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“It’s not your father,” she quietly said. “No coincidence, either. It’s your brother, Sam. Dylan Reed is your brother. Your twin, in fact.”
Sam’s mouth worked as though he had something to say, but no words came out.
Scarlet rushed on. “I was going to tell you. This weekend. In Montana.” She shot Michael a look and he nodded in confirmation to back her up.
Sam’s brow furrowed as his eyes landed on Michael. “You knew about this?”
“Scarlet was upset over discovering your long-lost family members and she confided in me. Asked for my advice.”
“Discovering?” Sam said the word with a hint of accusation.
Scarlet wouldn’t lie. “Yes, I snooped. Or, rather, I had Bay do it. See, I had this insatiable need to gather every piece of this puzzle, because I’m coming up with nada in solving the art theft. But it was more than that. I wanted to know more about you, Sam. And what I learned was that your father is a criminal serving time in Arizona. Your brother’s been incarcerated as well.”
/> “And likely will be again,” Josh chimed in, “if it’s proven he’s our culprit. Leaving the scene of the crime is a serious offense.”
“Add in deadly conduct,” Michael said in a surly tone. “He intentionally ran Scarlet off the road.”
“Wait.” Sam raised his hand to stop the litany. “First things first. Why would he run Scarlet off the road on purpose?”
“Oh, that.” She let out a long stream of air. “Best guess is that he took the directive from his father. His name is Wyatt Hill. I went to see him in prison. Very brief visit. Pretty much told me to fuck off when I mentioned the art theft.”
Sam stared at her. His Adam’s apple worked as he processed all of this. Then he slowly said, “You think my dad and my brother were in on the heist?”
“I didn’t have a strong gauge of the situation going into it,” she confessed. “I just wanted to talk to Wyatt. Read the barometer where he and Karina were concerned.”
Sam rubbed his nape in obvious consternation. “And you struck a nerve. Because you’re on to something?”
“Could be. Dylan’s move says a hell of a lot, don’t you think?”
Sam’s eyes remained stormy. “My twin brother could have killed you.”
“Don’t go on a guilt trip,” she urged. “You didn’t even know he existed until five minutes ago, and his actions aren’t your responsibility, even if they involve me.”
Michael stepped closer and he gripped Sam’s shoulder. “Man, what happened to Scarlet isn’t for you to take on emotionally.”
Sam’s jaw clenched.
Scarlet said, “There are consequences to my grilling people, Sam. I get in their business and sometimes they push back.”
“When they’ve got something to hide,” he ground out.
“That’s usually the way it works,” she agreed.
“Fuck!” His hands fisted and he appeared as though he wanted to slam them into the wall.
Michael said, “We don’t have anything conclusive here. Why don’t we all bring this down a notch? Get Scarlet home so she can rest. And eat.”
“I am currently commiserating with migraine sufferers the world over,” she said.
“Jesus.” Sam’s angst clearly multiplied. “Yes, let’s go.”
She turned to Josh. “Anything else you need from me right now?”
“You didn’t get a glance at the driver, so no. But you have been a huge help. I hope you’re feeling better soon.”
She gave her old friend a quick hug. “Thanks for following up on my lead.”
“Thanks for providing it.”
