Page 146 of The Catalyst

He chuckles lightly. “Where is your mother? Does she know you’re here?”

“She’s in rehab for her drinking problem. She has another week until she’s released.”

That mathematical expression returns to his face like he’s trying to solve an equation to get a different answer than the one he previously got.

“You were able to keep that under wraps pretty well. This is a small community. Gossip of that nature usually spreads like wildfire.”

“I don’t trust many people, and the people I do trust have earned it, so they don’t spread my business around.” What is the point of this conversation? I’m here to ask for him to release Nigel, but I’m asking him to do something for me. The last thing I want is to piss him off, so it’s best to go with the direction he wishes to take this discussion.

“You can read people pretty well, then?” he asks nonchalantly.

“I’m…decent. My boyfriend is way better at reading people, but I still pick up on more things than the average person.”

He nods, deep in thought, with the crystal glass close to his lips. The man is so lost in his head I doubt he realizes we’re not talking anymore. Is he okay? Maybe he’s legitimately sick, like with a fever.

“So…” he trails off before draining the rest of his glass, then he holds it on the leg of his pants. “What reason did you come to see me today? Was there something you needed?” he presses, resuming his perusal of me.

He’s quite a peculiar man.

“I’m not an idiot, Mr. Gray. I have eyes and ears that are fully functioning.”

This seems to grab his attention because his gaze snaps up to mine, trying to figure out what I’m going to say next.

“I know you pretty much run Grove Hill. Everyone is in your pockets. When you say jump, they ask how high and go with whatever you say. People try their best not to anger you because they don’t want to face the consequences.”

He doesn’t deny it, but there is no admission either. “Get to your point.”

“Nigel O’Reilly. He’s my point. I know he stepped out of line. He wasn’t involved in the accident. You don’t really care that he hit Martin, but that he did it in public where many people were watching. I get it. Your image means a lot to you, and your sons are a part of that image. You need to make sure people know not to challenge your authority, but I’m begging you,” I trail off as my emotions try to pull me under and destroy me in front of the man who runs this town. “Please, Mr. Gray. I came here to ask you to let Nigel go. I know what you plan to do to him in jail. You can put him on probation and have a restraining order put in place, and I can make sure he stays away from you and Martin. I will do anything it takes. Just…please. Please.”

Nolan Gray tilts his head to the side as he puts the glass on the table, the wheels turning in his head.

“You really mean that, don’t you? You would do anything for the O’Reilly boy. It’s not just empty words for you, is it, Miss Mercer?” he questions as he taps his fingers against his leg, picking up a rhythm I don’t know.

“Yes,” I admit. “Anything.”

“Move out of state?”

“Yes.”

“Commit a crime?”

“Already done that.”

“Screw someone besides him?”

I don’t say anything, but I know my eyes give me away. When I say anything, I mean it. Even if the thought of it makes me want to vomit.

“What about marrying someone else?”

My eyes widen at the idea. I hadn’t even thought of that as something that would be asked of me, but this is the man that was brokering a deal with my mother to marry me off to Martin. “Yes, even that.”

“Now, we’re getting somewhere,” he chuckles. “How about kill? Would you kill for your beloved, Miss Mercer?”

“Already done that,” I answer his questions honestly without even thinking about the repercussions.

“How about killing someone he cares about? What if I told you that if you killed the town psychopath, Oliver Doyle, I’d release the O’Reilly boy from jail? Would you do it?”

My heart stops at his question, and the blood drains from my face.

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