“Boys, please,” Trevor said, voice rising. “Laurence, leave Nick alone. And Nick—leave Connor alone.”
“Suppose Iamthe angel in this situation, hm?” Connor said aloud. “I’m the only one behaving.”
“I didn’t even do anything,” Laurence said.
“Neither did I!” Nick said, irritated.
“Oh, look at that. We’re home. Just in time,” Trevor said as they turned down their dirt drive.
Connor didn’t even bother sitting up, lying on his back as they bounced their way to the house.
Laurence leaned forward abruptly. “Your dad’s here,” he said, tapping Connor’s knee.
Connor frowned at the ceiling. “Really?” He quickly brainstormed, but he was sure he’d already returned everything he’d borrowed from Ben.
“And another Jeep just like his,” Laurence added.
Connor sat up; two identical jeeps were parked in front of the house. “That’s Arthur’s one. He works with my dad at the lab. No idea what he’s doing here.”
Connor’s mind immediately jumped to Adonis. Had something happened to him? Concern spiked in his blood. As Trevor pulled up, Connor got out of the car first, trotting to the door. He opened the front door and followed the hub of voices to the kitchen. Arthur and Austin sat at the kitchen table while Edith and his dad stood by the sink. All heads turned toward him when he walked in; Connor’s gaze snagged on Austin, confused by his presence. The only other car outside was Edith’s… had he ambushed Connor at the house because Connor wouldn’t meet with him?
“Throwing a party, Mom?” Connor asked. His gaze jumped to where Edith gripped the counter so tight her knuckles had turned white. Ben seemed bored, his gaze travelling lazily to Connor like he was hardly interested in him. Arthur offered him a smile while Austin’s gaze was solemn.
“We saw the news earlier, son. I just wanted to come and offer my support.” Arthur broke the silence. As he spoke, Trevor came in. He patted Connor’s shoulder before continuing on to Edith’s side. Plain relief filled her face as she laid eyes on Trevor, and she gravitated close to him.
“I didn’t see the news.” Connor leaned against the door frame. “Support for what?”
An awkward look passed over Arthur’s expression. His gaze darted toward Ben like he didn’t want to be the one to answer.
Connor glanced at Ben. “Dad?”
“Your probation is being re-examined.” Austin was the one that answered. His piercing eyes met Connor’s, not a hint of guilt or shame in them. “And investigated for corruption.”
“I see,” Connor said as Trevor tensed up.
“I’ve contacted your lawyer so that he’ll be available if we need him,” his dad offered.
“I’ll need a new one if there’s a corruption investigation,” Connor said. He thought about Alice and her advice. She’d obviously known about this already.
“I’ll sort that out for you if needs be,” his dad said.
Connor hummed. Maybe leaving something so important up to his dad had been a mistake from the start? Connor had been pleased, at the very least, that even though his dad didn’t travel to see him in his small court trial, he’d gotten him an expensive lawyer. But that lawyer hadn’t exactly pointed Connor in the right direction. In fact, Connor couldn’t recall the lawyer even asking what happened. He’d spent more time telling Connor what he did when he had come-to confused.
“You don’t want a lawyer?” Arthur jumped on Connor’s ambiguous response instantly.
“I’ve already done research into who I want next.” Connor lied. He trusted that whoever Trevor had hired was going to do a better job than the last one, by virtue of Trevor being there to make sure of it. Though if it looked like Connor was going to be locked up, he was fleeing into the ocean with Adonis. There was no way Adonis would understand if he explained it to him. Not when separating for only a few hours at a time upset him. And worst of all, what if Adonis was gone when Connor got back?
Austin stared hard at Connor, but he pretended he didn’t notice.
Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Who were you thinking of? Because a bad lawyer can do much more harm than a good one.” He looked toward Connor’s dad.
“It hardly matters, Arthur,” his dad said.
Trevor’s spine stiffened. Anger flashed in his eyes as he directed his gaze to Connor’s dad. “It doesn’t matter whether your son has good representation?”
Ben glanced at Trevor, the corners of his mouth tugging down. His gaze drifted to where Trevor’s hand was planted at the small of Edith’s back.
Now that was a curious look in his dad’s eye.
