“Dillon, you were in jail.”
He grinned. “Got out on good behavior.”
Of course he had. The bastard could charm a snake. No one had even believed me when I first came forward. Why would anyone believe his girlfriend of six years? And, even then, the sentence had hardly stuck. I’d been happy for anything to give me time to get away. I’d been desperate enough to testify against him.
“You’re shaking like a leaf,” he said. Then, he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. “You have to let me take care of you.”
Fear held me in place. I knew that I should jerk back. That I should be the woman I’d become in his absence. But, staring into his blue eyes and that mask of innocence he wore like a second skin, I became the girl who would never leave him.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Please what?”
“I can’t do this.”
“Do what?” he asked, his voice like a knife.
I swallowed hard. “This.”
Anger flashed in his eyes, but before he could respond, Austin finally reached me. Fear sparked in me.
No! I couldn’t let Austin near Dillon. I couldn’t let this happen. I knew what Dillon was capable of. I knew that the charges against him were the least of what he’d done. I would never forgive myself if Austin got hurt.
“Austin, no,” I said, stepping between him and Dillon.
“Evan?” Austin asked. He was breathing heavy, and he seemed totally disoriented. “I thought you left a while ago.”
“Yeah, I did, but it turned out, my girlfriend was going to show up anyway.”
I stared between Austin and Dillon with my mouth hanging open. A pit opened in the pavement, and I fell into it.
“No,” I whispered. “No, you didn’t.”
My eyes found Dillon’s. He gave me a perfectly blank, perfectly serene look.
“You must be Julia,” he said, holding his hand out to me. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
I swatted his hand away. “Stay away from me.”
“Jules, I know you’re pissed at me, but don’t take it out on Evan,” Austin said.
“This isn’t Evan!” I nearly shrieked. “I don’t even know who the fuck Evan is. This is Dillon.” I choked on my own words. “This is…it’s Dillon.”
The words hung in the air, waiting for someone to crack. For the facade to shatter and everyone to realize that the game was up. Whatever Dillon had been up to while infiltrating my life, making fucking friends with Austin, and otherwise being a psycho, it was over. His stalking of me was over.
“Dillon…like your ex-boyfriend?” Austin asked slowly.
“Yes.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? You made me think that we were friends,” he demanded of Dillon.
“Aren’t we friends?” Dillon asked, as if he didn’t care about any of this.
“We went to the gym together three times a week. You said you moved here for your girlfriend,” Austin said in horror.
My stomach twisted. Oh, fuck!
“I am here for my girlfriend,” Dillon said possessively. “Seems you’ve met my Jules.”
“Julia, get behind me,” Austin said.
“Austin, no. Please, let’s just go. Don’t get into this with him,” I pleaded.
Dillon laughed in Austin’s face. “What do you think you’re going to do? You’re drunk off your ass, man.”
“Don’t fucking talk to me like you know me.”
“I don’t need to know you. I know your type,” Dillon said. “Trust me, I know an addict when I see one. And you’re as bad as any of them. Too bad my girl walked right into your train wreck.”
“Dillon, stop it,” I spat.
“He doesn’t like to hear the truth? I’ve spent the last couple of weeks watching you. Wanted to find out if these Wrights were everything everyone had made them out to be. Every one of them is fucked up. This one, worst of all.” Dillon shook his head, like he was disgusted with the sight of Austin. He was a good actor. Always had been. “You think he’s been sober? He’s been drinking. Check his house. Check his car. Check his fucking gym bag. You think you’re his only girl? He spent the night at Maggie’s place. You think he cares about you? Just take a good look at him, Jules.”
I didn’t want to listen to Dillon. I knew what he was doing. I knew he was manipulating me and trying to turn me away from Austin. I was pretty sure I was the only person on the face of the planet who knew the real Dillon Jenkins. He never showed the insanity behind his bravado. Only to me.
Still, I couldn’t stop myself from turning hurt, questioning eyes to Austin. Had Dillon been following him? Had he seen things that I hadn’t wanted to see? He might be using them to hurt us, but they could only hurt us if they were true.