Page 30 of Their Wicked Secrets: Untouched, Vol 5 of 6

“Yes, ma’am.” I won’t deny who I am to any of these parents.

Her anxious gaze darts to Caden, and she turns to shut the door. Caden stiffens next to me when she turns back around.

“What are you thinking, Caden?” His mom steps toward us and covers her mouth. “She shouldn’t be here.”

Alarm bells are ringing in my head, but I don’t know what to say. Fear paralyzes me. Does she not like me? Did I make a bad impression?

She glances my way, and her eyes soften. “I can’t explain right now, but⁠—”

She cuts herself off. If I had anywhere else to go, I’d be packing my bag. Caden puts his hand on my thigh and squeezes. Not that he’d let me go.

“What’s going on, Mom?”

CHAPTER 10

The Foreign Aid

Caden

My mom must have glitched. Or she knows something I don’t. Which we already assumed. I click on the video chat link and mute it while hitting record.

She steps into the room and drops onto the chair in front of us. Her gaze flows over Harper. “I should have known. You look so much like her.”

Harper is tense next to me, too tense. She trembles beneath my hand. Is she worried I’ll kick her out? Because that’s never happening. She’s mine, and I’ll take care of her no matter what or who stands in our way.

“Get to the point.” I almost growl but hold back. No need to antagonize my mom.

“I went to school with your mom and dad.” Mom smiles faintly. “I wasn’t with Bruce back then. The girls Bruce dated back then were nothing like me.”

Mom touches the side of her hair. Does she think she’s more like those girls now? Plastic and giving in to every whim my father has?

I wrap my arm around Harper’s shoulder and drag her into my side. My parents have always been distant. Our talks are mostly about my progress or Ava’s. I don’t even know how they met. I assume they like each other since they’re always taking off together.

“I liked Jennifer. She and I got along well.” My mom touches her hair again like something might be out of place. “I don’t know a lot, but I know that Bruce and his friends have an interest in something Sean Davidson left behind. I love my husband. There’s a reason we stay away from here as much as possible. But his friends aren’t the kind of people you want to cross.”

Mom’s eyes meet mine. “I hope that you guys aren’t mixed up in this, but it makes sense. I owe Jennifer for something she did for me in high school.” She shakes her head and stands, running her hands over her perfectly pressed skirt.

That surprises me, but knowing Jennifer, maybe it shouldn’t.

Mom’s tone changes as she holds my gaze. “Ava seems to be settling in well. We need to go to Paris to review a contract. I trust that you know what you’re doing?”

For a second, it felt like I had my mom back. The one who used to run around with me and Ava when we were little. The one who was present and willing to stand up to our father. For us. The one who cared.

But there are too many years where I was left on my own. Where I was the one who would protect Ava. The fact is, if they wanted to be here, they could be. A lot of what they do could be done with video meetings, but they don’t want to be here. To be with us. This home has been in our family for generations, so they’ll never abandon it. I nod stiffly.

“We’re fine,” I say.

For a second, a glimpse of sadness and pain flickers in her eyes before it disappears. She heads to the door and pauses with her hand on the knob.

“Your dad isn’t a bad guy, but he was part of something bad. Something I convinced him to leave in the past.” She sighs and opens the door, closing it softly behind her.

“Did you get that?” I turn to my laptop and unmute it. I stop the recording and save it to the cloud where Jack can see it.

Luke, Eli, and Jack look at us from the computer.

“Your mom knows but isn’t involved, it sounds like.” Eli rubs his chin. “Will Ava be safe here without them?”

“I’ll see about her staying with Zoey or having one of the guys stay in the room across from hers.” I rub Harper’s shoulder. She still trembles against me. Fuck.