“Yeah... he was.”
“So? What about Alex do you remember?”
“Not that much. I figured out we were... dating, I think.”
“Your father mentioned you said that over the phone. I can tell you that’s news to him, and me. What else?”
Well that’s not reassuring. If Dad didn’t know, then Alex and I must’ve been sneaking around. But... why? Did he not want my dad to know? Did I? Was he afraid Dad would take him off the case if he found out about us?
“He was working a case,” I say, deftly toying with a button on my cardigan. “I don’t know the details, but I know it was dangerous. He was angry all the time and—”
And he made me suck his dick even when I didn’t want to.
I can’t tell him that.
Aside from Alex’s anger, nothing’s relevant and... it’s embarrassing because in my memories I take his shit and ask for more like I deserve it. Like I’ve done something wrong and I’m accepting the punishment. It’s odd.
“I keep seeing him leave, to do something that worries me. I don’t know what, but I tried stopping him a few times.” I pause, unsure what I should say.
Not knowing what’s happening, where Alex is, and how my words will affect him makes it so much harder to be honest. If we were sneaking around, then what Alex told me about the other girl, how special she was, isn’t meant for Dad’s ears.
“What else, Hailey? Anything might be important, the smallest detail,” Matthews says.
He comes across as calm, but it’s artificial. The slight tremble of his hands, the intent of his gaze, the way he leans closer... it all betrays that he’s on edge, eager to know everything.
Apparently, something I said hit a nerve.
I wish I knewwhatso I could gauge how much Alex would be okay with me sharing but... why would I cover for him? He was nothing but vile in all my memories of him.
He said he was protecting me, but doesn’t every cheating bastard spew that line?
“I think he had someone else,” I say, surprised that the betrayal I can’t remember still hurts. “I don’t know who, but he was in love with her. He left me for her.”
Matthews nods, shepherding his tells so his expression gives nothing away. If only I could read people better. My father’s mastered this skill to perfection: one look, one twitch of the cheek and he extracts heaps of data.
All I see is how closed off Matthews suddenly is. How tightly he guards himself. Whatever case Alex was working, it was important, and his girl... she’s important too.
“That’s all,” I lie, omitting everything I’m too ashamed to share with anyone.
“Thank you, Hailey. I know it can’t be easy for you here, away from everything you know. And it must be even harder because you don’t know what’s happening but—and I hope this goes without saying—you can’t trust anyone right now. Too much is at stake.”
Once more Nash’s sharp features materialize before my eyes. The possessiveness of his touch, the concern in his eyes even when he doesn’t want to show emotion.
He cares.
How much, I’m not sure. It’s hard to judge, but he cares enough to want me in his bed again, even though he never struck me as a guy who enters the same river twice. He cares enough to listen when I speak and understand when I’m silent.
When he held me all night, weaving a metaphorical security blanket around me, I felt almost normal.
“If I can’t trust anyone, why should I trust you?” I ask.
“You shouldn’t.” He playfully nudges my shoulder with his. “The only person you should trust is your father.”
Dad’s lying. With my safety in mind, so technically he has a good reason. If there’s one person who would do anything to keep me safe, it’s Dad... and since he trusts Matthews, by extension, it means I’m safe to trust him.
“You didn’t spend the night in your room,” Jonathan states. “It’s not my place, but be careful, Hailey. Your father will want to run checks on whoever you were with.”
“If I know my father, he already ran a check on everyone here. I’m here, so he clearly didn’t find anything. I think if I keep my mouth shut and don’t share my secrets, I can sleep around with whoever I want.”
