Page 84 of Blindsided

His intelligence has been the scariest part of this whole situation. Every move he made was calculated, and it was by sheer luck Veronica was able to ID him from the security footage. I try not to think about what would’ve happened if she hadn’t been at Desmond’s that night.

Thankfully, Tilly won’t have to testify against him since he confessed. The evidence the police have gathered corroborates his confession, which means he won’t be able to get it thrown out if he decides to try to take it back.

Between the stalking, kidnapping, vandalism of her apartment—not to mention breaking and entering—and the assault on Tilly, they have plenty to put him away, but he also murdered three other women who look eerily like Tilly. The prosecutors have a lot of I’s to dot and T’s to cross, but we’re hopeful there will be a resolution soon. We’re pacified by the fact that he was denied bail and won’t be let out of prison in this lifetime.

Since the evidence came out that he murdered three people, Tilly’s nightmares came back in full force. Over the past few weeks, they’ve started to abate, only happening a couple of times a week now. Her therapist told us they likely won’t ever go away and to be prepared for triggers to pop up when we’re least expecting them.

Veronica tried to reach out to Tilly after the preliminary hearing. She sent a message to us, asking to speak with Tills with the caveat that she’d understand if we didn’t want to talk with her. I left the decision up to Tilly, and, as of right now, she doesn’t want to speak to Veronica. Tilly doesn’t blame her for what happened, but she also feels like she would regress in her healing journey if she talked with her old agent.

After spending two weeks in New York, hiding from the paparazzi, we were finally able to come home to Westlake. Thanks to Veronica’s team, we were able to hide my involvement, allowing us to settle in at my house without any additional craziness. It’s only a matter of time before a story is written about us being together, but I’m glad we got time to just be for a while before that happens.

The only good part of this whole thing is that I’ve never loved Tilly more than I do now. Despite how hard it’s been, I’ve never been happier. I wake up every day with the love of my life in my arms. How could I ask for anything more than that?

Tilly comes barreling down the stairs in a loose-fitting jumpsuit with a white tank underneath. Her hair has been braided in two braids that hang on either side of her head, making her look like an adorable kid.

“You’re so fucking cute.” I hook my finger in the top of her tank and pull her into my chest. I drop my mouth against hers because I just can’t help myself. Before I know it, my tongue is delving into the depths of her mouth, and I’m swept up in the magic she creates every time I kiss her. I’m never going to get enough of her.

“We’re going to be late,” she murmurs against my mouth.

“Don’t care.” I palm her face, deepening our connection until she’s the only thing that matters. The fire that races through my body when she kisses me is more addicting than any drug I could ever try. I can’t stop tasting her.

Tilly groans as she pulls away. “We were twenty minutes late last time. I refuse to be teased for having sex again before we walk inside.”

“I mean, they were right,” I tease her. I pop one more kiss on her mouth before taking her hand in mine to walk out to the car.

“Just because they were right doesn’t mean I need them razzing me about it. My face was the color of a tomato.”

I open the passenger door for her and then get into the driver’s seat before I answer. “Fucking worth it. And I seem to recall that session made it into your book.” I raise my eyebrow at her as I drive toward my parents’ house.

“I swear to God, Matthew Jacob, if you tell your family that, I won’t touch you for a week,” she threatens.

“You wouldn’t be able to hold back for an entire week.”

“Want to test me?”

By her tone, I know she means business. I don’t believe she could hold out for an entire week, but she’d try her hardest, and that would just be sad for everyone.

“Okay, okay. I won’t tell anyone that you write your sex scenes based on real-life experience. By the way, remind me to order that sex swing we read about last week.”

Tilly swats me on the shoulder as I park on the street next to Mom and Dad’s house. She has no idea we invited her parents and Desmond to come over for dinner, too. It’s not exactly a celebration of her book. That party is already in the works for release day. This get-together is more because she’s been missing Desmond, and she told me the other day that she felt like she was bothering him with her texts.

I promptly called him and verbally kicked his ass for being distant. He hinted at having a girl in his life he’s been obsessed with. Well… he didn’t exactly use those words specifically. He only said he’s been distracted over this last month, and there is nothing that distracts you more than a woman. I would know.

Tilly takes my hand as we walk inside the house. Every time we’ve come over for dinner, I’ve seen a little more of the sparkle return to her eyes. There’s something about my flawed and wonderful family that seems to heal her just a little when she hangs out with them. I’m not sure if it’s because the other women know what it’s like to be terrorized by a psychopath or if it’s all my brothers’ crazy antics that help the most. Probably a combination of the two. Either way, we’ve made sure to have family dinner a little more often these past few months.

We step inside the house to madness, as usual. This time, Desmond and Nolan are sitting on the floor, duking it out overMario Kart. Based on Nolan’s face, Desmond is winning.

“Des?” Tilly tilts her head as if she’s not certain she’s truly seeing her brother here.

He drops the controller immediately and comes over to wrap her in a hug. Tilly’s muscles relax into her brother’s hug, and for the first time since Tilly was rescued, I have no doubt that everything will be okay.

When Tilly’s parents steal her from Desmond, he looks over at me with unreadable eyes. After our conversation in New York, things have gotten better between us. He still flinches if I kiss Tilly in front of him, but that doesn’t stop me from doing it. I kind of enjoy making him squirm a little.

Desmond holds out his hand for a shake. When I place my hand in his, he pulls me into a hug.

“Thanks for taking care of her for me,” he says into my ear.

“Always.”

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