Jo sighed. She was concerned. There was no flippancy in her answer. “I only believe she isn’t currently in danger because you broke up with her, Bran. The same with James and Jane. He broke up with her and the pictures stopped.”
“I still get a picture every once in a while,” James admitted.
“James!” Jo shouted, clearly upset forandwith her brother.
Bran’s stomach dropped. “Jesus! So, whoever is doing this still watches the women. Jo! Raven could very well still be in danger. Surely, you see that.”
“I understand, and I will pass all this information on to her.Shewill decide what she wants to do, and remember, Bran, five fucking minutes ago you thought she did everything in those pictures! So, don’t tellmehow worriedIneed to be now!”
Jo was right. What right did he have to anger— unless it was directed at himself?
“There must be someone with a grievance attached to both our families in some way. That being said, James, if you treated Jane in any way like Bran treated Raven when you broke things off...” she audibly swallowed down her emotion. “If it were me, I would never take you back. Even if you begged.”
Bran felt the blow. His whole body bent forward, his hands landing on the cold metal of the table’s top. He heard James admonishing his sister.
“No, James. Stop. She’s right. I doubt you spoke to Jane the way I spoke to Raven. I’ve never done anything more devastating, so purposefully cruel, in all my life.” Bran looked at his dad and brother. “I will spend the rest of my life, even if Raven is not in it, attempting to make things right. There will beno one else for me. But I agree with you, Jo. I don’t deserve her forgiveness.”
“You don’t even know if she is innocent, yet you want her back?”
“I don’t give one motherfucking damn if the photos are real or not. Raven’s guilt could be no greater than my own. The photos only matter if we have someone after our families.”
“Okay then, Bran. I believe you mean it. I still won’t tell anyone anything about them, but,whenyou guys do find out the photos were altered, I will make sure the Byrnes are made aware of the situation. They can choose what to do about their safety.”
“Agreed.”
Bran looked at Dad and Patrick, who both nodded. They would track down the sisters whether they wanted to be found or not.
All three menwere outside Triskelion Territory Designs in Eufaula an hour later. The blinds were drawn shut. The placard on the door they’d all admired upon their first visit had been removed. The tiny screw holes the only evidence it had ever existed.
“Oh God, Bran. Look.”
Patrick was pointing to the window to the left of the door. A Real Estate sign was placed against the glass on the inside of the blinds. A For Sale sign— that had a separate Sold sign placed diagonally across the middle.
Gone. She was gone. She’d left him.
After he’d left her.
“We’ll find them, son. We know they’re safe. Josephine wouldn’t lie.”
Bran wasn’t sure how long he stared at the Sold sign.
“They meant to never see us again.” Patrick was leaning his back against the door. “Sorry Bran, but I understand Raven wanting to stop contact, but why River and Rowan?”
Bran had to lean against the side of the building. His legs were weak. He felt so very cold. Empty.
“How is it hard to understand? What you do to one, you do to all of them. We hurt Raven, and they wouldn’t allow us anywhere near her, which means we go nowhere near any of them.”
“I guess you’re right, Dad. It’s just... River knew she was moving to who knows where and didn’t say goodbye to me.” Patrick sounded as lost as Bran.
“I don’t mean this as a slight against you, Pat, but as your father, I’ve seen you with a lot of women. You treated River like a good friend, true, and I can’t fault that. You made each other happy, but you made sure to keep her well away from... you. She probably didn’t know you’d care if she wasn’t there.”
While Pat stewed over Dad’s truth bomb, a glint kept catching Bran’s attention on the parking sign across from them. With each slight wind gust, the metal would fractionally twist side to side. What was he seeing?
Bran walked across the sidewalk to the sign, bending so he could see the groove in the galvanized steel post. He finally saw what was catching the sun’s light. Reaching out, he dug at the small disk, popping it off and letting it fall into his palm. There was a small magnet on one side.
“What are you doing, Bran?”
Bran turned around and held it up to his dad. “What in the hell is this?”
