Page 65 of Her Dark Lies

But at this moment, with the specter of Shane drifting about, I don’t want to be touched. I certainly don’t want to be hugged. I’m feeling claustrophobic. I want to get out of here. To run away. It’s what I do best, run. I do not want to have to tell my soon-to-be husband about my ties to Shane McGowan.

I have no choice, though. I must, before someone else does.

I extricate myself from his arms, ignore the spike of guilt. He doesn’t seem to notice me pulling away, just smiles benevolently. But there is something sharp beneath his look.

“Katie was being weirder than normal.”

“I told her about the break-in.”

“Ah.” Jack crosses his arms. “You told her what, exactly?”

“Don’t worry. You know me better than that.”

He goes in motion, such a classic Jack response to a difficult question that I know something is coming. He strolls around the room, touching things. The flowers, the marble-inlay table, the handle to the French doors. Such expensive trinkets and furnishings. So decadent. He stares out at the rain for a few moments.

“I know it’s been rough going, darling, but it’s going to be all right. I promise.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“What do you mean?”

I join him at the terrace doors, look out over the turbulent sea. The water has gone from blue to gray, small whitecaps forming. The winds are picking up; a fresh wave of storms are coming in. Clouds are scudding hard across the sky, and thunder rolls across the bay.

“I know who it is. Who...Malcolm shot.”

“What?”

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Jack.”

There’s genuine confusion on his face, and when I say the words I’ve been dreading for so long, watch the ticking of the muscle in his jaw that indicates he is furious, I decide I better go all in.

“Can we sit down?”

“Yes, I think we should,” he says, the words clipped and tight. We face off—him on the sofa, me in the wing chair next to it. He keeps hold of my hand, trying to reassure both himself and me, I think.

“The man who broke into the house, the man who was shot, his name is Shane McGowan. He was my boyfriend for a while. Back before my father died. He was bad news, and I stopped seeing him after the accident. Because he went to jail. I had to testify against him. I—”

Jack has dropped my hand. I feel suddenly cold, and small. Jack’s face is turning red. I expect an explosion, but his voice is as quiet and deadly as I have ever heard.

“That bastard got out of jail and was trying to intimidate you? I’d fucking kill him if he wasn’t already dead. How did Karmen let this happen?”

I’m completely confused. “You knew? You knew about Shane?”

“I don’t know the details. But yes, I know of him. He came up in your background check. I was assured he was nothing to be concerned about. Of course, now we know that assessment was wrong. That’s Karmen’s problem, not yours.”

“Well, it is mine.”

“No. Stick with the plan, Claire. We’ve got this covered. But I’m curious. Why you didn’t tell me about this Shane character?”

“Because he was a bad decision, and I thought he was out of my life forever.”

“Fair enough. I admit I hadn’t given him a thought, either. But we’re a team, Claire. You have to share everything with me. I will never hold your past against you, and I would hope you’d offer me the same courtesy.”

“You aren’t mad at me?”

“Because you dated a jerk in high school? Why would I be?”

“If it gets out, it will embarrass the family. Embarrass you. He is—he was—trouble.”