Page 138 of Wicked Dares
“Did you find anything?” she mumbles, her voice barely there and trembling.
“Not yet. But we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
She nods.
But it’s a trembling little nod that completely destroys me.
“I keep trying to tell myself it’s not him,” she whispers after a moment. “I don’t know how it could be him. He’s in prison. But the note…” Her voice cracks.
“There’s a chance he hired someone to leave it.”
“No. That’s not his style. He’d do it himself. Weeks ago…” She swallows hard. “When Alexis and I went to the building, I felt like somebody was watching me, but nothing happened after.” Her gaze drops toward our joined hands. “I thought I was being paranoid then. Once again, I thought he’s in prison. And he’s not supposed to know where I am.”
I tighten my hold on her fingers.
“Maybe this is just—” The words die in my throat. I can’t finish them. What the hell am I supposed to say?
She knows this fucker best.
If it had only been the rose, maybe I could’ve convinced both of us it was coincidence.
A misunderstanding.
But nobody leaves a note sayingSoonby accident.
Not when they know exactly what it means to the person reading it.
None of this is paranoia. It’s fucking planned.
I tighten my hold on Piper’s hand gently and search her pale face.
“What did he do to you, Butterfly?” I ask, stroking her knuckles. “Tell me.”
For a second, she says nothing.
She just stares at me, her gaze empty, like she’s somewhere else entirely. Then finally, her voice breaks the silence.
“It didn’t begin with him being a psycho.”
My chest twists on hearing the carefulness in her voice.
“I met him in college,” she mutters, sniffling. “I was nineteen. He was ten years older and already working for a good company.” Her fingers tremble slightly in mine. “Back then, he was good to me.”
She pauses like the memory physically hurts.
I stay silent and let her talk.
“We were together for years. He started his accounting firm with his business partner after I graduated. Things were great for a while.” Her gaze drops toward the blanket gathered in her lap. “Then something changed.”
Her breathing becomes uneven.
“He started taking risks with client money. Bigger investments. Bigger gambles.” She swallows hard. “At first, he hid it well, but eventually, people started noticing things weren’t right.”
She stops to drag in a shaky breath and continues. “His business partner left first. I think he realized something was wrong before anyone else did. Within the year, clients started pulling out and Reece…” Her voice cracks. “He just got worse.”
“What did he do?”
“He became paranoid. Angry all the time. Obsessed with proving everyone wrong.” Her eyes shine with tears now. “Then he started taking drugs. Drinking more. Taking my money. Then he got physical with me. And manipulative. It’s hard knowing what to do when you’re with someone like that for years. You know you have to leave, but you don’t always know how.”
