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My laugh is sharp and completely lacking in mirth. “I hide things so they don’t hurt you.” And now more specifically, so they don’t hurt Eden.
“And how’s that working out for you?”
I think about that file again. The photos, the documents. The proof that my heart – if I have one – belongs to the devil. “Please just go.Now. There’s stuff out there floating around that could hurt you all. Vin has a dossier. Of everything I’ve done. Some of it is…” I wince. “Really shitty.”
“You think I don’t know that you’re not little Miss Perfect?” Hudson asks, his tone rough, unflinching. “We all have skeletons, West. Every single one of us. You think I’d still be standing here if I didn’t?”
I clench my fists, shaking my head. “This isn’t a few skeletons, Hudson. It’s a mass burial. And if Eden sees it—” My throat burns, the words splintering. “She’ll see exactly what Vin wants her to. That I’m no different than my father.”
“Then give us the file,” Hudson says. “Show us what’s in it. If Vin’s going to use it to bury you, let us see it first. Let us decide if you’re worth fighting for.”
My gut twists, because the truth is I don’t believe that I am. “I don’t have it. Vin does.” It’s a lie, but I’m not ready for him to see it yet.
“And what’s he going to do with it?”
“Nothing.” The word scrapes out of me, sounding hollow.
Hudson’s eyes narrow. “Bullshit. Men like Vin don’t collect evidence for nothing. He’s holding it over you.”
I drag a hand over my face, my jaw still stinging from Asher’s punch. “He doesn’t want money. He doesn’t even want to take the resort from me anymore. He wants revenge. Either I walk away from everything I love, or Eden – and the world – finds out every single shitty thing I’ve done.” I take a breath. “And it won’t just be me that loses everything. It’ll be you, too.”
Asher’s fists curl at his sides. “So you’re planning to save her by doing it for him. By breaking her yourself.”
Hudson exhales slowly, the sound sharp as glass. “You think that’s noble? You think shoving her away makes you a hero? That’s cowardice, West. Pure and simple.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think it is. I’ve never been noble, we all know that. I choose the easy route, the smooth ride. I make things happen whatever it takes. If there’s a problem, I clean it.” I take a deep breath. “But I can’t do that. The easy route? That would be to let you all carry my sins. And I can’t do that. Not to any of you.” I look at each one of them in turn. “And definitely not to your sister.”
“God, he really does love her,” Asher murmurs.
I do. But that doesn’t keep her safe in this mess.
“No,” Hudson says. “I’m not accepting this. We’re going to put our heads together and find another way. Any way. If you love her, that means you should be together. Because God knows she loves you.”
My heart cracks. Just slightly. And I try to ignore it, because I’m straight in my head now. “You’re wasting your time.”
“Ash?” Hudson says, pointedly ignoring me.
“Yep, getting the surveillance up and running.” Asher nods.
“Parker?”
“Food and drinks are ordered,” Parker says. “Arriving in half an hour.”
“Great. Take a seat, gentlemen,” Hudson says, sitting down on my leather couch like he owns the place.
“What’s going on?” I frown. “Don’t you have homes and wives to go to?”
Hudson shakes his head. “Remember our all night study sessions in college? This is a little bit like that. We’re going to figure this out together. No matter how long it takes.”
I glance around at the three of them. Asher barking orders down his phone. Parker kicking his sneakers off and making himself at home. And Hudson, immovable and steady as a rock. My heart tightens.
“You’re all insane,” I tell them.
“Yep.” Hudson nods. “That’s why you love us. Now stop moping and let’s get to work.”
thirty-six
EDEN
