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“I thought you wanted to be.”
“I do. I want to support you, but I understand if you’d rather I wait in the pool house or something.”
Squeezing her hand, I turn to her. “I want you there.”
“Okay, so we’ll head straight there and, depending on what he has to say, maybe you can stay for dinner.”
“Let’s just worry about talking to him and finding out the truth. We can plan whatever comes next after that.”
I can see the worry in her eyes. She knows as well as I do that James might have things to say that I’m not going to want to hear. But she’s right. It’s time for all the truths to be exposed. The hatred I’ve had for him isn’t doing me any good. There’s a reason things happened the way they did, and I need to know the truth.
“James has photographs of the three of us in his office,” I admit, much to Remi’s surprise. “Yeah, I was shocked too.”
“See, I told you he wasn’t a bad guy.” She reaches up and brushes her lips down my jawline. My fingers clench, my need for her all-consuming once again.
My cock stirs. Fucking hell, this weekend can’t come soon enough.
For the first time since I started at Sterling Prep, I want the day to slow down. I might
agree that it’s time to lay all the truths out on the table, but I can’t convince myself that I’m ready to hear them.
“You ready for this?” Remi asks, slipping her hand into mine and threading our fingers together.
“Nope.” She chuckles lightly but doesn’t stop walking toward James’ front door. It’s the first time I’ve used it in weeks, usually preferring to slip in the side door or avoid the house completely. It feels weird walking in like it’s actually my home.
We stop by the kitchen and let Ellen make us both a drink.
“James is in the living room waiting for you,” she says softly, making my stomach twist uncomfortably.
I nod, and Remi squeezes my hand in support. “You’ve got this. And if you need to leave at any time, all you need to do is say,” she whispers in my ear.
“Ace,” James greets as I step into the room. “Remi.” His eyes brighten the second he sees her, and I hate the anger that still stirs within me at seeing his adoration. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
I don’t believe for a second that’s true. He’s fully aware of the situation between us; there’s no way Sarah hasn’t filled him in on everything she knows.
“Hey,” she says lightly. “I hope you don’t mind, Ace wanted me to…”
“Remi, you’re always welcome in this house, you know that.”
She smiles at him before lowering to the couch when I do, tucking herself into my side.
“Okay then Ace, what’s this little meeting about?” His voice is all business, nothing like the man who found me in that motel room and threatened me until I told him what kind of man I thought he was.
That was the last proper conversation we had. It feels like a million years ago.
I suck in a harsh breath. “I want to know the truth. Why did you arrange for our dad to be… killed?” The word almost chokes me. “Why didn’t you help us after, yet you took us in when we had nowhere else to go?”
His eyes flit between mine and Remi’s.
“It’s okay. She’s knows everything I do.”
“Okay.” He takes a breath before reaching forward for his glass of scotch on the coffee table. He drains the lot before sitting back and resting his ankle over his knee.
“Your dad wasn’t a good man, Ace. He was abusive. The way he treated your mother. Fuck. It still haunts me.” His face pales. “But she loved him. No matter what he did, she had an excuse.”
“You were… friends?”
“We all were. The three of us were friends since school. But she chose him.”
