“Do you want to talk about it?”
I laughed. The sound was hollow. “No.”
But strangely and instantly, I realized that wasn’t true.
I did want to talk about it today. More specifically, with Knox.
Maybe the reason I felt so comfortable with him was because of the two of us, he’d already humbled the hell out of himself. He’d confided that he felt like a bad dad. I couldn’t imagine a much more vulnerable thing to admit to someone. He’d cracked himself open first. And maybe that made it feel safer for me to do the same.
When I didn’t answer right away, he continued, “If I’m worried something’s wrong, I might accidentally reorganize this closet every hour just to check on you.”
I shot him a look. “That’s not funny.”
“Who’s joking?”
Those piercing eyes held mine, completely serious. And damn it, I believed him.
I returned my attention to my clipboard, pretending to check off inventory items. The silence between us felt different than usual. Less like a wall and more like a bridge.
And then curiosity got the better of me.
If what Faith had told me was true, Knox Blackwood was Dakota Blackwood’s brother. I’d met Dakota. She wasn’t in prison. She hadn’t murdered anyone. She ran a social media empire and was madly in love with Axel.
How did two siblings wind up so differently?
“What about your family?” I wondered aloud. “What are they like?”
I got the impression he normally wouldn’t talk about this with anyone either. Maybe he was answering because he wantedme to open up. Or maybe this strange intimacy we’d stumbled into made the words easier to find.
Whatever the reason, he cleared his throat.
“I come from a good family.” His voice was low, rough at the edges. “Churchgoing. Taught us right from wrong. No stealing. No cheating.”
“And definitely no murdering?” I arched an eyebrow.
Thankfully, Knox smirked. “That one was more of an implied rule.”
“Your mom must’ve been thrilled when you broke it.”
I meant it to be lighthearted. A pressure valve. But the words landed somewhere deep in his chest. I could see it in the way he went completely still.
“You have no idea.”
Something in his tone made me pause.
“Does she know why you did it?”
When Knox’s eyes met mine, I could see him weighing something. Calculating how much to share.
“My conviction destroyed her.” No trace of humor now. Just raw, unvarnished truth. “It destroyed my whole family. My sister was so upset that she ran out of the courtroom, crying hysterically. My mom chased after her, but she wasn’t paying attention to where she was running.”
He paused. Swallowed.
“My mom got hit by a car. She’s been paralyzed ever since.”
The air left my lungs. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah.” His jaw tightened. “Holy shit.”
