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I nodded. “Back then, it was just a field. It was my only inheritance. I was living with my grandmother, and the Magnolia was trying to buy the land from me, but she wouldn’t let them. They’d bought all the surrounding property and she was the only hold out. She hadn’t even told me about it, was going to wait until I was old enough to build a home on it. And your father, he connected with the Vegas mafia. They—” It was hard to swallow, to force the next words through my mouth, “they promised him, for a large sum of money, that they would get me to sign the papers. And…”
It was too much. I couldn’t look into her eyes any longer. Instead I focused on her collarbone.
“They killed her. And, after that, it was easy.”
“Oh my God.” Her hand went to her mouth. “My dad did that?”
“That was before I knew him, of course.”
“But he knew?”
“They didn’t tell him how they were going to do it, and he didn’t ask.”
“Oh, Rook.” She ran her hands through my hair in a soothing motion, and I closed my eyes. It felt so good to be touched.
I think…I think that was the most tempting thing about Summer.
It wasn’t just the fact that I wanted to fuck her.
I could touch her. Feel her pressed to me in bed at night. To hold her close.
I missed being touched.
She continued to massage my head, and now that I’d confessed the truth, the words kept spilling out.
“It was my best friend, Knight. He took me out for my birthday while his father killed my Nana.”
“On your birthday?” Her fingers dug in deeper, making me sink even further into her touch. “What a shitty friend.”
“Yes. He was a shitty friend. Except that, he’d felt so bad, he connected me with your dad. And, since I was only fourteen at the time, I couldn’t provide for myself.” My voice grew soft. “When your dad found out what they’d done, I came to live with your parents. You were born a year after I arrived, and I lived in your home until you were about three years old, when I went off to college. After that, with the danger from the Magnolia, your dad thought it was better if you didn’t know about me.”
I opened my eyes, feeling the heaviness in my chest. The grief of Nana’s death. That the one person who loved me, the only one who’d never betrayed me—I couldn’t keep her safe. “I didn’t even know it was your father’s fault until he confessed it…on his deathbed.”
“Fuck,” she cursed softly under her breath. “I’m so sorry, Rook.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t feel sorry, that my dad did that to you.”
I shrugged a shoulder, trying to play off the pain. “It is what it is.”
She raised an eyebrow, seeing through my nonchalance, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she leaned forward, brushing her soft lips across my nose. “I’m sorry.” Her lips moved to my cheek, softly, sweetly peppering kisses across my face. “I’m so sorry.” Her arms pulling me closer, her fingers massaging, her warmth surrounding me. “So sorry.”
Once again, I closed my eyes, delving into the softness of her attention and affection. Feeling loved and cared for in a way I hadn’t in a long time.
CHAPTER 30
Summer
The envelope in the foyer made me freeze.
That wasn’t here earlier.
Putting down the laundry basket, I approached it slowly, staring at it suspiciously, then glancing around. The house was still—as still as it had been most of the day, with Rook gone again.
He’d disappeared after his revelation last night—slipping away like a wolf, leaving me wondering what he was hunting for.
Acutely aware of every sound and motion around me, I stepped over the envelope, and slowly cracked open the front door.
