“I’m sure. Anyway, it’s just us and Mom tonight. Elliot has some shit he had to do apparently, and before you ask, I have no idea what it is. Probably his new girl if you believe what Mom says.” He held up both hands in defense.
“Aren’t you two joined at the hip? How’d he escape you?” I asked jokingly, but Evan’s face grew somber.
“I don’t know, Em. He’s been weird for the last couple of months. I don’t know what his deal is. I only really see him at the ranch with Uncle Howie, and even then, he shows up, works, and bails out. Mom swears it’s his new girl, but I haven’t even met her, which is…odd.”
He closed the front door, and we started walking into the living room with him. I looked back at Wyatt to see what he thought of Evan’s comment, but he said nothing. His face was completely unreadable. I swallowed and rubbed mypalms against my jeans. I didn’t like this—the feeling that he knew something that I didn’t.
On the other hand, I trusted him, and with how I was feeling right now, I needed to trust in that fact—nothing else mattered. I just needed to confront my mom, and see how much she knew about what Bennett was involved in.
Thinking of the Devil, Mom walked out of the kitchen in one of her favorite floral dresses. This one was a halter-top with baby blue flowers and a flowy skirt. Her matching baby blue pumps felt ridiculous on the carpeted floors, but she seemed pleased to see us, so I wasn’t going to push my luck by making a joke about her shoes on this carpet that looked to be older than me.
“Hello darling, and Wyatt,” she said, her voice just as peppy as her smile. “I hope you’re both hungry. I made a roast for dinner. Well”—she shrugged—“Evan made the roast. I just made the sides. But the meat is from your uncle, so all local to you both, which makes it feel fancier, I think.”
Wyatt smiled his normal, charming boyish smile that spoke of years of dinners with his mom’s friends and being the sweet, quiet brother.
Thankfully, there wasn’t much talking before we all sat down to eat—my mother at the head of the table, Evan on one side of her, and Wyatt and I on the opposite side. Food was passed around, small talk was made, and the entirety of it, I couldn’t stop bouncing my leg beneath the table clothed furniture. Sweat was literally dripping down my back, and no matter how much water I drank, my throat stayed tight, my mouth continued feeling as dry as the Sahara.
Wyatt’s hand eventually slid over to my leg, giving my thigh a squeeze while we locked eyes—the communication was simple.Chill the fuck out, and maybe I’ll tie you up later.
Was that exactly what he was thinking? Who knew, butit’s what I was going to be running with while I took a few deep breaths and shoved this damn roast in my mouth.
“So, Ember, how’s work been?” Evan asked when there was a lull in the conversation.
“Oh, um, well busy with the autumn season in full swing now. Lots of pumpkin-flavored type things.” I shrugged and gave him a forced smile. We hadn’t brought up work yet because that would mean diving into where my anxiety lied, and I wasn’t ready. But the meal was winding down, and it was now or never.
Wyatt gave me an encouraging smile, and I let out a breath.
“Actually, I need to talk to you about something. Well, Mom, but might as well bring Evan into the conversation too.” I blew out a deep breath while they both stared at me. Mom set down her silverware, dabbing her mouth with her cloth napkin before setting it back in her lap, her full undivided attention on me.
“I received a call a few months ago from my accountant and one from someone who works at my bank, letting me know there had been some weird activity with my credit report.” My gaze dropped down to my hands in my lap, my fingers fidgeting relentlessly. “After some digging, it seemed that someone was taking out loans and credit cards in my name, racking upa lotof debt, and then bailing on it.”
“Oh my god, Em. What the fuck?” Evan exclaimed, the shock clear on his face. “Did you call the cops?”
I nodded. “Yeah, yeah of course. The detective was honest with me. Said these cases are hard to pursue unless I know who’s behind it. So that’s when I hired Wyatt. A friend recommended him with his background in cyber security and whatnot, and he said he’d see what he could find out. I just wanted a lead so I could take it to the detective. It wasmessing with my business accounts by that point and…” I trailed off, letting out another breath before I started crying in this horrid house.
“She was under a great deal of stress,” Wyatt cut in, giving me a much-needed break.
“Well, what were you able to find?” Mom asked. I couldn’t read her face right now. She looked concerned, but there was also a lack of shock on her face, like Evan possessed right now.
“I tracked the most recent stuff to an offshore bank account and lost it there.” He glanced over at me, and I gave him a small nod. “But the earlier activity I tracked back to one person. Actually, someone here, at this address.”
My gaze shot to his. This address? But that would mean…
“He’s living here?” I whispered the question, but all my attention was directed at my mother.
“Is who living here?” she shot back, her eyebrows raised, and her lips parted in shock—it was dramatic, but at least it was a reaction.
“Bennett,” Wyatt responded, pulling out the folder with copies of the evidence we’d collected. The evidence I’d never looked over because it didn’t dawn on me that I truly shouldreadeverything Wyatt had put in there.
Even when he’d said the mail was at the same address, it hadn’t clicked. Not truly.
My mother stared at the unopened folder, not moving a muscle. I thought about opening it myself, throwing the papers in her emotionless face, maybe we could read it together, but before I could, Evan reached across the table and opened it himself.
I watched my brother grow angrier and more confused as he flipped through the paperwork, and a sense of numbness started sinking into my bones.
“I don’t understand. Mom, did you know about this?” Evan asked. “The earlier cards he got were sent here, to this address? I thought Dad just got home a few weeks ago.”
“He did. He comes and goes, you know that. I don’t open his mail. I just set it in a pile for him when he gets back.” She shrugged again, a shade of indifference coating her voice that made me want to scream. This was the tone she normally used with me, now out in the open for everyone to see.
