Personal Demons by Stacia Kane Page B

didn’t you tell me about this?”
    The TV went on in the other room. Dante was channel-surfing. Each time the sound changed she cringed. Brian loomed over her in front, Dante made himself right at home in her living room. Even her house wasn’t private.
    Her life certainly didn’t seem to be.
    â€œI try not to think of it. It was a long time ago, I was innocent and the story never made the bigger papers. I thought it was forgotten.”
    She’d thought she’d left it behind. Left it in Grant Falls along with everything else. That’s why she hadn’t said anything. She wanted to kick herself. How arrogant she’d been, to think she could move on.
    â€œWe talked about your childhood,” Brian said. “About small-town life, remember? Just today, in fact. But you kept this hidden.” He put the papers back in his pocket. “Don’t you see the position you put me in by hiding this from me?”
    â€œYou’re writing a puff piece. Why do you need to know that when I was sixteen I was a suspect in the murder of a local homeless man? A murder I did not commit?”
    â€œNot just a murder, Megan, a violent, ritualistic murder, and I need to know because my editor got a copy of this, too, and wanted to know why I hadn’t discovered it on my own. There was nothing about this in the papers in Redwoods City. Which makes sense, since it turns out you lied about where you grew up.” His anger throbbed around her. “I’m used to reticence. I can even understand why you didn’t mention this. But I would have found out anyway, you know. Like I said, I’m a good journalist.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you going to do about it?”
    â€œI’m going to do what I have to do.” Tears sprang to her eyes, but he wasn’t done talking. “If you’ll help me, if you’ll be open and honest about this, I can turn it into nothing—a brief mention in an otherwise glowing article. If not—if you keep lying and hiding things from me, and ditching me so you can go on dates like you did tonight—”
    â€œI wasn’t on a date. Dante picked me up. My—car wouldn’t start. I called him.” What the hell was his problem with her anyway? So she’d lied about her past. She couldn’t imagine she was the first of his intervieweesever to do so. Did every local socialite tell the truth about her age and upbringing?
    Something deeper hid behind Brian’s anger, but the thought of reading him and finding out what it was filled her with exhaustion. Tomorrow she’d do it. Tomorrow she’d take care of all of this.
    â€œSure.” He didn’t meet her gaze. “Anyway. Tomorrow we have a lot of talking to do. Just promise you’ll tell the truth.”
    Megan bit back a sharp reply and nodded. “I promise.”
    â€œGreat.” He reached out and took her arm, his hand cold through the fabric of her shirt. “I like you, Megan. But I’m not going to pretend a story doesn’t exist if there is a story. So play fair with me and stop trying to make me look like an idiot.”
    â€œI wasn’t.” Now that the conversation she dreaded had been put off for at least a day, Megan didn’t want to stand in the kitchen anymore. She wanted to go sit down. Preferably with both men gone and a nice large drink in her hand.
    â€œSure you weren’t.”
    â€œHey, Brian? Don’t talk to me like that. I didn’t want to do this stupid story to begin with. The only reason I am doing it is because my boss is making me. I’m not here to help you or make sure you get a good story, I’m here because I have to be.”
    He didn’t move. The TV in the other room was still blaring and Megan wanted to go in and see what Dante was up to. If she didn’t hurry up he’d probably order pay-per-view pornography or something. She wouldn’t