Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online Page A

having him see whatever it was he was hoping to see—as well as what she was afraid he’d figure out: that nothing had really changed, despite their last conversation. She may have pulled away, but he still had the power to arouse her in spite of her fears and scars.
    â€œThe only sexual experience you have occurred with someone who purposely destroyed your trust by torturing and raping you for three days,” he added in disgust.
    Jasper with an electric cord. Jasper wielding a knife. Jasper holding the pillow he’d used to deny her oxygen. The memories flooded Evelyn’s mind before she could stop them.
    Amarok cursed when he noticed her flinch. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
    â€œIt’s okay.”
    â€œI can’t help thinking—never mind.” He shook his head.
    â€œWhat?” she prompted.
    He hesitated.
    â€œ What ?” she said again.
    â€œI should’ve thrown up a roadblock, mounted some resistance to having Hanover House in the area instead of letting the mayor and everyone else who wanted jobs for the community talk me out of fighting your pet project.”
    â€œThen we never would’ve met.”
    â€œExactly.”
    She winced. “You regret knowing me?”
    A change came over him, as if he was suddenly taking note of every nuance of her expression and body language. “Not knowing you would make my life easier. I’d be lying if I said the thought of you, of us, didn’t cross my mind just about every day.” He tipped his glass her way. “More than once. So yeah, I guess I wish we’d never met. Then I wouldn’t know what I was missing.”
    She hated that he felt that way, had never wanted to negatively impact his life. “Well, maybe you’ll get rid of me sooner than you think. Tonight, when my car wouldn’t start I was tempted to make my plane reservations back to Boston.”
    â€œYour parents would like that.”
    So would her sister; they all wanted her to come home. But she wouldn’t, not until Hanover House was thriving and she had someone else who was equally committed to what she’d created ready to take over. After what Jasper had done, she was in it for the long haul.
    Amarok poured himself another drink. “And when you leave, we’ll be stuck with what you created: Hundreds of psychopaths living within a few miles of all we hold dear.”
    â€œThose psychopaths have to be held somewhere.”
    â€œThey didn’t have to be held here.”
    â€œSome claim psychopathy is on the rise, Amarok. According to the statistics, four percent of the population could be classified with the disorder—that’s one in twenty-five! With numbers like those, chances are most of us will run into at least one in our lifetime.”
    â€œHaving Hanover House in Hilltop might guarantee it for the people here.”
    â€œStill. It’s a step in the right direction. Knowledge is power. Psychopaths make up only twenty percent of our prison population, yet they perform over half of all violent crime. And they are very difficult to detect. That means it’s not just my problem.”
    â€œWe haven’t had a murder in Hilltop in a decade.”
    â€œConsidering all the security measures at HH, the community is as safe as ever.”
    He frowned but didn’t answer.
    â€œAnyway, let’s not argue. Let’s talk about something else.”
    â€œFine. Feel free to change the subject.”
    â€œI will.”
    â€œTo…”
    â€œHow’s your father?” These days his father lived in Anchorage, where he and his new wife exported seafood for a living.
    â€œDoing great.”
    â€œAnd your mother?”
    He shrugged.
    â€œShe still in Seattle?”
    â€œI guess.”
    â€œYou don’t know?”
    â€œHaven’t talked to her.”
    His mother left his father when he was only two and took his twin brother to