Page 41 of Oliver

“But why?” Maeve asks.

“Why indeed,” Ramsay says. “We need to see the messages.”

I bristle at that because I’m not sure I want to share what I have. What if they make it disappear or some shit?

“Penny?” Willow says and I meet her gaze as she sighs and says, “We’re on your side.”

“Are you?” I whisper through the lump forming in my throat.

“Yes.” When I glance around the room, I get a smile from Maeve and a solemn nod from Diem. Ramsay stands with a furrowed brow, clutching his iPad while Oliver stares into space before stalking from the room.

My heart sinks at that but I push it aside. Whatever his demons, they’re not mine. I’ll play the game for now but I’m not stupid. I’ll do everything to protect my ass because I have a feeling, it’ll be me and only me who will be doing it.

I agree to go home and send the messages to Ramsay and with a weird sort of numbness, I head to my car, pausing when Oliver barks, “Who threatened you, Penny?”

Spinning around, I poke his chest and say, “What were you doing with my sister? What did you tell her? Where did you go for six weeks after my sister died?”

He grabs my hand, his nostrils flaring. “She came to me because I’m a fucking Sinner. I told her to back the fuck off and she refused. I spent six fucking weeks trying to prove my dad is a fucking serial killer, Penny.”

Shaking my head, I look away as tears spill over. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Yeah, well, this wouldn’t be a fucking issue if you had just fucking stopped!”

Really?

“Fuck you,” I scream, slapping his chest.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“Did I stutter?” I sneer and his lips pull back in a snarl.

“You knew this was dangerous. You knew Dixie was murdered. Shit, you can see her damn messages! What were you thinking when you went to that damn house, with my sister no less?”

His words batter at my soul, and I concede that yes, this is my fucking fault, but he could be a little less cruel in delivering the message. Besides it’s none of his business and Maeve makes her own choices.

“Answer me,” he barks, and I jump before sobbing, “Fuck you. You don’t care about anything but saving your own ass. Just like last time, right? Get rid of the problem. Dixie wasn’t a problem, asshole. She was a human being. I’m a human being.”

I pause after the words tumble from my mouth. I guess that’s the truth of it. Clearly, I don’t think Oliver would hurt me because I continue to seek him out when I’m in trouble. But in my heart of hearts, I blame him for playing with her, just like he played with me, which is a fucked up, shitty notion but true.

“Penny,” Oliver says quietly, and I shake my head, whispering, “You knew your dad was a psycho piece of shit. You knew.”

When I raise my eyes, I flinch because his gaze couldn’t be colder. That’s fine though. I said my peace. Now he knows. He can do with it, whatever the fuck he wants.

Without a word, I turn away only to pause when he says quietly, “I’m sorry.”

Clenching my hands around the keys in my palm, I smile and say, “Are you?”

He doesn't respond, which is just as well because I don’t know what to say. He took the worst moment of my life and made it ten times more horrible.

And I don’t think he even understands that what he did was fundamentally fucking wrong.

“Yes,” he says when my hand is clutching the knob.

Glancing over my shoulder, I meet his glittering stare. “Why should I believe you?”

His mouth curls into a cool smile. “You shouldn’t.”

Chapter 14

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