Page 52 of Blood Money

“Why?”

“Because you said no one else thought it was your fault. You shouldn’t be blaming yourself for something you didn’t do.”

“What difference does that make to you.”

He brushed the back of his hand over my cheek. “Baby, can’t I just want you to be happy?”

I swallowed hard, and my gaze fell to his lips. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. A real kiss, like this was a fairytale. Then he dropped his hand and sat back.

I sighed. “If you really wanted to make me happy, you’d let me go.”

Val shook his head. “That’s not how this works.”

“I killed my parents. Are you happy now?”

25

VALENTINO

There was no way in hell Liam had done that unless they’d abused him. “What did they do to you?”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Nothing. It wasn’t like that.”

“Then tell me about it. Because I know you didn’t kill someone who hadn’t hurt you.”

“How do you know that?”

I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb. “Liam, I saw your reaction when I killed the men who assaulted you. Do you think I don’t know you by now?”

“You only know my body.”

How could he think that?” I took his chin in my other hand and made him look at me. “You know that’s not true. Last night I saw all the way into your soul.” He sucked in his breath, and when he met my gaze, there was something in his eyes that I couldn’t read. Was it hope? “Tell me what happened.”

“We’d been at a dinner party given by my dad’s boss at his house on the Cape. I wanted my parents to enjoy themselves, so I stayed sober and told them I’d drive us back to our hotel.”

The color had drained from his face, and I took hold of his other hand and brought them both to my lips. He needed comfort, and I hoped he’d take it from me.

“I was driving on a narrow, curvy road. I was wide awake, I swear, but this car came out of nowhere. I’d looked down the road I was crossing even though I didn’t have a stop sign. There was nothing there. Then all of a sudden, I heard an engine rev and this car was coming at us. I tried to swerve, but the car slammed into us, and my parents…they didn’t survive.”

I pulled him into my arms and held him tight, wishing the console wasn’t in the way, wishing I could just take him home. “Baby, that’s not your fault, not at all.”

“I should have been more alert.”

“You weren’t sleepy. You weren’t drunk. You did all you could.”

“That’s what people tell me, but I just…I can’t accept it.”

The anguish in his eyes made my chest feel tight. I hated that he was carrying this burden, and I didn’t like how a car had just appeared out of nowhere. I was naturally suspicious in my line of work, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t off. As soon as I could, I was going to look into the accident and see if I could learn anything that might give Liam more closure. “What happened to the other driver?”

“He ran. I only have vague memories of things after we were hit, and I don’t know how reliable they are, but I think he got out of the car, looked right at me, then took off. He was never found.”

“What?” How the hell had there not been a thorough investigation?

“The police looked for him, or at least they said they did, but he was never found.”

“That’s fucking bullshit. I’m going to find him and make him pay.”

“How? It’s been two years. If he wasn’t found that night or the next day, how will you find him now?”

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