Page 111 of The Vixen

A breath sweeps past my lips so tight it's nearly a whisper.

I could leave it at that. Ishouldleave it at that.

“Forgive me if I’m about to ruin your marriage, but I have to say something…”

No response.

Just be the fucking villain. Who cares?

I open my mouth; then force it shut. Only to open it again.

“Angel is the one who wanted you on my island.”

I peek at Liberty who sits with her head lowered, hair half shielding her face.

“If I’d known he’d been stalking you for as long as he had, maybe I would’ve pushed back harder—but Ididpush back. The amount of money it took to convince me was disgusting. Money Angel paid.”

I wait for her to call me a liar. Or cringe or sneer or something.

Instead, she picks at a snagged thread in her pants. She’s fit her finger through the thin, blue loop before she speaks.

“I know.”

I blink, waiting for more. As if I’ve misunderstood. When nothing comes, my chest expands. A burst of air rushes from my lungs.

“What?” The word comes out as a growl, and only now does Liberty flinch. A half beat passes before I give up on her response. “YouknowAngel is the reason you came to my island… Yet,I’mthe piece of shit? What the fuck, Liberty?”

“I wasn’t the only person there, Sawyer. You kidnapped hundreds of?—”

“Where was your husband during this?” My eyes pop wide as I twist toward her, still fiddling with that fucking thread. “His house was equal distance to the manor. Was I hiding all thosevictimsbeneath his nose? Did he not?—”

“I know what he did, and I forgave him.” Her palms flatten on her thigh. When she glances at me, there’s something in her eyes just shy of hatred. “And while you have no right to hear this, I’m just gonna say it… I forgave you too.”

For seconds, I just glare. Wait for the other shoe to be hurled at my head—but the fire in her eyes softens to something I don’t know how to interpret. A bull sniffing a rose. I’ve never seen her so demure.

“I appreciated what you did for me during the fire. For us. I still hated you for what you’d done to Angel, and I couldn’t fathom how he could care about you. Or why he’d hire a private investigator to find you just so he could ‘make sure you were okay.’”

He hired a private investigator?

“We fought about it… A lot,” she laughs half-heartedly and looks at her knees. “My counselor said the stress wasn’t good for the baby, so I asked Angel to let you go.” The words rush from her mouth, tumbling so fast it’s as if she hopes I won’t notice the wordbaby.

I do. Loud and clear.

My chest tightens. The cold air thins as the temperature seems to drop ten degrees in an instant.

“But then,” Liberty says in a quaky voice, her pitch lifting. “He told me about your mom…”

The pressure in my chest grows until it’s hard to keep my head up. I look down at my knees; flex my fists to calm the buzz running up my arms.

I can feel Liberty watching me as if she proposed. Waiting for my … what? Anger? Gratitude?

“Congratulations on the baby. Boy or girl?”

She frowns. “Girl…”

“I bet she looks just like you.”

“She does… You know he wasn’t trying to betray you, right? We fought formonthsbefore he told me?—”