Page 29 of The Villain

A year ago…“The house…”

“He refinanced your home twice to fund his habits?—”

“No.” I stopped him. “I mean where I live now—my mom’s house. A year ago, he wanted me to sell it. Demanded, really. He said we were never going to live there, so it wasn’t doing anything for us.” I swallowed through the tightness in my throat. “That was the final straw. That argument. He was so cruel, but now I see…” It wasn’t cruelty, it was desperation. “He needed the money.”

“We’re still trying to get a final figure that he owes the loan shark, but it’s at least seven hundred thousand.”

“Seven…hundred…” It was the extent of his addiction—his betrayal—that shocked me. The sheer sums of money he tried to win…and couldn’t fathom he’d lose.

“Athena.” His husky voice corralled my thoughts. “Did you tell him you wanted a divorce before you filed?”

“Yes, that day. I told him I didn’t recognize him anymore, and I wanted a divorce.”

“When was that?”

I thought for a moment. “The end of August?”

Another pause. “Brandon took out the life insurance policy on September first.”

Air whooshed from my chest. “And I filed on the fourth.”

The implications of the timeline hit me like a hurricane;he’d taken out the policy in the gap between when I told him and when I’d filed.My heart hammered in my chest. I was literally blind, but I could see the truth so clearly: he knew what I was going to do, and he’d been desperate.

“The policy only pays while you’re still married.”

“Which is until this coming Friday.” I sounded hollow.I felt hollow.

Two days.

“Athena…”

“How long—” My voice cracked, so I started over. “How long was he gambling online?”

There it was again—the rough rumble as Dare cleared his throat.His tell.I’d first noticed the sound right before he’d told me there was a bomb planted in my car, intending to kill me. It happened again right before he’d shared that Brandon was a degenerate gambler who placed a wager on my life. And now…

“Two months after your wedding.”

Years.My husband—ex-husband—had been gambling for years and had started only weeks after promising me he’d never do it again.

Asshole.My eyes welled with tears. Not for Brandon. Screw Brandon. Tears because I’d been so blind—a painful irony given my current circumstances.

“I’m sorry.” I reached for my cheek, feeling one tear that escaped underneath my mask. “I’m just…”Shocked. Hurt. “A fool.”

His hands on my shoulders slid to my face, holding my chin up as though I were looking straight at him. One after another, his thumbs swiped away my tears. His tenderness was overkill for my pain—like knocking down a sand castle with a wrecking ball.

“You’re not a fool.”

“No?” I choked on the question. “I married a man—trusted a man who just tried to kill me to save his own skin.”

At this point, I’d have to be more than a fool—I’d have to be brain-dead to not make the connection between his gambling debts, the insurance policy, and the car bomb.

“This isn’t your fault,” Dare growled, his deep insistence painting something else in my mind—a different story than the one I was trying to tell myself.

“Have you foundhim?”

“Sacramento PD has been looking for him for the last day and a half, but nothing yet.”

“When they do, I want to see him.” I winced. “Talk to him.”

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