Page 183 of Unsuitable

I look back at him. His face is tight with worry.

“Still are.” I give him a soft smile. “I spoke to Anne. She was really good about everything. Brilliant in fact. And, with the truth coming out—did you hear about Jason?”

He nods slowly. Something in his eyes makes my stomach shift.

Did he…

Surely not.

“Jason committed suicide,” I continue, watching him with hawk-like eyes. “He slit his wrists. He also left a note—a confession—clearing my name.”

His eyes move back to the wall. He nods. “I’m glad the truth finally came out.”

I bite my lip, fighting against the words that I’m burning to ask him.

The fight doesn’t last long.

“Was this you, Kas? Did you force Jason to write that letter and then…kill him, making it look like suicide?”

He exhales a sad-sounding breath. Then, his eyes move slowly back to mine. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect you.”

I suck in a breath. Tears fill my eyes. “Thank you,” I whisper.

Who is this man? I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but I’m glad I found him—or, as the case is, that he found me.

I can’t even bring myself to feel any sadness or remorse for Jason. He put me in prison and then sold me out to his brother. He had to have known what Damien was going to do to me.

Blowing out a breath, I press the back of my hand to my eyes, drying away the tears. “And thank you for what you said to Anne about me.”

His eyes flash with confusion.

“You spoke to her on the telephone before this all happened.”

“I only spoke the truth.”

“Regardless, it helped a lot.”

He shifts on his feet. “So, things are looking good for Jesse coming home?”

“Yes.” I smile. “Even with…what happened. The fact that I’m”—I stall on the word—“innocent of the crime I was put in prison for and that my name is in the process of officially being cleared, I guess it holds a lot of clout with Social Services.” I bind my hands together in front of me. “They no longer see me as a risk to Jesse…even though what happened…happened. Because Damien and Jason are dead, I guess they see it as being over. I think.”

“It is over,” his words are spoken softly.

But, for some reason, they hurt.

Almost like he’s saying we are over…

“Nothing that happened that day was your fault, Daisy. You saved us…you saved me. So, don’t ever blame yourself for what happened. Don’t hold on to it because it will eat you up.” He sounds like he’s speaking from experience.

I guess he is.

“Damien was always going to die. You just beat me to it.” The corner of his lip tips up into a half-smile, making me smile.

Then, it drops when I remember the reason I’m smiling.

I killed a man. Just like Kas has.

I guess we have more in common now than we ever did before.