Chapter 63: Skylar

Magda swung open the door to her hotel room, silently letting me in. She gestured to Mitch, who wore a white terry-cloth robe with a Marriott insignia on the breast pocket. His hair was wet and slicked back like he’d just come out of the shower, and he held a bag of ice to his temple.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah.” His head was still, like it hurt to nod. “Did you bring me some clothes?”

I handed him the gym bag I’d brought and he pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, underwear, shoes, and socks… all the stuff he needed.

“Thanks, Skylar.” He got up woozily and headed for the bathroom to get dressed.

When the door to the bathroom clicked shut, Magda said, “Mitch should be getting checked out at the hospital. He almost died, you know.”

My heart stammered. I wasn’t prepared to see him looking so vulnerable and I also wasn’t prepared to find Magda in his hotel room, broadcasting the notion that they’d been intimate. All Mitch’s text had said was, It’s an emergency and I’m worried about Bijou. Please bring me shoes and clothes and I’ll explain everything. He gave me the hotel room number, but that was it. Now I was torn between jealousy, concern, and an urgent panic that had solely to do with my niece.

“I’m just here for Bijou,” I said. “Where is she?”

“Your mom wouldn’t say.”

“What do you mean, ‘my mom wouldn’t say’?”

Magda shot me a look of pure contempt. “I mean that Mitch called her and she wouldn’t tell him where Bijou is.”

The bathroom door opened and Mitch emerged, dressed in the clothes I’d brought him. He walked like he could be knocked over with a push from my pinkie finger. “What’s going on, Mitch? I just failed my Brontë exam, so you’d better tell me everything.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and I got the sense that he couldn’t let himself get comfortable for fear of passing out. “I will tell you everything, but you have to promise to believe me.”

I took a short, shallow breath, and my ribs hurt from the anger I wanted to release. “Why should I believe you about anything?” I pointed to Magda. “You told me she’d gone and yet she’s still here.”

“I’m sorry I lied,” Mitch answered. “But it’s been nearly impossible trying to figure out how best to handle things, when I have her telling me what I can and cannot do.”

By “her” he must have meant Magda. I crossed my arms over my chest and let my eyes travel the length of the room, to where Magda stood, looking innocuous in her gray sweatpants and black turtleneck. I had to admit, she certainly didn’t seem like she was dressing to seduce, not today anyway.

“You can’t use your controlling girlfriend as an excuse for lying to me, for using me—”

“No.” Mitch spoke with a strong, quiet tone, closing his eyes as if meditating. “Magda is not my girlfriend and she’s not who we should be worried about.” He reopened his eyes and the sudden intensity of his gaze weakened my knees. “Skylar, I’m sorry, but Gavin isn’t who you think he is. He tried to kill me today and now he wants to hurt Bijou.”

I laughed.

The idea was so ridiculous, what else could I do? “Gavin’s a murderer?” I swallowed back my laughter, for Mitch was emanating a seriously solemn vibe. “Thanks for the warning. I’m glad you’re okay. Good luck in Florida, but if you think you’re taking my niece with you, get ready for a major legal battle—”

“Skylar!” He jolted up from his sitting position and came toward me. “My journal, and the list in the back?” He widened his dark eyes in question and I nodded to indicate that I remembered. “They were all things that have happened to me. Since she’s died, Jo Beth has taught me to make formula, and she rode shotgun, and she keeps telling me to stay away from you. But even though I went against her, she still saved my life this morning, after Gavin knocked me out and left me to drown in the hot tub. And before she disappeared into a cloud of steam, she told me that I have to protect you and Bijou from Gavin.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “How can you possibly expect me to believe this?”

Mitch placed one hand on each of my shoulders, gently, reminding me of the tenderness we shared last night. My body flushed with the memory.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But if we let Gavin get close to Bijou and something bad happens, how will we ever forgive ourselves?”