Page 169 of Prey for You

Jeremy’s face pinched. “Fuck, Bridget. I’m not going totouchyou. I just… I needed to talk to you. I didn’t want it to be like this, but I have to disappear for a while until things die down. And I didn’t want to leave this hanging.”

“Leave what hanging?” I asked suspiciously.

Jeremy’s lips pursed and he clawed a hand through his hair.

“I’ve been chewing on this for three days,” he said darkly, eyes still watching over my shoulders like he was afraid someone would jump out of the shadows behind me. “Trying to figure out where it all went sideways and I’m still not sure I know. I was doing what I always do, Bridge. I thought I was helping. And I thought… I thought he was hurting you,” he said tightly. “I thought I was protecting you from yourself. From him. I thought I could help you see… well, anyway. It’s apparent I was wrong. I was wrong to step in and I was wrong to bait him and… I hope to hell I was wrong about him. Because he’s fucking loose now.”

“You were,” I muttered.

Jeremy’s jaw flexed. “He really makes you happy, huh?”

That made me squirm. “It’s more than happy. He makes me feel like life’s worth living.”

“The one thing I could never do.”

Oh, ugh.“Jeremy—”

“Don’t.” He bit the word off like it tasted bad. “We both know that night was a mistake. I’m not denying that. I just got… tangled up, I guess.”

I folded my arms again. Remembering those dark days always made me feel like the earth might fall out from under my feet. I cleared my throat. “You stopped listening.”

Jeremy grimaced. “See, this is where it’s hard for me. I know what you mean. And if Iknewthat fucker was a good man, like if Ireallyknew that, I’d agree with you. I’d say I overstepped. But I didn’t think he was, Bridge. And I’m still not sure. Everyone seems so ready to say he’s a changed man to soothe their own consciences about not putting him away, but the kind of guy you’re talking about? Those men are fucking unicorns.”

“Then I found the unicorn. You still should have listened.”

He looked away, but he nodded. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“For what?” I didn’t ask it nicely. Jeremy had given me all kinds of training and advice over the years, first as a teenager when there was a risk I’d get taken, then as an adult when I was effectively working undercover. He’d warned me about the signs of a manipulator—and one of those was empty promises and apologies. Statements void of self-reflection. Blanket statements designed to soothe emotions, instead of taking accountability.

Jeremy looked at me, jaw tight, fear in his eyes. I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

“Sorry for what, Jeremy?”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you,” he said in a voice so small I almost missed it under the sounds of traffic passing onthe street above us. “I’m sorry I didn’t admit how I felt. I’m sorry I let it affect my decisions. I’m sorry… I’m sorry I provoked him. And I want you to know, I’m not going to press charges.”

“So big of you,” I drawled.

His lips press flat. “I’m trying here, Bridget.”

“Good. Keep doing that. I just hope this is real humility, not remorse because you got caught.”

“I’m not the bad guy here, Bridge.”

“You kind of were, though, Jer.”

He shook his head and turned away, hands clenching to fists at his sides. “I was trying to help. You don’t have to believe me. I’m not saying I got it right. I’m saying… I did the wrong thing for the right reason.”

“Oh, I believe you. That’s why I asked them not to give it to the press. I don’t know if it’ll leak or not, but if it does, it’s not from me. Because I was there. And if you… I mean, if there were feelings and you still never touched me or pressured me, that’s… that makesyoua unicorn.”

He turned back and locked eyes with me, his gaze intense. He inched closer, dropping his voice. “Was there ever… with you and me, was there ever a time when you—”

“No.”

He stopped moving, jaw tight, and nodded again. “Well… None of this was ever about promotions and press releases for me, Bridge. For real.”

God, that made me squirmy again. He was waiting for me to say something, to react. And I didn’t want to. I didn’t want toknowthis. But I supposed his honesty was better than that self-righteous bullshit.

I sighed. “Can you do me a favor?”

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