“I see.” I looked away, my face feeling warm and angry. “But he didn’t tell me.”

“His loyalty isn’t to you.”

“Obviously not.”

“I’m sorry he did that to you. It kills me to know what he did to you.”

“It kills you for yourself or it kills you for me?”

“I’m just a man, Bianca. I don’t purport to be perfect. I don’t purport to be unselfish. I’ll admit that I’m jealous. I’ll admit that I don’t want another man touching you. And I don’t want you to be in that position again.”

“What are you doing?” I frowned as Jakob drove past my apartment building. “You just passed my building.”

“I know that.”

“I know you know that, stalker.” I glared at him. “Tell me why you drove past it. I want to go home.”

“I’m looking for a parking space.”

“Parking space?” My jaw dropped. “Why? You don’t think I’m going to invite you in, do you?”

“Bianca, we’re not done talking.”

“I’m done talking to you.”

“Bianca, we need to talk. Stop being so obstinate.”

“I’m not being obstinate just because I’m saying you’re not coming into my apartment. There is no way I’m going to let you come in and tell me more lies.”

“I was trying to keep you safe!”

“Safe with lies. Ha.” I laughed bitterly. “Sure you were, and you did a great job. A really great job.”

“I’m sorry I was a jerk.” He pulled over and turned toward me. “I’m sorry.”

“You can’t park here.” I shook my head and looked out the window. “If a cop sees you, you’re going to get a ticket.”

“I don’t care about getting a ticket.” He sighed. “I can’t get you out of my fucking mind.”

“And that’s my fault?”

“I’m not saying it’s your fault. I’m just saying this is confusing.” Jumping out of the car, he hurried over to my side and opened the door.

“What are you doing?” I glared at him. “I told you that you can’t park here.”

“I don’t give a shit. Get out.” He leaned forward and unbuckled my seat belt. “Get out!”

“You’re so bossy.”

“I think that’s what you like.” He smirked as his hand brushed my stomach. He stopped for a second and stared into my eyes. “You need a man to boss you around.”

“Like hell I do.”

“You didn’t seem to mind when we were on the island.”

“That’s because you were providing water and food.”

“And shelter.”

“I wouldn’t consider your body a shelter,” I said smartly, and smiled sweetly.

“Oh, you wouldn’t?” He licked his lips and leaned toward mine. “I definitely found your body to be a shelter. You kept my cock very warm every night.”

I gasped, my face turning red with embarrassment and excitement. “You’re a pig!”

“A pig that wants you to get out of the car.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the car. “Let’s go.”

“I don’t want you in my apartment.”

“I know you’re mad at me, but there is more going on here than we both think.” He sighed and slammed the car door shut. “We need to talk. We need to figure this shit out. I think there is more to this than my stupid brother.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. Had he really just figured that out?

“Look, Steve has disappeared.” He pursed his lips as we walked. “So that’s two people now.”

“Two?”

“You said Larry disappeared as well.”

“Yeah, but I thought you or David had something to do with that.”

“We didn’t.” He shook his head. “It was Larry who told David there might be a troublemaker trying to stir things up.”

“I played right into his hands, didn’t I?” I sighed, embarrassed. I thought I’d been so clever. I’d thought David had had no idea of my charade. Turns out he’d known from the beginning. At the end of the day, it had been David playing me.

“You definitely weren’t Sherlock Holmes.” Jakob sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“So you knew all along?” Embarrassment filled me as I remembered how clever I thought I’d been. Apparently I had fooled no one but myself.

“I knew that you were the daughter of the people that had ruined my parents’ life. That’s what I’d been told from the moment I was old enough to understand that my mother was depressed and sad every day.”

“I’m sorry.” I bit my lower lip. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“You have to understand that my whole life has been about getting justice for my mother. For making her life, her pain, not be in vain. I’ve always wanted the people to pay for making her life a misery.”

“But it wasn’t really a misery, was it?” I said softly.

He stopped and frowned at me. “What do you mean?”

“She had you, right?” I gazed at his handsome and inscrutable face. His eyes were dark and heavy, and for a moment I could see the little boy in him. I could imagine him staring at his mother in confusion and sorrow, wondering why she was always sad. I could imagine the heartache of living with that every day and not being able to do anything about it.