Page 131 of Dead Pretty

“I just want you to feel comfortable. Safe.”

“Are you going to hurt me?”

He holds my eyes. “No.”

“Then, come in and close the door. But just so you know, I have a rape alarm and mace in my bag. And a drawer full of kitchen utensils that can serve as weapons.”

Jack leans back against the door he just closed. “Noted. You’ve also got a mean right hook, if I remember right.”

His lips lift into a small smile, but I am in no mood to take a stroll down memory lane with him right now.

“You said you had questions …” he prompts when I don’t say anything.

I do have questions, but trying to gather them up and get them in any sort of order is feeling impossible right now.

“So, you know my surname isn’t actually Hayes? That it’s Irwin.” I start with something small. I can work my way up to the big stuff.

Jack nods in response.

“And am I right in assuming that your real surname is Ripley, not Canti?”

“No. It is Canti. When I said that I only kept that Toby is my brother from you, that was the truth. Toby and I have different fathers. That’s why we have different surnames.”

I guess that’s why I don’t see a similarity between them. Not that all siblings necessarily look the same. Cole and I don’t.

“My mom and dad divorced when I was a kid,” he explains. “And Toby’s dad was an asshole. He ran off when Tobias was a few weeks old. I was eleven when he was born. I pretty much helped my mom raise him.”

“So, the small part of your past that you gave to me, that was all true. The military. The writing.”

“Yes. And you weren’t exactly forthcoming on your past either, Audrey.”

“And now, I know why you didn’t push the issue.” I laugh humorlessly. “And there I was, thinking you just weren’t a pushy guy.”

Jack says nothing. There’s just that guilt lining his eyes, which has been there since I found that damn photograph.

“Why did I not recognize you? I knew your mom from the trial. You weren’t there. I would have remembered.”

“The military wouldn’t let me leave to come home for the trial. When your brother’s on trial for murder and kidnapping, they don’t look upon that favorably to give you time off.”

“Don’t forget stalking and assault,” I add bitterly. I absentmindedly press my hand to my scars.

“It wasn’t him, Audrey,” he says the words softly.

“The evidence said otherwise.”

“Audrey—”

“The jury of twelve men and women all found him guilty.”

“And not a single drop of DNA matched his.”

“So, he was careful. A lot of killers are.”

Jack sighs and drags his hand through his hair. “My brother is not careful. He’s not clean. I spent the best part of my life getting that kid to shower. So, to say he would keep a crime scene spotless is a stretch.”

“Maybe you’re the one who’s stretching. You were away in the military. People change.”

“Toby didn’t.”