Page 48 of Bitter Secrets

The hand on his neck froze. “What are you talking about?”

“Even before he died, life was hard. We were poor and lived off the land. She relied on him so much, she couldn’t function without him. After he died, she became catatonic. Most days, she didn’t get out of bed. I had to take on his role. She didn’t approve of the way I handled things.”

“What did you do? Steal? Join a gang? Deal drugs? Were you a teenage hitman?”

He stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. “Jasmine.”

His chiding tone made her bristle.

“What the hell am I supposed to think?”

“Your imagination’s running wild.”

“Did you…” She licked her lips and fidgeted when he focused on her. “Did you do something to her?”

His expression hardened. “Did she say I did?”

“You attacked Thea.”

His mouth tightened. “I thought she was withholding information.”

“So you threatened to break her neck? Where would you even learn to do something like that? Have you…?”

His hand splayed on her lower back, forcing her to settle as she shifted restlessly. “I spent most of my time hunting our food. Some things, you only need to learn once.”

Her thumb brushed over the collar of his ridiculously expensive jacket. It was hard to imagine the man before her as a boy who grew up in the Colorado wilderness, but she’d seen the cabin he grew up in, and now that she thought back to his outfit the night they met… Her mouth quirked in a sad smile. Back then, he’d been determined not to conform, but he learned to compromise and adapted to his environment. Now, he was an unstoppable force.

One hand slipped beneath her dress and cupped her ass. “Jasmine.”

She ran her finger along the sharp edge of his hairline as she tried to think of a tactful way to broach the next topic.

“You said your father died in an accident. I always assumed it was in a car like my mom…” She paused when Roth shook his head. “What kind of accident did he have?”

“He was shot.”

She jolted before she surged up on her knees and gripped his shoulders. “Shot?By who? Where? What happened?”

“It was ruled as an accident, but…”

Something about the way he said that chilled her blood. “Was it… Did he…?” Her heart went into free fall at the look in his eyes. “Roth.Did he commit suicide?”

His eyelashes lowered to shield his eyes. “My mom’s never been the same.”

“Oh my God.” Her eyes watered with shock and empathy. “But… Why does she feel the way she does about you? Why isn’t she proud of your accomplishments? For taking care of her? Why does she think you’re…”

“Think I’m what?”

Fuck. She wished she could take it back, but she was in too deep. “Why does she think you’re a monster?”

“Because I am.”

His neutral tone was at odds with the aggression pulsing in the air around him.

“I’m not like her. I didn’t stop when he did. I didn’t want that to define me. I wanted out and away from everyone who knew…” He reached out and fingered the golden buttons on her dress. “She never forgave me for moving on and trying to forget. If she has the opportunity to sabotage something in my life, she will. She doesn't think I deserve what I have.”

Jasmine didn’t move, she barely even breathed. She didn’t want anything to distract him from describing a childhood that had clearly left its mark and shaped him into the man he’d become.

“I never had a childhood. My first coherent thought was of survival. Warmth, food, shelter. I saw how her feelings ruled her life. I didn’t want to be like her, so I set mine aside and did what had to be done. She thought I was lacking, that something was wrong with me because I don’t allow anything to get in my way.”

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