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“I just…He…I tried…I can’t…My dad…Hale…” I wheezed and sobbed shrill snippets of hysterical gibberish.
Every wasted breath left me dizzy and motion sick, but I needed to keep going. I couldn’t keep it in any longer.
“He’s going to know what he did and wonder why I kept this from him. Fuck! I’m not a liar, Barrett. He’s the liar! Why? Why wasn’t I enough for him to just be my dad? And now… Oh, God. What if he calls it off?”
“Hey, hey, hey. You have to chill out, Rayne. You’re not making any sense.”
I sat up and swayed, the car turning and my stomach lurching. “I don’t want his fucking money!”
“No one thinks you’re like that. Did something happen?”
I nodded and sniffled, the scent of pine and cigarette smoke making matters worse. My entire face was soaked with tears and I needed to get out of this cab.
“Can we go somewhere? I can’t go back to the hotel right now. I don’t want to run into anyone we know. But if I don’t get out of this car I’m going to be sick.”
“Sure. We’ll go somewhere we can hide out for a while.” He knocked on the divider. “Head for the Queensboro Bridge.”
“You got it.”
Barrett pulled the pocket square out of his jacket. “Here. Mop yourself up. You’re leaking everywhere.”
“Thanks.” I blew my nose. “I’m sorry Hale talked to you like that. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know.”
“Hale’s just…complicated. He’s been through a lot.”
“I’m not an idiot. I can put two and two together.”
I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, Rayne. My dad. Jasmine. Their marriage isn’t a secret.”
No, but it was something no one openly discussed. Did Barrett know that it started before Elara was born? And if so, how much did he assume about his niece? “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying she dated Hale first. My dad could have had any woman he wanted. But he poached from his own son.”
That didn’t clarify how much Barrett actually knew. Did he know they slept together when Hale was still dating her—when Remington’s wife, Rachel, was still alive? Did he realize that Hale wasn’t Elara’s biological father?
“My point is,” he continued. “I get why my brother has trust issues. But I’m not his rival. He was out of line tonight.”
“He was,” I agreed.
“If he wasn’t getting married, I would have punched him in the mouth. I’d never betray him like that. I think you’re great, Meyers, but you’re Hale’s. That he could even accuse me of crossing that line infuriates me, but I get how he got that way. The fact that he can somehow stand in the same room with our father shows how strong he is. But he’s still human. He’s allowed to have a human moment every now and then.”
“Hale loves you, Barrett. This jealous side of his, it isn’t something he’s proud of. I think the closer the wedding gets, the more terrified he is that something’s going to ruin it.”
He studied me for a long moment. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, but there’s other stuff going on.” We still had to deal with the prenuptial agreement and then there were all the problems my dad had caused. “Tomorrow’s going to be stressful.”
“Tomorrow’s the bachelor and bachelorette dinner. Maybe that’s what he needs, a few drinks to loosen him up.”
I wasn’t worried about the parties. I was worried about the hours beforehand.
Eventually, Hale would ask me to sign that contract and then I’d have to tell him about my dad. Compiling the stress of a prenup—a document that essentially stated money and trust do not go hand in hand—with the additional taxing proof that deceit and immoral behavior was a direct part of my family tree, well, it was enough to make me run away and hide, which seemed to explain my current situation.
I looked out the window as we traveled under an overhang for the trains rushing above. The buildings had shrunk from skyscrapers to two-story storefronts. Most of the windows were covered with metal cages for the night.
