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I nodded sympathetically. He was right, after all. Brody was insufferably arrogant and high-handed when you first met him. I’d only started to see under his cocky exterior little by little, as he let his guard down with me. Something I knew Nick would never have the privilege of seeing.

“To be fair, he is preparing to take over his father’s business, and he’s worked hard to be ready for it, so a lot of that arrogance is deserved. I mean, he barely lets himself have any fun. He’s harder on himself than anyone else.”Wait, what?God, I’d just defended how arrogant Brody was, and the worst part was, I really believed it.

Nick slid me a sideways glance. “So, you two get along at home, is that it? You’re not at odds anymore? I mean, since the whole headbutt incident.”

“That was ridiculous, and I’m still so sorry you got hurt.”

Nick took a swig of his beer. “Yeah, it always seems to bemegetting hurt. I’m thinking of telling my brother about it.”

Nerves gathered in my belly. Nick stared in the distance, and he seemed furious.

“Who’s your brother?”

“A cop.”

Nick’s last name was Preston, so that meant… Officer Preston. The realization hit me. The cop I’d met at the house, the one who had talked about The Cove and the video that apparently existed. The one whoknew.

I felt sick. I put the cocktail down and rubbed my fingers over my lips. They felt numb.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked, seeming worried.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing. So, your brother is a cop?” I asked, not able to resist poking at the awful realization.

“Yeah, he hasn’t been with HH police that long, but he’s seen a weirdly high amount of action for such a small town.”

“Such as?” I prompted.

Nick gave me a quick smile. “Everyone always wants to hear cop stories.”

“Guilty.”

“Well, a year ago his partner died. It was wild. Some big thing upstate.”

“Oh, really? I think I heard about that.”

Nick watched me closely, and his scrutiny was making my skin crawl.Does he know?

“Yeah, it was on the news, I guess,” Nick continued.

“Any other stories?” I asked.

He studied me. “What are you looking for? Something dark and exciting? Something edgy, or scary? Maybe all of the above?”

I shrugged. Nick’s mood was weird, and he watched me so intensely it felt suffocating. The part of me that expected something bad to happen at any moment was primed for a single sign that Nick knew more about me than he’d let on. That he’d sought me out on purpose.

“Is that what you like, Selena?” Nick asked.

He’d shifted closer, but that all-too-familiar paralysis was already working through me.

He stroked my arm. I couldn’t stop him.

“Is that why you like Brody Sinclair? Because he’s violent and twisted? Because he doesn’t ask for permission?”

I managed to shake my head. “Brody has a lot more self-discipline and morals than you might think?—”

“Bullshit. Men like him take what they want. Maybe that’s what you like.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing was there. The frozen feeling spreading through me was stealing my words. It was that freeze response. The one people only felt when the hindbrain was threatened. Somehow, without knowing why, I was sure that Nick was threatening me.