Page 95 of Lights Out

Tyler stiffened, his back to me. “Why do you ask?”

“Do you know or not?”

He jerked his head in an abrupt nod.

“Well, I just found out about him and have some questions.”

Tyler sent me a wary look over his shoulder. “I really don’t think I’m the one who should answer them. Josh would probably be better.”

I shook my head. “I want to hear it from you.”

He frowned and turned to face me. “Why?”

Fuck, how to explain this? “Because some of my questions are harsh, and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Yes, because Josh is so delicate,” he said, returning to the coffee.

I tamped down my rising annoyance. “It doesn’t matter if someone is delicate or not. You should care about their feelings either way.” Speaking of feelings, no wonder I’d never developed any for this guy. Without the lust for his body blinding me, he was more of a douche than I remembered.

He turned and set my coffee in front of me. “Whatever. Ask your questions.”

“He’s not like him, right?”

Tyler jerked like I’d slapped him. “Jesus, no. Why would you think that?”

I contemplated bringing up Josh’s social media account but thought better. Knowing Josh, not even Tyler knew about it. And I definitely couldn’t bring up Brad, but I needed clarity on something Josh said concerning his death.

“He made a comment about worrying he was fated to be a killer.”

Tyler’s expression darkened. “That fucking psychologist.”

“What?” I said, confused.

“After Josh’s dad got arrested, his mom took him to see this renowned psychologist to help heal Josh’s trauma,” Tyler said. “The doctor had just taken part in this study trying to prove that psychopathy was genetic. He was convinced he was right even though the data was slightly questionable. And there was Josh. A golden goose dropped right into his lap. Within a month, he had Josh and Maria convinced that Josh needed to be on antipsychotics for the rest of his life or he’d turn into his father.”

I leaned back in my seat, horrified. “What kind of doctor does that?”

Tyler shook his head. “He isn’t one anymore. Josh wasn’t the only kid he manipulated in an attempt to validate his study, and his victims ended up taking part in a civil suit against him. He lost his license to practice, but the damage was done. Josh only recently got off most of his meds, and if he’s still making comments like the one you mentioned, he must still be questioning that decision.”

“So, he never should have been on them?”

“No,” Tyler said. “He has some quirks, sure, but who doesn’t? The important thing is that he has none of the more troubling signs that would point to antisocial personality disorder.” He rested his elbows on the counter and met my eyes. “I knew his dad, and Josh is nothing like him. The fact that I’m still aliveshould be all the proof you need.” He grinned. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I can be a bit much sometimes.”

I took a sip of coffee. Yeah, I was starting to see that. “Why didn’t Josh tell me about all this sooner?”

Tyler pushed upright and snagged his mug from the counter. “Probably because he knew you’d try to bolt.”

“Hey,” I said. “Does it look like I’m bolting?”

He snorted. “From how pale you were when you came out here, I think it’s safe to say that you would have if I weren’t home to talk you down from the ledge.”

Okay, that was fair. But still. “Look, I had good reason to worry. Your roommate broke into my house and planted a camera there. And also hacked into my work to watch me.”

Instead of being appropriately horrified, Tyler laughed. “Finally, someone to take some of the burden of his love off my shoulders.” He reached over and grabbed my wrist, looking grateful. “Bless you.”

I jerked out of his grip. “I’m serious, Tyler.”

“So am I,” he said. “Those are the quirks I was talking about. Josh spent his childhood trapped beneath the thumb of a serial killer. Once he and his mom got away, he spent every second of free time ensuring they never ended up back there. Even as an adult, he needs to know everything about the people he cares for, where they are, and who they’re with. One time, I forgot to tell him I was staying out for the night, and he showed up at my hookup’s house at three o’clock in the morning to lecture me about it.”

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