Page 144 of Collateral Love
“You thinking about Jared or Sharon?” he asked.
Both.
“Jared,” I lied.
He huffed a low sound. “You are a terrible liar, Mrs. King.”
I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling. “You ever think about how twisted this shit is?”
“Which part?” he asked. “The fact that your mama was fucking the same professor who almost put you behind bars twenty years ago? Or that her side baby grew up to be an architect of this whole mess?”
Sharon Davis used to stand in the choir loft with her headscarf tied just so, lipstick lined perfectly, voice raised in hymns like she actually believed in redemption. All that time, she was sneaking around with Alan fucking Price while Daddy was working overtime shifts at the plant.
She’d called me fast.
Disrespectful.
Ungrateful.
But she was the one who sold her son for peace and quiet.
“Jared knew too much,” I said, voice low. “He knew about Alan. He knew about Cameron. He told me once that the math in our house didn’t add up.”
Zay watched me closely. “You believe he was going to tell your daddy?”
“I think he was about to. And Sharon couldn’t risk losing her place.”
“Place in what?” he asked.
“In the story she built,” I said. “Wife and mother. The good one. The victim. The martyr. You can’t be all that with a son who knows where the bodies are buried.”
Zay nodded slowly.
“You gonna kill her?” he asked plainly. No judgment. Just logistics.
My chest tightened.
“Yes,” I said. “I need her alive long enough to get Cameron. But she and Miles will pay.”
He slid closer, pressed his forehead to mine.
“You have to do what you had to do,” he murmured.
While I knew Sharon had to die, I grieved killing that lady. I worried about how my father would react once he found out. Because somewhere in the middle, between survival and selfishness, the line blurred. This was complicated. I’ve taken plenty of bodies, but my mom’s blood felt heavy.
“Get some rest,” he said finally.
“Can’t,” I whispered. “My brain won’t shut off.”
He kissed my jaw, slow. “Then let your body rest. I got you.”
I closed my eyes.
Listened to his breathing.
Counted heartbeats.
Eventually, sleep came in pieces.
