Page 39 of Temptation
And finding them was just the beginning. Because Cody was still in the house with me.
She closed her eyes, hating that terrible memory. Her body trembled.
“Sloane?”
He touched her shoulder. She jerked and flinched, and her eyes flew open wide once more.
Preston’s expression was still furious, but it had softened. Somewhat. She was pretty sure that she caught the glint of concern in his eyes.
Uh, huh. He was concerned about her while she was about to blow up his world. “I’m sorry, Preston.”
“For lying to me?” He nodded. He lifted the hand that had just touched her and shoved it through his thick hair. The move just made his hair more tousled. Made him sexier. “Don’t lie to me again. Not ever. Be straight with me, and I’ll be?—”
“I haven’t technically lied to you. I had nothing to do with the abduction. But I have been stalking you. Well, I prefer the term researching, actually. Much more professional. Less threatening.”
His hand fell back to his side. “What?”
“I’m a psychologist.”
“I know.”
“My focus is on abnormal behavior.” She’d told him that before.
“Your focus is on serial killers.”
At the moment, yes. Because her mother and stepdad had not been the first individuals Cody had killed. Cody…
So young. So handsome. So completely evil.
“Sloane?”
She bit her lower lip. “You still aren’t sitting down. This is more of a sit-down conversation, I swear it is.” Her head craned as she tried to peer around him and look at the door. “I also only asked for five minutes alone with you, so we don’t have time to waste.”
“Why are you researching me?” But then a little furrow appeared between his brows. “You know, don’t you? Even before we were in the coffin together, you knew that I’d been targeted before.”
She nodded.
“You knew I’d been kidnapped and buried alive. Back when I was fourteen. You knew all about my background long before you even came to this town, didn’t you?”
Once more, she nodded.
“I escaped.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I survived. I was the only one that escaped from that bastard. The only one to get away because I beat him.”
“I think he wanted you to escape.” There. The first big confession. Done.
“What? What in the hell are you talking about?”
“I saw the coffins that he built for the others.” She had. It had taken some pull to get access, but, luckily, she knew the right people. Or the wrong ones. They’d owed her favors. Weird fact? One of the coffins had actually been in a true crime museum tucked away near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “I checked them, and I can tell you, they didn’t have loose boards. The other coffins, that is. His craftsmanship was perfect. He took pride in his designs. He wanted to seal in his prey tightly. They didn’t have a chance of escaping. And he buried them deeply. All six feet under. You weren’t that far down. Just four feet, according to case files. He…made accommodations for you. Because he wanted you to make it. But you had to go through the nightmare, you see. You had to endure the darkness so that you could die.”
A hard, negative shake of his head. “I didn’t die.”
Part of you did. Sloane wet her lips. “You had to die so that you could be reborn.”
He turned on his heel. “This is crazy. I don’t have to listen to this bullshit.” With his strong back ramrod straight, Preston strode for the door. “I thought you were going to tell me something useful. I thought I’d hear the truth?—”
“He was your father.” Four words. Four simple, brutal words.
Preston spun back toward her. Shock covered his face.
