Page 18 of Now You See Him

Chapter

Thirteen

TINA:

I don’t want to be in the house alone today. Maybe even tonight. Are you free?

DERRICK:

Alone? Yes, I’m free. Want me to come over?

TINA:

I was actually wondering if I could meet you somewhere.

DERRICK:

Sure. I’ll drop a pin.

T ina pulled in front of a small ranch cabin at the edge of the woods on the outskirt of town.

There was a Cat machine out in the yard and two sawhorses with a plank of wood and a handheld table saw resting on top of the makeshift bench.

There was also a stack of wood, windows with new plastic wrap, a roof that was half-covered in tarp.

When he’d given her his location, Tina didn’t register that he was at work or at home. She’d assumed they were going to meet somewhere in public.

She killed the engine just as Derrick stepped out onto the front stoop with his hands tucked in the back pockets of his jeans and his flannel shirt open to reveal a white tee.

Tina got out of her car and crossed the gravel drive as she clocked how hot he looked.

That’s when she realized that his hair was wet. He must’ve just taken a shower.

The first words out of his mouth were ones of concern. “What’s wrong?”

The furrowed brow and hard line of his jaw was endearing.

Tina made her way up the stairs and wrapped her arms around his waist for a hug.

She could just use the contact. Even though a part of her knew she should be giddy at the thought that she no longer had anything to be guilty for when it came to her infidelity, she was still looking at a relationship that was no longer as strong as she’d once assumed. Their memories were tainted.

She buried her face in Derrick’s shoulder and relaxed against his chest. He held her and ran a hand over her back.

“Logan is cheating on me.”

Derrick froze. “What?”

“It’s…a story.”

Derrick pulled back, then laced his fingers with hers. “Come inside. I’ll make you some tea and we can talk about it.”

He led her through his house past the unfinished floors, the bare drywall, and the lack of furniture.

Tina noticed that the kitchen, however, was finished.

Derrick had installed high-end cabinetry and appliances.

The floors were covered in tarp but through the plastic, she was able to make out a dark hardwood that looked incredible.

She was directed towards one side of the island where she sat on one of the stools and watched as Derrick moved around the space, prepping a cup of tea for her.

“Did you just move in or is this one of your job sites?”

He grinned at her over his shoulder, and the boyish charm was so strong, she nearly sighed.

“I don’t really have a permanent place I call home.

Nothing has felt quite right. I buy properties and flip them.

I tend to live on the premises while I’m doing the work because I work on my business’s projects during the day and the only time that I can invest in my flips is before or after work.

If I find a place that feels like home, I’ll settle. ”

“Nothing has felt like home to you yet?” she asked.

He made a humming sound. “Damien’s place did. But it didn’t feel right to be a bachelor living in my brother’s house by myself.”

She thought about it and then leaned against the island on her elbows. “I can see it, though. The way that you’ve put love into that place so that it feels like home. I enjoy every moment of walking those halls and sitting in every room.”

He didn’t say anything as he steeped tea bags in water. She cringed when he shut off the stove and set the tea aside to brew. She came from a chai household and was used to double boiling the shit out of everything.

Derrick turned around and leaned against the sink. He crossed one ankle over the other. “Tell me what happened with Logan.”

She explained every moment in detail, from the drive back to the house, to Logan’s bloody nose, and finally to the white shirt.

“I should be more concerned with the way that Damien is ramping up in his aggressive behavior.”

“But you just found out that your fiancé has been cheating on you.”

“I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Tina said, “but I know the truth. Logan doesn’t make mistakes. However, the woman he’s sleeping with might’ve done his laundry for him and accidently or on purpose mixed her clothes with his.”

Derrick nodded. He ran a hand over the scruff on his jaw. “Logan seems like the kind of guy who would cheat. I don’t know if he ever did with Lucia, but he certainly cut corners in other aspects of his life.”

“I stopped by the hospital to get tested. I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything, since he’s a stickler for condom usage and it’s been a long time since we’ve had sex.

It’s better to be safe than sorry, though.

” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know why it matters, but I have been thinking over and over who it might be.

I’m pretty sure it’s this woman he worked with.

I haven’t thought about her for months, but there was a long stretch of time when we were in New York that he was texting her like, every day at all hours of the day.

She’d been in pictures with him at their holiday parties and they always stood so close.

Then we moved here, and it all stopped. But he’s been going to New York for business trips, so maybe he’s still seeing her? ”

Derrick hummed in agreement, then retrieved a cup, a sugar dish, and a spoon before placing all three in front of her. He did the same for himself and resumed his relaxed pose. “How are you feeling about it? I know you two were together for a long time.”

“I’m not heartbroken if that’s what you’re asking.

A part of me feels less guilty about my own infidelity, but another part of me feels betrayed that we’ve been at this for so long and our relationship could’ve ended so long ago.

I would’ve definitely been heartbroken if he’d called it quits last year, but I also would’ve gotten a year of my life back where I didn’t have to worry about him or his feelings. ”

Derrick hummed again. He made those approving sounds that brewed in his chest and slowly came out of his mouth in a gruff affirmation. “Do you think this is what Damien wanted you to know about Logan?”

Tina thought about it for a moment as she slowly turned the sugar dish. “No,” she finally said. “You?”

“I don’t think this is it either,” he replied. “We’re done yet with Damien. There has to be more to the story.”

He turned his back to grab a napkin. Just as his hand reached across the counter, he froze, suspended in time, his hand curved in mid-motion.

The stillness was so unusual. Not like he forgot something and was thinking his actions through, but like he was posing for a picture or a still life artist. Not even his fingertips moved.

“Derrick?”

Her voice broke his trance, and he was in motion again. Tina took in the wide expanse of his shoulders, the way that his posture changed ever so slightly. It was such a subtle shift, but she’d watched him long enough to know that this was not the way that Derrick moved.

Tina felt the hairs prickle at the back of her neck, and she wondered if he’d turned on the air-conditioning or if it was just the thought that something between them shifted. She cupped her hands around her mug for warmth.

“Derrick?”

No response.

She cleared her throat and tried again. “What makes you think Damien isn’t done yet? I mean, do you think he’s traumatized Logan enough?”

When Derrick turned around, Tina felt a chill to her bones. His expression was harder than it had been when she’d pulled up in front of his home.

This wasn’t Derrick.

He ignored the napkin he was reaching for, and with his eyes on her, started to walk slowly around the island. His posture filled with a mean-spirited swagger that had all of the alarm bells in her head ringing in warning.

“There is nothing I can do that will ever be enough to traumatize that prick,” Derrick said. His voice was gravelly, rough, and deep. The charm she’d come to expect was long gone.

“D-Derrick?”

“I’ll give you another guess,” he said as he rounded the end of the island and slowly inched towards her.

Tina scrambled to her feet and began backing away from the man who had somehow taken corporeal form. “How did you?—”

“We’re twins,” Damien said with a wicked grin.

“I can visit bodies for a few minutes here and there just to get my point across but with Derrick? My soul will always be connected to my good-ol’-boy brother.

He’s there. Inside. Angry as hell. But he’ll forgive me for having a little fun. He always forgives me.”

The stilted way he spoke made her think that Derrick was more than just angry . He had to be furious.

Tina began backing away in slow, measured steps. “What do you want, Damien? Why are you still here?”

He cocked his head. “Do you still not know?” he said quietly. “That big brain of yours inside that killer body. Tits. Ass. Cunt. You’re the full package. You still can’t figure it out, can you?”

She shook her head, desperately trying to suck in air as panic swelled inside her, pressing against her lungs. Her back hit the fridge, and she barely suppressed a yelp.

Damien was on her before she could slide to the left and make a run for it.

His hand slapped against the fridge on either side of her head, and the sound made her jump.

He leaned forward and licked her cheek in one long stroke.

She felt the wetness, the pressure of his tongue and had to suppress a shudder.

Tina closed her eyes. He smelled like Derrick. He looked like Derrick. That’s what she had to remember. “Your brother?—”

“Is obsessed with you,” Damien said blandly. “He can’t wait to get this cock inside your cunt every chance he gets. His head is filled with memories of moments he spent time with you, and since there are so few, they’re on repeat like a broken fucking record.”