I grinned as I put the frame down. I liked that I had her all worked up and worried about what I knew and didn’t know about her life. “I actually don’t. Last time you talked about her, she was shacking up with some older guy.”
“She married that older guy. They moved to Florida. They have a kid now.” I heard the slight hint of melancholy in Jane’s voice.
“You miss her,” I surmised.
Jane stiffened and shrugged.
“When did she leave?”
“Right after college.”
Leaving Jane alone with no real friend until Asher. What had happened to their little art crew? “And Devin?” I looked away, perusing a shelf of props so she wouldn’t see the curl to my lips. I’d hated that gangly prick and the way he was always ogling Jane.
There was a slight hesitation, and it brought back our conversation years ago. Something had happened with that guy. As much as I didn’t believe it at the time, I knew better now. Jane had cheated on me.
I could feel my heart hammering harder in my chest.
“We stopped being friends a long time ago,” she said, her tone weirdly emotionless. “Just a little before you made it clear you didn’t trust me or want me in your life anymore, he attacked me at a house party.”
I whipped around, blowing past the outright lie of “you made it clear you didn’t trust me or want me in your life anymore” to the latter. “He what?”
Indignation and something like dark satisfaction mingled in her eyes as she glared at me. “No, Jamie, I didn’t cheat on you with Devin. He assaulted me in a bathroom when he was drunk. Thankfully, Cassie and I had taken self-defense classes. I got away from him.” She retold the story like it’d had no emotional impact on her, but I was coming out of my fucking skin. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to feel bad about not being there for me.” She huffed at herself. “I’m surprised you didn’t know about it. I reported it to the police.”
As I tried to shove out the images my imagination was putting together, of that lanky, emo little fuck forcing himself on Jane, I shook my head. “I didn’t know.” I took a step toward her. “By assaulted … you mean?”
“Not rape. He kissed me and wouldn’t stop. I had to physically make him stop.”
My stomach roiled at the thought. “What happened?”
“I just told you.”
“No, what happened to him?” I snapped impatiently.
“Slap on the wrist.”
That fucking fucker!
“But he became a pariah at school with our friends.” She shrugged. “He transferred. I never saw him again.”
Silence fell between us as I turned away, suddenly playing the memory of her last visit before she broke it off. Is that why she never came back? Because I accused her of cheating when that piece of shit had attacked her? Something crushed down on my chest.
Okay, she had every right to be pissed at me for that.
But she should have talked to me.
If she’d come to me and told me that’s why she was ending things, I would have apologized. I would have promised I’d do better.
Listen to yourself, groveling to her in your fucking imagination.
Jane ended things without having the decency to do it to my face. End of story.
Still, I made a mental note to find out what had happened to Devin. Wouldn’t want his life to be too comfortable these days after sexually assaulting my girlfriend.
Ex-girlfriend.
“So, I don’t imagine you came here to talk about my old college friends and enemies.” Jane broke the silence. “Why are you here?”
Pulling my shit together, I turned to face her again. “Ethan Wright.”
“The cop?”
“The cop.” The shit stain who had whispered in my ear the night of my arrest, making it clear he was working for Foster Steadman. That only became clearer when I started investigating him. “I’m pretty sure he’s taking bribes from all sorts. But I need more evidence I can hand over to the right people. Because he’s a shiesty fuck, he’s also paranoid. He’ll recognize me, and he’d suspect a woman as beautiful as you coming on to him.”
Jane raised an eyebrow.
“His partner is Lincoln Gaines.” I pulled out my phone and brought up the photograph to show her. Jane gazed down at the good-looking cop. “As far as I can tell, he’s clean.” I eyed her carefully. “He’s also single.”