Page 88 of Well Aware

“I have a million-dollar policy on myself,” Romeo said. “And that was the highest policy that my company allows. How the hell do you get a two-hundred-million-dollar policy? And on someone that, and don’t take offense to this, Beau, because it’s not meant to be offensive, is a practical nobody. She had no high net worth. No properties. No job that made her and her family millions. How are they getting these policies?”

“You forgot to give Hopps my order.” Apollo pushed me to the side, forcing me to take the seat that Iris was in and pull her into my lap. She did nothing but lean into my chest as she continued to watch her show. “Also, I have the answer to that. Look.”

I looked, but saw a bunch of nothing that I could make sense of.

“What am I looking at?” I asked.

Several of the closer club members also looked on and saw nothing.

“This is his brother.” Apollo pulled up a photo of Cain and his family smiling. “The one on the left is Cain’s twin brother, Able. He works at this insurance company.” He switched what was pulled up on the screen. “And wouldn’t you know it, this is the same company that gave him the two-hundred-million-dollar policy on his dead fiancée. His fourth dead fiancée.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. “Great. There are two of them that we now have to worry about.”

I whistled and Magnolia looked up.

Jerking my head to get her to come my way, she reluctantly got up and started dragging her feet.

I would’ve laughed at her reluctance to do so had this not been serious.

TWENTY-TWO

Here’s a reminder before you lose your shit today: They don’t serve alcohol in prison.

—Text from Magnolia to Beau

MAGNOLIA

Was it against the rules of the world to have fun and be carefree? To enjoy your life?

Because that was what it was beginning to feel like.

Each time that I felt happy, something would happen to steal that happiness away.

Fucking Cain.

He had a way of ruining everything. And the impressive thing was, he was just existing at this point and he was ruining my life.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He pulled me in to rest on his free knee and said, “Look what Apollo found.”

I leaned more fully into Beau, but also gave my attention to this near stranger beside me. “What am I looking at?”

The computer whiz next to me, Apollo, gave the full rundown. Then Beau told me about what had led him to the conclusion.

“You’re telling me that Cain has a twin. And those two twins are actively ruining women’s lives?”

He nodded.

I buried my face in my hands.

Beau pressed a kiss to the side of my face, and I couldn’t help but lean into his touch just a bit more. “It’ll be okay.”

He smelled so good, and he calmed my anxiety better than Xanax.

“Were they all suicide?” I wondered.

I was aware of the rest of the men at the table remaining silent, but I could feel their eyes on me nonetheless.