Page 94 of The Eleventh Hour

“It’s not the same-” I cut myself off, I can’t explain that. “Yes.”

“The killer who goes after people in your circle?”

I lift my eyes to hers. “Listen, I tried to stay away. I hid. I changed everything and stayed out of your sphere of friends.”

Dad puts his head in his hands and just seems to collapse in on himself. I want so badly to go to him. I bite the inside of my cheek and stay perfectly still.

“So, who are they?” Andy asks and clutches Phil’s hand tighter.

I glance at Rafe and Dane.

“We’re investigators.”

“Oh, this is gold, just gold.” Stevie stands up. “You brought the Black Dahlia Killer down on our heads. Say you ‘tried’ to stay away. Bring two guys in who are seeking information on our lives and home and masquerade them as your boyfriends and lie to us.”

I narrow my eyes. “If you had known, that shit that is happening on your driveway would have happened every day for years. I kept you out of the loop-”

“At your expense,” My father thunders. He stands up and stalks over to me. “How could you do that? I would have come, I would have fought, I would have been there-”

“And lost your business, your job, your lifestyle, friends, reputation, social status. Family.” My words fire like bullets into the room, silencing everyone. And my father flinches with every word. The truth is, as much as he tries to keep himself grounded, he loves being rich. Losing his lifestyle would have ruined him.

“Trust me, Dad. There are plenty of times I wanted to call. But there were more reasons not to. Sending the lawyer I requested was enough.”

“Him! I’m going to have words with him about keeping this secret from me,” my father hisses.

“Dylan died a month after I was released. Hit and run, Dad,” I say softly.

My dad’s mouth falls open, and he pales even further.

River stands up, his expression black. “Damn you.” He spins on his heel and stalks out of the room.

He’s taking my still-beating heart with him. I know it because the pain in my chest can’t be real.

“So, why, after all this time, has he come after you again?” Stevie shouts. “Why you? Why now? What the fuck is so fucking special about you, Jackie?”

I shake my head and stumble to the chair River abandoned. “I don’t know.”

“Well, this is just great, just wonderful,” she explodes.

I jerk my head around and only just resist baring my teeth at Phil as he gets to his feet and dabs at his forehead with a white handkerchief.

“What are we supposed to do with this media circus? What about the wedding?” he hisses.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Phil.” Mase smiles in a way I’ve never seen before. “Since you’re the one who called and tipped them off.”

I jerk my head towards Phil and stare at him. He goes red and splotchy. His eyes go straight to Richard, who is currently leaning against the wall, writing into his phone.

“Stevie said Titan was looking for her-”

“You were going to sell out my daughter to a criminal gangster?” Dad roars.

“No! I was just going to get her away for a while. She’s a distraction, she’s bad for business!”

I feel sick, my stomach is turning, churning. Hurting my family was the last thing I wanted to do.

Dane crosses the room before anyone else can move and punches Phil in the mouth so hard he tumbles back into the wall.

“Piece of shit.”