“I— It’s— I—” Mina struggles.“Um, it’s a recent, uh, development.”
I stand closer to Mina, drawing to my full height, daring her mom to say anything in front of me. That only seems to stress Mina out more because the full weight of her attention is on her mother, cataloging every minute movement in her face, and she stops breathing altogether when Christine motions toward the church.
“I see.” Her mother nods. “Well, we better go in now. We will talk later. Okay, Mina?”
Mina nods meekly and doesn’t bother pulling away when I thread my fingers with hers. But she doesn’t hold my hand back either.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Mina
I’m dead. Leo may not have pulled the trigger, but he’s given my mother everything she needs to aim and fire.
Wrapping my head around the fact that Leo killed Thomas out of jealousy is easier than accepting that Mom now knows about Leo, and I’m about to know what Hell feels like.
I can already hear it, the shit she’ll say. How she’ll disapprove and berate me and call me all sorts of colorful names for bringing myboyfriendto the funeral of a man she was trying to set me up with.
She’d be right too. I look like a massive, disrespectful asshole.
But that won’t even be the gravest sin I’ve committed in her eyes. I have aboyfriend, and I never told her about him. A boyfriend I knew she’d never approve of. She’ll see it as a personal attack.
Despite blaming him for the situation I’m in, I find myself leaning closer, needing the comfort of his solid, yet chaotic presence.
Leo grabs my hands when I begin picking the skin around my nail, and I’m grateful. Mom doesn’t like it when I fidget. He saves me, yet again, by rubbing calming circles in the center of my palm when my foot starts to bounce on the floor.
It almost makes the entire funeral bearable.Almost.It would’ve been if I couldn’t feel Mom sitting two seats away from me, shooting scathing looks at our intertwined hands—hands that beat to death the man in the casket at the front of the church.
And maybe it makes me a goddamn fucking coward for hightailing it to the bathroom the moment the service ends, but I can’t keep being around either of them, pretending I’m okay.
Leo killed a man, and all I can think about is the reaction my mother is going to have. What does that say about me? That I need to be in a padded cell because a solidthirdof me is getting all giddy and woozy that jealousy drove Leo to do it.
Just like Blake did in my last book.
As did all the other male characters in my books.
It’s wrong—Iknowit’s wrong, but I can’t help the way my brain thinks, or how the butterflies swoop at the evidence that there’s someone out there who would doanythingfor me.
For a moment, I questioned why he did what he did—upended my life and took this step—but I know the answer.
Leo Duval is Blake.
Leo is precisely the man I thought he was. Except... he hasn’t explained why he shared my initial message to him with his friends.
Regardless, it’s clear he wants to make this work.Iwant to make this work. But... Mom.
In all of this, I haven’t factored in how to manage her.
I force myself to pause my commiseration when my phone vibrates for what’s probably the sixth time since I’ve been here.The force of the notification rattles the plastic tissue holder, causing the slightest echo.
It’s most likely Leo, Sabrina, or my newest stalker, or worse: Mother.
Unknown Number: You can’t escape me.
I block him then return my phone to the mini ledge, ignoring the texts from Leo asking where I am. Blocking my attacker did nothing except piss him off. He gets a new number for me to ignore again.
In a moment of weakness yesterday, I told him to leave me alone before blocking him. It was a mistake. Now, he’s more persistent, texting me every couple of hours.
A little voice in my head tells me to show Leo so he can make my problems go away—permanently. But Ican’task him to kill someone for me, and it’s not like I can give him a name or any details about my attacker when I don’t have anything. It’s a problem I need to deal with myself.
