The engine ticked.
Trees. Empty shoulder. His house behind us, my house not yet in front of us. Aiden stared at the wheel like it might forgive him. I stared at his mouth because I could not stare at the slacks again without making a sound.
“What did you just say?”
“I know it’s you.” His voice was low, scraped. “The mask. The name you use. I walked past Jayden’s door six weeks ago and the volume was up. Your mask slipped. Half a second. Same as him. I stood in the hall and watched my son stroke himself to my sister’s daughter, and I didn’t stop him, because I didn’t stop myself from watching either.”
The car felt smaller.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you still sent me to that house for a file.”
“I told myself I needed the packet.” His laugh was short and ugly. “I told myself a lot of th
