Page 100 of Sexting My Ex’s Dad

His mouth twitches. His hands stay visible, yet I know better than to trust that. “You think a hoodie convicts me.”

“No,” I say. “I think you convicts you. You’ve never been able to shut up once you start feeling sorry for yourself.”

His eyes flash. “Careful.”

I let the silence stretch just enough to insult him. “You attacked your own father,” I say quietly. “That’s a new low even for you.”

Nate’s laugh is harsh and short. “He’s not my father.”

There it is. I keep my face calm. “Interesting thing to say right out of the gate.”

He realizes it half a beat too late. His jaw jumps, then he covers it with anger. “You don’t get to stand there and judge me after what you did.”

I almost laugh. “Remind me. Was the unforgivable act dating someone who could read a room?”

“You slept with him,” Nate snaps, and his control slips hard enough to show the panic underneath. “You humiliated me.”

I fold my arms loosely. “You cheated on me in my bed.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It never is with you,” I say.

He takes another step. “You should’ve let it go.”

“And Nathan should’ve stayed scared and alone and useful to your mother. That’s the version you prefer.”

Nate’s nostrils flare. “You don’t know anything about my mother.”

I watch him carefully. “I know enough. I know Cindy built Meredith. I know Meredith kept tabs for her. I know your mother wanted Nathan frightened enough to stop making plans around me.”

He looks at me, truly looks, and I can see the exact second he understands the walls have moved. “Who told you that?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

He swears under his breath and turns away for half a second, dragging both hands through his hair. “She told me to scare him,” he says, then whips back toward me, furious already at having said it. “That’s all. Scare him. Make him back off. He was supposed to stop. He was supposed to understand.”

My pulse kicks hard. On the edge of my hearing, something shifts in an earpiece somewhere. Police listening. Breathing. Waiting.

I keep my face steady. “And when he didn’t?”

Nate gives a strangled laugh. “He never stopped, did he? God, he looked at you like…” He cuts himself off, then shakes his head violently. “It should’ve been simple.”

“Simple,” I repeat. “Is that what you call jumping a man from behind?”

“He deserved it for what he did,” Nate spits out. “With him gone, I’d get all his money. It’d finally be over.”

Ha. I suck in a breath. He’s given me almost everything I need.

I hear a vehicle roll somewhere outside and keep him talking. “Did Cindy watch too?”

That startles him. He glances toward the far loading bay doors before he can stop himself.

Bingo.

“You’re insane,” he says.

“Am I?” My voice stays calm, almost bored. “Then why is she here?”