Page 80 of Love and Other Lost Things

“I—” Jane’s brain felt like it had rattled around in her head. Focus. You need to focus. “What are you doing here?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I came to see my girlfriend and my daughter. Aren’t I allowed to do that?”

Scarlett. Jane’s eyes swung wildly around the room, past Mom, who stood shaking in the living room doorway. Scarlett wasn’t here.

And then she remembered. Scarlett is staying with Hannah. Her friend had said she’d drop her off today. Jane’s gaze swung to Mom’s stricken face. Almost imperceptibly, Mom gave a shake of her head. Jane closed her eyes in relief. Oh, thank God. Scarlett wasn’t here, and Mom hadn’t told Matteo where to find her.

“Imagine my surprise,” Matteo said, in a low, eerily calm voice, the one that Jane knew meant more trouble than the yelling. He took a slow step toward her. “When I got here…” Another step. Jane shrank as far away from him as possible. “…and saw you making out with some guy in the driveway.”

And then like a predator who’d been stalking his prey, Matteo pounced, reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Who the fuck is that guy?” He shook her so hard her head smacked against the wall. “Who is he?”

“Stop!” Mom yelled, grabbing one of Matteo’s arms and trying to pull him off. But Matteo barely flinched. Instead, he just waved a hand and flung Mom away, sending her reeling back across the hall where her shoulder crashed into the coat rack.

And that was when Jane knew for sure. The ominous look on his face, the emptiness in his eyes, the ease with which he used violence on anyone who crossed him. He’d never let her leave him to live here in Linden Falls. He’d never let her take Scarlett.

He would stalk her for the rest of her life.

And he would kill her.

Jane’s head spun, but she had to get it together, she had to focus. “Why did you come here?”

Matteo crossed his arms over his chest again. “One night, when you were gone, I started googling. I wanted to see about this East Bumfuck place that you were so eager to come back to after all these years. What was the big damn deal?”

“And…?” Jane said, cautiously.

“You’ll never guess what I found.”

What could Matteo have possibly unearthed in an internet search about this town? The Linden Falls town council webpage? A review of the wineries out by the lake? None of that had anything to do with her.

“I found a video of my girlfriend singing at some café. Someone had posted it on the East Bumfuck Instagram page.”

Oh God. The musical showcase at the Grassroots Café. Someone had been taking a video? “So, I sang one song. It was a favor for the old friend who owns the café.”

“Are you fucking him, too?”

“What? No. Of course not. You know I used to sing and play guitar. Why is this such a big deal?”

Matteo pulled out his phone. “Maybe you want to take a look at the video.” He scrolled around for a moment and then held it out.

Jane peered at the small screen, watching herself climb on the stage and pick up the guitar. She cringed again as she watched the replay of how she’d accidentally banged it against the stool. Her mind whirred, fast forwarding through her memories of that night. What could possibly be on this video that would upset Matteo? The song was by a well-known artist, there was nothing objectionable about it. Maybe her singing had sounded terrible, and she hadn’t realized it. Was he embarrassed?

Jane watched herself settle on the stool. And then she watched herself freeze up. Her face had gone white, her brow pinched. Was this it? Was this what was upsetting Matteo? The video kept playing… Jane scanning the room and then stopping on someone in the crowd. And then—oh God.

Oh no.

The camera slowly panned away from her and across the crowd of people sitting at café tables. And then it stopped.

On Nik.

He must not have noticed he was being recorded either, because… Jane remembered his face so clearly that night, and now she watched it play out again… His eyes were locked on hers, an intimate smile tugging at his lips. The camera panned back to her, capturing the matching half-smile on her face.

Jane closed her eyes.

“You see the big deal now?” Matteo shoved the phone closer to her face.

“I—” How could she explain this in a way that would appease him? How could she talk her way out of it? “He’s just an old friend.” It sounded just as bad coming out of her mouth as it did in her head. And with her voice shaking like that, she sounded guilty.

“I’m taking you and Scarlett home with me.” His grip tightened around her arm, but his voice stayed calm. It was worse than if he’d yelled at her. Yelling meant he’d react quickly. A slap, a kick. Calm meant he was planning something.

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