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“I know you do. I also know that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“You know what scares the hell out of me? Having to tell my brothers all of this.”
“Why should that scare you? They love you just as much as they ever did.”
“How can I tell Talon? How can I tell him that my mother had him tortured to punish our father for getting his mother pregnant? That I was let go simply because I was hers?”
“Doesn’t he already know? Seems to me you told me that Wendy had pretty much told Joe and Talon as much.”
“True. But that was before…”
“Before what?”
“Well, first of all, before they knew the truth about my parentage. And second of all, when we all thought Wendy was just a nutty liar.”
“Wendy is a nutty liar.”
“I’m not so certain of that anymore.”
Ruby looked down at her wineglass for a minute.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’ve been doing some
thinking about Wendy,” she said. “I have a theory that I haven’t had a chance to discuss with you yet. Part of it you already figured out yourself, that Wendy has been in more of a position of control than any of us ever thought. But there’s something else I’ve been considering.”
“And?”
“Don’t get me wrong. Wendy is a completely twisted psychopath. And yes, she’s a liar. But I’ve dealt with many psychos in my day, Ryan, and something about Wendy stands out. The woman is smart. Not just run-of-the-mill smart, but genius smart. When she lies, I’m pretty sure she lies on purpose. For a reason. She may play the crazy liar at times, but I think she always knows what she’s doing.”
I shook my head. “Honestly, baby, nothing would surprise me about the woman.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to discuss this with you before now.”
“It’s okay. We’ve all been busy. By the way, were you able to get a trace on the number of the text that warned you not to go home last night?”
“Unfortunately, no. It appears to have come from a disposable phone, which has, of course, disappeared into thin air.”
“At least that means it probably wasn’t my mother,” I said.
“Not necessarily. Your mother seems to know how to get what she wants. She could have easily gotten an orderly to smuggle in a disposable phone for her.”
“Shit.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Just when I thought there might be something she isn’t responsible for.”
“The police were at my apartment today. Nothing seemed amiss. It could have been a hoax.”
“I don’t care. I want you here, where you’re safe.”
“I understand. One thing I’ve tried to pride myself on over the years is not doing stupid things.” She let out a nervous laugh. “You know, like driving a hundred and fifty miles an hour and then answering the phone.”
“Touché,” I said. “But I was—”
“It’s okay,” she interrupted. “I honestly get where you were coming from. Do you think I haven’t considered taking off? Just leaving all this shit behind? Believe me. I’ve been tempted more times than I can tell you.”
I forced out a laugh. “When I first became attracted to you, I never dreamed we’d have so much in common.”
“You mean DNA we wish we could escape?” She shook her head. “Neither did I.”
