Keep Him Away

KILLIAN

Containing my rage throughout the flight quickly became a challenge. What Josie told me didn't sound like the Ryder Phillips I knew, but then my mother's words emerged. What if she was right and none of the people I called friends had ever shown me their true faces because of who I was?

I had to admit that I felt even more conflicted about meeting with Ryder now than before I talked to Josie but for entirely different reasons. If I met Ryder now, I would confront him, force him to tell me everything he had done, and then I would turn him into a bloody pulp.

The only good outcome of this conversation was that I held Josie in my embrace until we landed. She was no longer mad at me… or, at least, her anger visibly decreased. She had fallen asleep at some point, resting her head on my lap as I worked on my computer. She woke up as we landed at LAX and began to chase away the remains of sleep, fixing her hair and makeup. I told her she didn't have to do anything; she looked beautif