Page 228 of On a Fault Line

“Rex.”

“Yes, sweet Penny. I will keep you safe.”

Lies.

He’s been deceptive from the first moment we met.

“You set me up?”

“Yes,” he confirms.

All the memories of him weaving himself seamlessly into my life come rushing back like flipping through a picture book on high speed.

“Nothing was random?”

“No. The first meeting, tampering with your dating matches, and paying someone twenty dollars to hand you a postcard.”

“You made it look like Luke was the untrustworthy one.”

“That was just for fun.”

“Fun?”

He shrugs. “I was bored.” Then he smirks. “I especially loved sending you the mystery message mail. Scaring you is my kink.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. You hate yourself.”

“Shut up.”

“You should have seen your oldest brother’s face when he saw the contract. It was amazingly twisted.”

Oh, hell.

Rex pets my hair. “You’re such a beautiful, easy victim. But you shouldn’t have left a copy in your bottom nightstand drawer. Tsk-tsk.” He places his hand in front of my mouth. “Kiss the hand that fed you the lies and the deceit.”

“Listen to me!” I scream, trying to move away from his hand. “Mark Tanner is going to kill and?—”

“Shh…”

“And dispose of you!” I bellow. “He’s using you to destroy my family. You’re expendable.”

“Take a deep breath,” Rex says, waiting for me to comply. His voice is hypnotic as if he’s the one under some spell. “Hold it for the count of five, and then release slowly. One, two, three, four, five. And deep inhale through the mouth, and release through the?—”

“Listen. To. Me!” I clap my hands together with each spoken word, making my own head throb. Gripping his shirt for balance, I try not to fall over.

Placing his hands over mine, he helps to release my fingers from the fabric of his uniform. “There’s a side effect to the medication you were given.” His finger touches my nose to bop it, as if I’m some petulant child who has a history of overreacting. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Why does he not sound stressed? I glance behind me to draw attention to the three men following me.

In just a slow blink, tears trail down my cheeks, soaking into my already soggy clothes.

But the trench-coated men are gone.

Vanished.

Poof.

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