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“Just shoot me a text,” he says. “Let me know what you need and want on this.”
“Will do,” Eric says, disconnecting the line. “Call her. Let’s find out what it is that she thinks I know or don’t know.”
I have a horrible feeling this might be about the secrets I’ve kept from him. A really horrible feeling. My gut twists and I desperately want to tell him before I call her, but there isn’t time. There’s too much going on, too much danger in the air for me to delay. I dial my mother, but I don’t put it on speaker phone. She answers on the first ring. “Harper! Harper. God. Harper. What if he dies? What if he dies?” She starts to sob. “And they won’t let me go to him.”
I inhale and let it out. “They’re trying to keep you safe.”
“I need to be there with my husband and my daughter. Are you safe?”
“I’m safe.” It hits me that she knew I was here when I didn’t tell her I was here. “How did you know I was here, mom?”
“Know? You told me.”
I did not, but she’s drugged. Obviously, she’s very drugged. “What was that text message you sent me about?” My eyes meet Eric. “Does Eric know?Does he knowwhat?”
“I—I don’t want him to know. He can’t know.”
“Know what, mother? What are you talking about?”
She starts to sob again. “It would be bad. Oh God. What if he knows? What if he’s the one who did this? What if it was him? What if—”
I stand up, angry now, certain this is indeed about the dirty deeds this family has done to Eric. Certain I have to tell him. I walk toward the window, my voice low, but my fury palpable. “He didn’t do this, but my God, mother. He has every right to hate this family. Can you imagine if they’d done to me what they did to his mother and him? How can you not see what they are? How can you not understand what they’ve done is evil?”
“It was all Isaac. Isaac did it all, not your father.”
“He’s not my damn father and Isaac didn’t do half the shit this family did to Eric. It was Gigi and her damn son. Your husband. And you’re close to both of them. Please tell me that you didn’t have any part of any action against Eric. Because if you did—”
“Why can you not see how much he can take? Why can you not see that he can take everything? Why? Don’t you know—”
“He doesn’t want your money. He has his own. Far more than you will ever have. Tell me you didn’t—”
“Does he know? Is that what this is about? Is he coming for us because he knows?”
I frown. She keeps saying that. “What is it that you think he knows?”
“You know what it is. You know. I told you.”
“You weren’t sure when you told me. Then you said you were wrong.”
“I am. I just—I didn’t want you to hate your father so I—I told you I was wrong. I know you knew it was true, though.”
Bile rises in my throat. It’s true. I can’t believe it’s true and she’s still with that man.
“Did you tell him?” she demands. “Did you tell him because you imagined yourself in love with him? He’s your stepbrother. He’s—”
“Stop! Will you just stop? I don’t imagine myself in love with him. Iamin love with him.” One of my hands presses to the glass. “I love him.”
“He doesn’t love you. He loves power. He’s using you to take everything. He’s taking the love of my life and now he’s taking you and all we’ve worked for.”
The love of her life. Suddenly that isn’t my father. Emotions well inside me. Anger. Pain. More anger. “I don’t even know who you are right now,” I say, my voice low, taut, when I want to screamat her. “Take your Xanax, mother, and go to bed.” I disconnect, trepidation enveloping me. I don’t know how I tell Eric what must be revealed. I think to this point I’ve reasoned away telling him because I wasn’t certain of the facts. But I can no longer deny the truth as reality. But how do I do this? No. I can’t tell him. Oh Lord, help me and him, Ihaveto tell him.
Eric’s hand settles on my waist, warm, strong, and perfect. I don’t want to tell him. I don’t even know if it’s safe to tell him. I rotate to face him, taking in the handsome lines of his face. His firm jaw. His full mouth that can be both brutal and gentle, sometimes within the same few minutes. My gaze lands back on that jaguar tattoo and my hands settle on top of it. “I wanted to protect you.”
His eyes narrow, the blue sharpening with sparks of amber. The air sharpening with his sudden shift in mood. He doesn’t touch me, a charge crackling off of him. “What does that mean, Harper?”
Chapter ninety-four
Harper
