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“We couldn’t have,” Roy interjected. “We’d have wanted to, and we’d have tried, but we wouldn’t have been able to protect her. I wish it were different, but it’s not.”
“So there’s no use in any of you feeling guilty for doing nothing when you didn’t know anyway,” I said. “Had you tried, he’d have made you pay. Big time. So please, give yourselves a break. You couldn’t have saved me, and I know you would have tried. Frankly, I’m glad you didn’t know. I can’t bear the thought of what he might have done to you.”
True words.
“Was our father a megalomaniac?” Rock asked. “Or a fucking psychopath?”
“He was a pedophile, for sure,” Reid said.
“Only with me.” I raised my hand when mouths opened to interrupt me. “Hey, he’s a sicko for sure, but he never touched another child.”
“Even in his hunting games?” Lacey asked.
“I didn’t know about that. All I can tell you is that there were times when I…” Nausea crept into me.
“It’s okay,” Lacey said. “You don’t have to tell us.”
“Except you do,” Rock said. “We need all the information.”
I nodded, gulping down the nausea. “Sometimes he…with others…and their children. Some of them shared. He didn’t. He never touched anyone but me and he didn’t let anyone else touch me.”
“I suppose there’s that,” Rock scoffed. “But just because you didn’t witness him molesting other children doesn’t mean he didn’t. That doesn’t make me feel any better, Sis.”
“Me either,” I said.
“The woman I saw who escaped appeared to be an adult,” Roy said. “She was young, for sure, but definitely through puberty. That doesn’t mean she was of age.”
“True,” Lacey said. “But if she and Zinnia are the same person, Zinnia had to be of age to sign a legal document.”
“And if they are one and the same,” Reid said, “years had passed between the two incidents. She could have been underage when Roy found her.”
“All true,” Lacey agreed. “We need to find her.”
“The PIs are on it, baby,” Rock said. “We need to prepare ourselves to act like the grieving children tomorrow at the asshole’s memorial.”
“We’re losing a buttload of money every day we don’t break ground in Vegas,” Reid reminded us.
“I don’t think any of us care about that at the moment,” Rock said.
“Someone has to. We’re in great shape, but we can’t keep delaying. This is still a business.”
“Fine, fine. You and I’ll go to Vegas first thing next week and get it figured out.”
“Good,” Reid said. “We can’t put it off any longer.”
The servers arrived with our salads—spinach with avocado and tomato and a jalapeno ranch dressing.
I took a bite.
Mmm. Spicy. And delicious.
Not nearly as spicy as the Mexican food I’d eaten in Montana with Matt, though.
Damn.
I missed him.
I missed him so much.30Matteo“There isn’t a lot to tell,” I said. “I’m from a small town in Montana outside of Billings called Sumter Falls.”
“Oh? How do you know Riley?”
“I don’t, really.” Not actually a lie. I sure didn’t know her as well as I wanted to.
“Not buying it, dude,” Fox said. “No one flies to New York from Montana to meet a supermodel without knowing her. Unless he’s a stalker.”
I nearly spit my sixty-five-dollar bourbon on the bar. I swallowed quickly. “I’m no stalker.”
“Yeah, you don’t look the type. I had one once. She was a real piece of work.” He took a drink. “Still, though, why’d you fly here to find Riley?”
“If I tell you the truth, you need to keep it in confidence.”
“Absolutely. Who would I tell?”
“Well…everyone in the modeling industry comes to mind,” I said.
“That’s not my style.” Fox set down his glass and met my gaze. “What’s your story?”
“Do I have your word that it stays between the two of us?”
“You do.”
For some reason, I believed the young man who was a virtual stranger to me. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I just needed to tell someone about Riley and me. Maybe that would make it more real. I was beginning to wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing.
“She rented a cabin of mine in Montana. That’s how we met.”
“Oh?” He lifted his brows. Yeah, his interest was definitely piqued. “So that’s where she ran away to. Montana.”
“Ran away?”
“Yeah. Like I said, it’s her MO.”
“Why?”
“Why?” He chuckled. “If I had to wager a guess, probably because she’s a spoiled brat whose had everything handed to her since the day she escaped her mother’s womb.”
“Hey, wait a minute—”
“Easy. I mean no disrespect. She’s great at what she does. I’ve already told you that. But she doesn’t seem to take her career seriously. Why in hell would she just take off whenever the wind blows, you know? Answer? Because she can. Daddy takes care of her.”
“Uh…didn’t you hear? Daddy’s dead.”
“Yeah. That’s right. Someone offed him.”
“So she’s probably mourning him,” I said.
“Then why did she run away? To get away from her brothers?”
