Page 56 of Hesi-Dating
"Come." He beckoned me to follow him through the main rooms to a library that overlooked the backyard. Junior and Maya splashed in the pool.
Isiah sat in a stuffed chair and waved for me to sit in the one opposite him.
I wasn't sure where to start. "It was nice seeing you at the wedding."
His eyes softened. "Those guys mean a lot to me." Quietly he added, "Especially Seth. We all went to college together. Roommates."
"He's…" I swallowed hard as I tried to distill the complex emotion regarding Seth into words. "He's too good for me."
Isiah's mouth compressed, but his gaze reflected a clearmaybe he is."You make him happy. I haven't seen him like that in a long time. Since before he married."
"His ex hurt him something fierce."
"Did you hurt him?"
I stared at the floor. "Probably. I had to walk away because of you-know-who. I can't let Seth get hurt over me, not in the way Nosh could hurt him."
"What exactly did Nosh say? Or do?" He leaned forward. "Did he hurt Seth?"
"He hasn't done anything direct to Seth that I know of yet. Something about Seth triggered him into this psycho control freak who's been constantly threatening me if I don't get far away from Seth. He killed a man on a phone in front of me to make his point."
Isiah tented his hands in front of his mouth. "Tell me this, Joley. Do you have feelings for Seth because Nosh is threatening you and it makes Seth more interesting? I know you're probably drawn to the forbidden. Or is it real?"
"I like him. Legit. I've never felt this way about someone. It scares the hell out of me, which is why I forced us to stay friends. I'm not good…well, I've never been able to have a real relationship since I'm so screwed up in my head about the past. But the thought of Nosh hurting him because of me? I had to walk away."
Isiah's hands dropped away. "Nosh cares little for anyone, even his own son." His eyebrows shot up. "Didn't know he had a kid, did you? He's got a three-year-old. The only person I've ever seen him get emotional about is you."
"Does he like me romantically? Or is it something else?"
"I think it's mixed up in his head. Whatever happened when you were young impacted both of you."
"Things were done to both of us that neither of us ever wants to talk about."
"I think his gratitude for whatever you did for him back then has changed over the years into something even he may not understand. I think you're the only person he ever connected with emotionally. That might be as close to love as he's capable of feeling."
"Did you tell him to leave Seth alone? If not, it makes no sense. If he thinks controlling the sheriff is so important and he can't buy him off or threaten him into obedience, then typically Nosh would arrange for him to have an accidental-seeming death to get someone new in the office he could control."
A small smile lifted Isiah's lips.
I'd been right about Isiah being involved in this. Now I needed him to admit it.
He took a sip of water out of the glass on the side table. "I told Nosh to leave Seth alone."
Well, that was easier than expected.
Nosh listened to Isiah?That meant Isiah's power hadn't diminished. It'd gone underground.
"What do you think I should do?" I was intimidated by the thought of Isiah having power over Nosh.
"What do you want?"
"I want Seth safe, and I think I want to try to have something real with him."
Isiah leaned back, exhaling a long sigh.
An uncomfortable sensation settled in my belly.
He seemed to carefully weigh his words before he spoke. "You can't have both."
