Page 90 of Tell No Lies

My mother is a liar.

He cleared his throat. “I talked to Mom.”

“And?” I closed my bedroom door behind me.

“She didn’t want the press to get ahold of the story, so she kept things hush-hush by keeping everything out of the court. She had her lawyer settle with Morgan’s. As long as he receives treatment for his illness, they’ll drop the charges. His original plea was insanity, so he got what he wanted, and so did Mom. He’s not in prison, and the press stayed out of things.”

“How could she do that?” I slid down against the wall.

“She probably thought she was protecting you. I can’t explain her actions.”

“She was protecting herself.” I nearly growled the words.

“We’ll deal with her later. Right now, we have to focus on what’s happening here. The police said they ran background checks on his contacts in and outside of the hospital. They found nothing. There’s no connection to you, our family, or anyone in our area. This doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe they were right, then. Maybe it was just some stupid prank.” Even I could hear the desperation in my voice. I needed to believe this.

“You and I both know that’s not true.” I could picture him rolling his eyes.

“I know, but sometimes I wish it was.”

“I’m sorry, Aubrey. I wish there was more I could do. I’m supposed to take care of you and protect you now.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “It’s not your fault. I know you’re doing everything you can. We just have to let the police do their job.”

He sighed into the phone before responding. “Yeah. Right. Well, I wanted to let you know that things are running behind. I don’t know when I’ll make it home. Could you ask one of the girls to stay with you?”

“Yeah, no problem. Just finish your project.”

“I’m trying. This is a huge client, and if all goes well, this could put us on the map as a top programming company. I’m just sorry I can’t be there for you more.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have plenty of people watching out for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

I hung up with a sigh. How was I going to get the guys to leave if they knew Brandon might not make it home for a long time?

I snuck back out to the living area and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to me. The guys had their eyes glued to the movie, and Mckayla and Talia were painting their toenails. Alexis was in the kitchen with her head in the fridge.

I tiptoed over to her and tapped her shoulder. She gasped, almost dropping the water bottle she was drinking from. Her hand flew to her chest as she took a deep breath. “You scared me!”

I couldn’t help but giggle at her reaction. “I was being sneaky. I didn’t know I was such a good ninja.” I winked and moved past her to grab a water for myself. “I need your help.”

An arched eyebrow punctuated her suspicious gaze. “With what?” She set down her bottle and pulled her long brown hair into a loose ponytail. She was ready to get down to business.

“Brandon just called and told me he won’t be home tonight. He wants someone to stay with me, but I have to make sure the guys leave.”

“You want them to leave without Brandon being here? Good luck. Mike is not going to go for that.”

I nodded. “I know. Hence why I need your help.”

She threw her head back and groaned. “Either we tell them you’re having a feminine emergency, or we threaten to have security escort them out.”

“What? Those are your options? What does a feminine emergency even mean?”

She shrugged like it was obvious. “Guys always freak out and leave when you mention that stuff.”