Page 144 of Fighting Mr. Knight

He doesn’t speak. In the dim light, the hard lines of his jaw work.

He flips on my bedside lamp, blinding me. He has a wrench in one hand and something else in the other.

My eyes adjust and I see his face twist in confusion and shock. His body is rigid.

He knows.

Dad has been found out. The police identified him.

He holds something up in front of my face and my eyes catch up before my brain can.

No.

Fear explodes through me as I stare at the bag with his dad’s ring.

I had moved it around the flat a million times looking for somewhere no one would ever look.Jack doesn’t do laundry in his own house, why is he looking in my powder boxes?

Murphy’s Law. This is karma for being a horrible lying girlfriend.

The bed dips as he sits on the edge of the mattress. He rests the wrench on his lap but holds up the bag, studying it as if it’s nuclear waste.

“Why do you have this, Bonnie?” He fights to keep his voice low and controlled but his dark brown eyes tell a different story.

I can’t speak.

I can’t breathe.

The only sound is the pounding of my heart.

Jack’s waiting.

In the long, awful silence, Jack’s waiting for me to give a rational explanation.

His eyes bore into mine and I feel a panic attack threaten to rise.

I sit up straighter, gulp down a breath and try to speak. “My dad.”

“Your dad,” he repeats with a deliberate slowness. “What about your dad?”

“My dad,” I choke as the words die on my tongue.

He audibly swallows, his large Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Bonnie, sweetheart. I’m trying to be patient. But you need to start explaining. Tell me where you got this.”

My body trembles. “My dad was there that night.” It’s barely a whisper.

For a long moment he just stares at me. Did he hear what I said?

“What? What are you talking about?” The bed dips further as he inches closer. His hands come down to rest either side of me on the mattress. I’m trapped.

A shiver throttles my spine.

I can’t. I just can’t tell him.

“Bonnie,” he says, more desperately this time. He takes my shoulders and gives me a gentle shake. “What. Do. You. Mean.”

I suck in a breath. “He was there,” I say faintly. “My dad. He was one of the guys that robbed your dad.”

“No.” He shakes his head firmly as he stares at me for a long painful beat. “Are you fucking joking?” Jack has never shouted at me before. Not like this. “Do you think this isfunny, Bonnie?”

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