Page 127 of Prey for You

“I’m not holding you, Bridget.”

I was about to argue when it hit me that he was telling the truth. He wasn’t touching me.

When I got confused and met his eyes, he looked sad. I wanted to slap him again, but there were other people here.

“Then get out of the way,” I said thickly, unclipping my seatbelt and turning to get out of the car. Jeremy straightened to his full height and stepped back to give me room, but as soon as I started towards the door of the building—because why the hell not? Everything else had gone to hell today, might as well crack my psyche and finish the job—Jeremy put a hand at my lower back.

I shoved him away and he stopped touching me.

“Bridget,” he said softly. “Please. I’m only trying tohelp you.”

I stopped walking and turned to face him, squinting because the sun was behind him and he was tall. “You know what, Jeremy?”

He sighed and looked sad and that made me even madder. “What?”

“Sometimes,I’m only trying to helpcan be allllllllll kinds of wrong if you don’t understand what real help means,” I said, wishing the words sounded stronger. “And sometimes… sometimes you don’t know your ass from your eyeball. Please fuck off.”

Then I turned around and stormed into the building, shoving those knots in my chest down deeper and deeper, because whatever Gerald had to say I just needed to get through it, and sayyes sir,and get home.

Security stared at me as I walked inside. And the reception lady, too. Everyone I passed on the way to the elevator, and the guys in the hallway and…

All these eyes thinking all these sick things about me made my skinburn.I was starting to blister. And it wasn’t going to be pretty.

But of course, it wasn’t that simple. Gerald wasn’t there yet, it seemed. He hadn’t expected me to leave the Courthouse before the festivities were officially over.

I screamed at Jeremy to leave me alone in thenot-interrogationroom and he did. At first. But he stayed right outside. And because there was a small window there, I saw it the moment that fucking clone of his came trotting up the hallway with a folder under his arm.

And I saw the way Jeremy’s face went tight when he looked inside it.

He turned and looked at me through the window and my entire fucking bloodstream went cold.

No.

No,don’t.

He looked away and for a second, I thought he’d heard me and he was listening for once. But then… then Gerald arrived and the two of them talked and Gerald looked at me too andwhat the fuck was going on?

When they walked in together, it was instinct to get to my feet and start backing away.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Bridget, calm down. Jeremy needs to show you something and I just… I just want to be here so we can talk afterwards. I’m not sure this is… what he says it is. But—”

“What are you doing? That doctorwasn’t right!Those things she said—that’s not what’s happening!”

Jeremy’s face tensed, but Gerald lifted his hands. “That’s… I don’t know, Bridget. I really don’t. I thought you might be right about him, at least, that he wasn’t predatorial—but Jeremy’s got something and it doesn’t look good—”

“No! Stop! I’m not going to do this with you! I’m not going to sit here while you tell memy husbandis an abuser, and-and-and a manipulator, because he’s not! He’sjust fucking not!”

“What if I could prove it,” Jeremy said in the quietest voice I’d ever heard him use.

I froze. Staring. And he stared back. And he didn’t smile. And he didn’t tease. And he didn’t yell. And that was the most fucking terrifying thing of all.

“What do you mean?” My voice went too high and too thin and I backed away as he stepped closer.

But then Jeremy sat down on the couch with his elbows on his knees and put that folder on the table.

“I mean, what if I can prove it to you, Bridget. Would you believe me then?”

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