ, Kat,of course not. Look, Dr. Wagner was the same doctor who treated my mother when she was sick. I referred your father to him.”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” I bark.
And he starts to answer, but I interrupt him again.
“Did you kill Josh?” I hurl the question at him before he has time to spin any bullshit.
Zayn says nothing. He just holds my gaze.
“Just tell me,” I implore, my voice dropping lower now. “Please. Tell me that you had nothing to do with Josh’s death. Tell me thetruth.”
Zayn pauses a long moment, his deep blue eyes carefully searching my own.
“Do you want me to tell you I didn’t have anything to do with Josh’s death? Or do you want the truth?” he asks.
My hands fly to my mouth. I knew this about him, deep down. Knew he was capable of something like this. I mean, he had killed his own father, hadn’t he?
Who would he kill next?
Suddenly the house feels too small around me. Zayn’s form spins in front of me. The cavernous space of Pearson House seems to be collapsing down all around me, the many dark windows all caving in.
“No. This can’t be happening,” I start, turning toward the entryway, continuing breathlessly, “I need some air… I have to get out of here.” And ripping open the front door, I bolt.
I flee from the house, my legs moving faster than I would have thought possible in heels. I charge down the stairs two at a time, and tear into the night. My feet find the pathway that connects Pearson House to Bronwin home, and the Ruins.
I can sense Zayn pursuing me, close behind, his heavier footsteps sounding out a steady beat on the damp earth. Thin branches and arms of twisting plants reach out into my path and whip and cut at my face as I fly down the worn trail. I barely even blink as one cuts across my cheek, leaving a stinging welt in its wake.
Rounding a bend in the trees, Bonn’s Ruins suddenly come into view. I slow, and reaching out my hand, let it trail across one of the stone formations. Soft tendrils of hanging moss drip down across the edges. It looks as though it had once been a doorway.
I stop running and feel Zayn’s eyes on my back. I whip around to face him.
There he stands, still as one of the stones that surround us. And his gorgeous blue eyes search mine, his chest heaving from the run. He stands back from me, as though afraid to get tooclose.He appraises me as though I might bite, or run again, and isn’t sure which one.
I’m not entirely sure either.
“Please,” I implore, still breathing hard myself, “please just tell me, Zayn. Did you kill him?”
Zayn takes a step toward me. Honesty is there in his eyes, and I know the answer before he says it.
“Yes,” he finally admits. “I killed him. And I’d do it again.”
I exhale sharply, whispering, “Why?”
“He had been following you for weeks, Kat. You knew that, right? And he was about to rape you that night. He would have done it. You would never have been safe.”
I gasp and wring my hands. He was right, of course. I knew that Josh had been following me. But this is fucking murder we’re talking about. I had spent most of my career helping to make sure that men like him never took a free breath again.
What did it mean if I forgave him for this?
“Ihadto keep you safe, Doc,” Zayn says, taking a tentative step toward me. “I had to. He?—”
