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“Don’t worry about it. Logan understands that a call for help from one of my sisters will never be ignored.”
Tears surged in Violet’s eyes once more, causing Scarlett to curse and Harper to put her arms around Violet’s shoulders.
“You guys are the best,” she whispered past the lump in her throat.
Harper poured the wine and the three of them moved to the couch. Snuggled between her sisters, Violet sipped at the excellent red and told them about JT finding his file and accusing her of using its contents to trick him into marriage.
“How does he not realize that if anyone benefited from you two getting together it was him?” Harper demanded hotly.
“He’s used to being manipulated,” Violet said. “It’s made him guarded and secretive.”
Harper regarded her in dismay. “You’re still defending him?”
“She’s in love with him,” Scarlett said, patting Violet’s knee. “And if anyone is to blame in all this, it’s me. I never should have given you his file.”
“Not true. I could have given him the file immediately or shredded the thing. He never should have discovered it sitting on my desk.”
“But you aren’t to blame for the way he reacted,” Harper insisted.
“In a strange way, even though I never looked at what was in his file, I feel as if I betrayed him.”
Scarlett shook her head. “You’re acting far too reasonable. Rant. Cry. Call him terrible names. He deserves it.”
That wrung a weak smile from Violet. “You know I’ll never do that.”
“Any chance this will just blow over?” Harper asked.
Violet exhaled shakily. “Maybe if it had happened weeks ago, but we’ve grown really close recently. We’ve talked about the future and agreed to give our marriage a chance.”
“That could still happen.” Scarlett looked hopeful.
“Preston is selling Titanium. JT has no reason to stay in Las Vegas.”
“Bastard,” Scarlett muttered. “I think for JT’s sake we need to find out the truth about his father.”
Before tonight Violet might have protested that it was JT’s business not hers, but since he’d called it quits, she no longer had to consider his feelings in the matter. Still, guilt tweaked her. What if he didn’t want his father exposed?
“I spoke with Charity Rimes earlier today,” Violet admitted. “I was going to talk to JT about it tonight before...”
“What did she have to say?” Scarlett demanded, her expression alive with curi
osity. “Why did Tiberius contact her?”
“Remember how she was doing research on a serial killer who was operating in Los Angeles in the sixties? He invaded homes and attacked families. The police never caught him.”
“How is that related to Preston?”
“Turns out one of the families killed was named Rhodes. They left behind a ten-year-old son, Preston, who’d been spending the night with a friend.”
Harper had been leaning forward, fully engaged. Now she sank back against the couch cushions with a whoosh of exhaled air. “That’s awful.”
“Charity was blogging about the families who were killed and Tiberius had been running internet searching on Preston when he stumbled on her.”
“So, how does this help us?” Harper persisted.
“After speaking with Tiberius, Charity got curious about Preston and tracked down his high school yearbook.”
“And,” Scarlet prompted.
