Page 30 of Beneath the Scars

Lily doesn't respond, and my pulse spikes. "Baby, you there?"

"You mean, it's not your... parent?"

Damn. Knowing I need to open up to her anyway, but wishing it wasn't under these circumstances, I take a deep breath and turn left to get to Lily.

"My mom, actually," I say. "It's super rare for serial killers to be female, but my mom was definitely one of a kind." It's never easy to talk about this, but I knew I would have to open up after Lily shared her past with me. We shared too many similarities; if anyone understood what I'd gone through, it would be her.

Her dad might not have killed seventeen men before he was caught, but she had to live with the stigma as the offspring of a killer.

"She's what we now refer to as a black widow. By the time they'd caught her, she'd killed more men than I like to admit. But to answer your question, no. My... uh... history with my mom isn't why I got into profiling."

She makes a noise to tell me she's still listening, and I clear my throat before continuing.

"Just a few more minutes, then I'll be there, okay? Anyway, after she was locked up, I lived with my uncle, my mother's younger brother. He's amazing. Everything anyone could ever want in a father figure. He would take me to the beach on weekends, and we'd people-watch. Together, we'd make up stories for everyone. After a time, it morphed into a game where we tried to guess the real story instead of making up a fake one."

"That... sounds nice," Lily says, and I smile, remembering those long afternoons with Uncle Jack. "He's still around, your uncle?"

"Yeah. Uncle Jack is alive and well, driving his partner insane. He finally found a man willing to put up with his shit seven years ago, and they've been traveling the world together."

"You must miss him terribly," she muses.

"Both of them, actually. Vikesh is amazing. He keeps both of us on our toes and demands my attendance to what he likes to term 'family gatherings,' even though these gatherings are only the three of us."

It's impossible to keep the fond smile from my face as I think about them. But underneath the surface is the ever-present tension and stress of having Lily unprotected out there. All because I was a coward.

"Lily, baby. I'm sorry."

I hear the unmistakable sound of a sob this time and then the soft murmuring of someone else's voice in the background. Lily muffles the line, driving me insane not being able to hear what's happening.

"Lily?" I call out, panic raising my voice.

"Sorry, I have an older lady here with me. She was worried about my crying and insisted on keeping me company until you show up. Are you far?"

"Just around the corner. I can practically smell the overpriced coffee from here," I promise her as I try to locate an open parking spot.

I continue telling her about Uncle Jack and Vikesh's antics and travels as I circle the block and finally see a space.

"I'm pulling up outside now, beautiful. Just a few more seconds, okay?"

She doesn't respond. Instead, I see a flurry of activity as she comes rushing from the coffee shop towards me. I barely make it out of the car before I find myself with an arm full of crying, hysterical woman.

"Shhh, I've got you beautiful. There you go."

With her arms wrapped tight around me, I take a deep, steadying breath before running my hands down her body to assure myself that she's okay.

"What happened," I asked after she quieted down.

We both climb into the rental and she tells me what happened after she left me. Rage builds in me as she tells me what Jayne did and said to her.

"She hasn't come out?"

Lily shakes her head, no, and I know what I have to do next, but she won't like it.

"Okay, baby. I'm going to need you to go back to the shop. Get a coffee and ask that lady to keep you company. I need to go in and see if she's still there and arrest her if she is."

"No! It's not safe. And you can't go in alone."

"I'll be fine, and I've texted Jones to meet me here. He's only a few minutes behind me."

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