Page 27 of Beneath the Scars

"Excuse me?" a hoarse, scratchy voice asks, and it takes me a moment to realize it's my words.

"Fucking hell, Jones," Byron barks, pushing him away from my desk so he can get closer to me. Automatically, I push away from my desk on my wheeled chair, trying to get distance between the two of us.

"What did he just say, Byron?" I'm proud of how much sturdier I sound than just a few seconds ago.

"Fuck, Lily. I wanted to tell you. I have been trying to figure out the best way, but things have been crazy and…"

I hold up my hand, halting his words. He hasn't denied the other agent's words, which means it must be true. Betrayal is a heavy, hard thing to carry. My chest heaves with the effort to keep air circulating in my lungs. "How about after I told you my dad killed my sister, tried to kill me, and then took his own life?"

My broken heart—when exactly did that happen?—gives another pained thump as the hurt slowly morphs into anger.

"Or, I don't know, Agent Scott, every night after you fucked me and held me in your arms?"

His eyes are filled with remorse, but I need to look past it and focus on my own feelings right now. If I give in to what I see there, I know things won't improve.

"Lily," Byron pleads, holding out his hands in sublimation. "Please, give me a chance to explain."

"Explain what, Byron? Explain how you had me bare my secrets to you, pretending that the past didn't matter while you didn't want to share yours with me?"

"That's it, though, baby. It doesn't matter." He continues to plead. But I'm done.

"Then why did you work so hard to hide it? I need space, Byron. Leave. Please."

He opens his mouth to object, but the asshole Jones grabs him by the back of his suit jacket. "The lady asked you to leave, lover boy. This is what you get for hiding shit like your mom did."

Byron gives me one last look before following after his partner.

As luck would have it, Karl chooses that moment to come in from the back room, his apron and arms still covered in body fluids from our last autopsy.

"Shit! Doc! You okay?" He rushes to me, taking off his gloves before kneeling before me. The tears I've been holding at bay finally start to fall. "Fuck," he bites out before ripping off his apron and pulling me into his arms. "You're okay, Doc. I've got you. I'll always watch over you."

His words hit something inside me. I've heard them before. Well, read them. But they still strike a cord. My body freezes, and I carefully pull from Karl's embrace.

"It's fine." Hurriedly, I wipe away my tears. "Don't worry." I push up from my desk, shucking off my white coat and grabbing my jacket from the hook next to the large metal doors. "You know what, I think I will head out early today. Cover for me?"

But I don't wait for an answer. I need to get out of the morgue. Away from the basement and into a more heavily populated area where I'm not possibly alone with a stalker in the perfect kill room.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lillian

Withtheadrenalinecoursingthrough my veins and the sting of betrayal enhanced by my suspicions about Karl, I keep my emotions at bay until I reach Jayne's front door.

Banging on it a tad harder than I probably need to, I lean against the door while waiting for her to open it. I could have called first. I probably should have, but all I could do while sitting in the cab was run through every interaction I'd had with Karl the last few weeks. Nothing had changed other than Byron's interest in me.

And Karl has been seeing Samatha for years now. They were talking about having a kid together.

Or at least that's what he tells me.

"Balls, what's with the racket," Jayne says as she opens the door, her lips pursing as she takes me in. "What the hell, babe? You look like a ghost is chasing you. Come, come in." She ushers me inside and steps to the side, barely giving me the space to squeeze by.

"Shit. Jayne, I'm sorry. I should have called but didn't know where else to go." I rush over the words as I head to the kitchen counter, falling on one of the bar stools. Resting my head in my hands on the counter, I lean forward, trying to get a handle on everything.

"Puh-lease. I'm glad you came here. Now tell me what's going on so I can help," Jayne urges me, sitting on the stool next to me, resting her hand on my upper thigh. Though slightly higher than I'm comfortable with, the touch grounds me in a way I really need right now.

I carefully walk her through the events of the last hour, trying to keep everything in the right order. I can't believe how much my life has flipped on its head in such a short time.

I know I should call Byron and tell him about my suspicions, but I am nowhere ready to talk to him, and in all honesty, it could probably wait until morning. Karl might think I'm a little weird for how I took off, but I'm semi-sure he won't suspect I believe it's him. If it even is him.

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