Page 57 of Ruthless Regret

I open my mouth, but the words don’t come easily. “It’s … complicated.”

“Maybe we should talk somewhere private?” Peter says.

“I don’t think so.”

“So be it. Zain wished for me to talk to you about your safety.”

“My safety? Is that his way of trying to manipulate me into doing what he wants again?”

Peter doesn’t give any reaction that I can see. “Of course not. He believes you may still be in danger. After the attack on you, someone tried to set fire to the house where your brother died.”

“Wait. Attack? Fire? What the hell is he talking about?” Scott pulls me around to face him.

“There was an incident in Whitstone, but I’mfine.”

“Incident? Ash, you’ve been home for two days. Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you tell me you were in danger?”

“Because itdoesn’tmatter!” I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want totalkabout it.

“Mrs. Ry?—”

“Don’tcall me that.” I whirl to face the lawyer.

“Ms. Trumont …Ashley, I understand your reluctance, but Zain isn’t looking to make this difficult. He wants to keep you safe, and he needs your cooperation to figure out what’s going on.”

“I’m not his responsibilityorhis possession. And I’m not going to let him dictate what I do.”

“The contract you signed says otherwise.” The smoothness of his response makes my jaw drop.

“What contract?Ashley, tell me what’s going on!”

Before I can reply to Scott, Karla and Jessa-Mae appear in the kitchen doorway.

“What’s all the yelling?” Jessa asks, her eyes darting between me, Peter, and Scott.

Peter turns to them. “Ladies, I apologize for the early hour.”

“Who areyou?” Karla doesn’t even pretend to be polite.

“A lawyer,” Scott tells her, frustration sharpening his tone.

“He was just leaving.” I give Peter a pointed look. One he ignores.

“This situation is not something you can brush off and ignore.”

“I’m fine. I’m here. It’s over.” It’s not over. I know it’s not over. If it was, I wouldn’t be researching the damn murders and having nightmares.

“I should point out that I’m a lawyer. I know when someone is lying to me. This is far from over. Zain believes there’s more going on, and if you stay away, next time you might not be so lucky. Someone wants to make sure there’s nothing that can lead back to them.”

“Zain?” Jessa straightens. “You’reZain Ryder’slawyer?”

I wince, regretting that she heard his name.

“Zain believes that you may not remember certain things.” Peter ignores her question, his attention focused solely onme. “Things that could be crucial to figuring out what really happened back then.”

“I remember enough!” I don’t. I know there are things I’m missing. But I’m not prepared to let Zainorhis lawyer bully me into doing what they want. “I’m not going back.”

Before Peter can respond, there’s another knock at the door. The interruption has everyone looking at each other. I glance at Peter. His expression doesn’t change.

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