Page 222 of The Last Good Man

Or all of the above?

“Listen to me, Jax London,” I say through locked teeth. “Just because you caught me with my pants down doesn’t mean I can no longer do whatever the hell I want.”

He slowly slides his hands into his pockets like he has grenades in his pants that are about to go off, his eyes carefully pinned on me.

“Do you want to know how I got here?” I say, and he slowly nods.

His eyes glint like dark ice, and his lips almost move into a smile, yet they starkly disagree with his expression.

The impression is fleeting, and my gazegoes backto his eyes as my finger pokes at his chest.

“I hired a PI.”

A derisive, incredulous look slides over his face.

“You… what?? You’ve stooped so low? You couldn’t talk to me?”

He seems so hurt all of a sudden.

“You’re not exactly answering your phone, are you? And then, what was I supposed to tell you after our last conversation? You looked at me like I was the biggest disappointment of your life.”

“You were. Not the biggest one, but you were. I couldn’t believe you so stubbornly had stuck to your beliefs.”

“You weren’t exactly truthful to ease my apprehension.”

He lifts an eyebrow.

“Wasn’t I?”

I take a long breath before I speak.

“I was parked on your street this afternoon and saw everything. You and your brother––who looks awfully familiar, I have to say––and then a pretty brunette with no air in her lungs when you looked in her direction.”

The reference to his brother raises his eyebrows again, and I have this feeling that he knows what I’m talking about.

What am I talking about?

Yes. Noah. His brother. I’ve seen that kid before. I can’t place him, but the more I think about him, the more I wonder… Is it really inconceivable that his brother followed me?

His eyes gleam, but his lips stay sealed, strangely giving him away.

He’s done theexact samething he’s accusing me of.

“You…” I murmur, out of breath. “You followed me. Didn’t you? I saw your brother before.”

He presses his lips together, not letting out much.

“Tell me, Jax.”

“There’s nothing to tell. I warned you I’d be doing it.”

“Why are you so offended then?”

He huffs with a shred of dismay.

“Because that’s not who you are.”

“It doesn’t matter, does it?”

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