Of course, he wouldn’t let it die without comment. No matter how much had changed during the past two months, it wasn’t enough to beat down his ego.

“Keep in mind when I say that, I mean everything about you.” I paused and decided I wasn’t quite willing to dwell on the implications of that statement. “You know, the sick, horrible things you did to me. Your total disregard for humanity, mine included. Things like that.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, as well.” His voice was suddenly husky, as though he was about to cry.

Please, please don’t let him have an Oprah moment right here while I’m driving. I don’t think I could handle that.

“That was, of course, until you accidentally murdered…” He turned his face away, so that when I looked at him, all I could see was his profile. “That was cheap. Of course, I can’t fully blame you for what happened to her.”

“How generous.” I swallowed the lump of guilt that formed in my throat. “I am sorry. You know I don’t like to see innocent people hurt.”

“But my father does.” Cyrus shook his head. “No matter. Let’s talk of something else, shall we?”

“Like what? The weather?” Unbelievable. He was exactly like his old self, if he thought it was appropriate to dismiss the fact he’d laid her death on me. “You’re really an asshole.”

“Carrie, I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes, grimacing.

He hadn’t meant to apologize. And he regretted it. My breath came out with an angry, disbelieving grunt. “Well, don’t kick your ass over it or anything!”

“That’s a very difficult thing for me to say to you! You rejected me!” His hand clenched to a fist on the armrest.

I remembered too well his tendency toward violence, and I edged away in my seat a little. Fat lot of good it would do me, though, the centimeter shift I managed, and it only exacerbated the stiffness in my lower back. I forced my irritation—and nervousness—away. “In all fairness, you kind of killed your chances when you ripped out my heart.”

“After you came into my home and betrayed me.” His voice dropped to a deadly murmur. “After you willingly came to my bed, plotted behind my back every moment I was inside you.”

If I could have taken my hands off the wheel, I would have slapped him. “I knew humanity wouldn’t change you.”

He looked startled and wounded by my comment. “You don’t know a damn thing about how I’ve changed.”

I shook my head. “Cyrus, we shared a telepathic bond once. I saw exactly how deviant your mind is. You’re making an attempt, and a pretty lame one at that, to convince me everything I saw in your head was a lie?”