Page 39 of Theo

“You told him.”

“Told him what?”

“About the MacAlisters.”

The soft rustle of fabric being pulled over my head isn’t enough to block out the memory of Stellan’s outrage when I told him about my family. He was so angry that I would align him with the Mafia against his will. “How do you know about that?”

“He googled Forest Falls. That alone was enough cause for concern, but when he googled ‘Mingus MacAlister’, I had no choice but to get on a plane. I’d hoped to just scare him into submission, but he...well. He made it apparent he had no intention of staying quiet about the things he’d learned.”

A dark look crosses Theo’s face, and I have to ask. I don’t want to ask, but I have to. “How did he die?”

“I want you to know I meant for it to be painless. As soon as I knew I was going to kill a man you had feelings for, I told myself it had to be quick and painless.” His eyes are pleading with me to understand, and I want to, but I won’t be able to until I know everything.

“What happened?”

“He started talking about you.”

“What about me?”

“I’m not going to repeat those words, Charity.”

My arms wrap protectively around my waist as if I can physically hold in the pain of knowing Stellan would use his final moments to say awful things about me. “How did he die?”

“I strangled him with my bare hands.”

“Fuck.”

Neither of us speak for a long time. I don’t know what to say, and I have a feeling Theo is afraid he’ll end up saying the wrong thing.

“He wasn’t good for you,” Theo hedges, moving slowly away from the headboard. When I take an instinctive step away from him, he immediately stops. “He was cheating on you.”

“What?”

“With Brooke.”

“Brooke?” I try to think of anyone I know named Brooke when Stellan’s bitchy assistant pops into my head. “His assistant?”

“Yes.”

“How fucking cliché.”

Theo smiles, moving another inch closer to the edge of the bed. “I didn’t want to kill him, Viper. I promise. I wouldn’t have if he would have just cooperated.”

“Yeah, well,” I sigh, dropping my arms. “He was an asshole anyway.”

Theo reaches the end of the bed but doesn’t move any closer to me. “Are you still mad?”

“A little, yeah.”

He nods, shifting around until he’s sitting on the end of the bed with his feet on the ground. “I’m sorry, Charity.”

“Why?”

“Because I hurt?—”

“No,” I snap, cutting him off. “Why did it ‘spiral’? Why couldn’t you just keep general tabs on me like a normal person?”

“You must know,” his shoulders sag as he looks at me, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You have to know it’s always been you for me. I’ve loved you since before I knew what love was. I used to watch you draw and think stupid shit like how much I wanted to touch your hair where it was lying in the sun. I would spend my money from mowing lawns on groceries so I could give you half my lunch because you never wanted to eat the leftovers your mom made you take to school. You didn’t think it was weird I never dated anyone in high school? Or that I would walk you home whenever your dad was working, even though I lived on the opposite side of town?”

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