He's standing in my doorway.
And for the first time since that awful night at the dance, I truly understand why Kai hated him on sight.
The expensive suit is still there.
The polished shoes.
The perfect hair.
But something about him looks wrong tonight.
Unhinged.
His eyes are too bright.
His pupils are too large.
His smile is too wide.
Almost manic.
Like a man running on too much adrenaline and too much belief in his own importance.
He's handsome in the way magazine covers are handsome.
Artificial.
Manufactured.
But his face is flushed, his movements jerky, and underneath the expensive cologne I catch something sour.
Sweat.
Panic.
Desperation.
A man high on his own power.
A man so used to getting whatever he wants that the word no has become a personal insult.
And somehow, that makes him even scarier.
Because crazy men are unpredictable.
“Mr. Jonas?” I ask carefully. “What are you doing here?”
“Please call me Joel.”
“No.”
His smile widens.
Too wide.
“Still contrary as ever, Mary, Mary.” He chuckles to himself. “But that's okay. Makes the chase more exciting.”
Every instinct inside me screams.