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"I already told you, we have it in hand."
A bitter laugh rips from my throat. "You're a liar. We both know you don't have him under control, because if you did then he wouldn't have been at the house two days ago and Marcus wouldn't be dead right now."
"It was an accident, Bexley."
"Bullshit. Jesus, you're so naïve. You really think he's just gone, don't you?" I shake my head as I start pacing, disbelief flooding my veins.
"It's just the shock," Phillip informs me, as if that explains why I'm so fucking angry right now.
The sound of footsteps approaching cuts off the less than polite response I was about to spit back at him.
"Here, I got you—Bexley, you got here fast," Harrison Rexford says, passing Phillip a coffee and pre-packaged sandwich. "I'm so sorry for your loss. They did everything they could."
"Oh, I'm sure they did. It's what you lot have been doing that I'm more concerned about."
Harrison's brow furrows.
"Easton thinks this was Kingsley," Phillip informs him.
"We're having the car looked at as we speak to confirm that it was just an accident. I must admit the thought had crossed my mind." Harrison's eye twitches as he says this, and my fists curl.
"Don't lie to me. I'm fucking sick of it. All you do is lie and cover shit up. It needs to end. This was Cade. I'd bet my life on it."
"There's been no sign of—"
"He never fucking left," I boom, storming past both of them and toward the door Marcus lays on the other side of.
Sucking in a deep breath, I push it open and slip into the room. I've never done this before. I've never lost anyone close to me, so I don't really know what to expect as I walk toward the bed.
All the air rushes from my lungs as I take him in. He just looks like he's sleeping.
I quietly lower into the chair beside his bed. Phillip was right; we're not exactly close. I might have lived with him for almost a year, but mostly we were just strangers under the same roof. I now understand why, seeing as he was keeping almost everything about his life a secret from me.
Why didn't he just tell me? Why keep it a secret until the beginning of the initiation?
Scrubbing my hand over my face, I push my hair back as I try to figure out what the hell I should do now, what I should say when we barely said anything when he was alive.
I stare at his peaceful face and can only hope that wherever he's gone now, it's much easier than life must have been here.
He lost his wife, his son and daughter-in-law, and for almost eighteen years, his grandson too.
A lump jumps into my throat as I think about the man who made me, who I never got a chance to meet. My dad is a great man, and I couldn't have asked for more growing up, but still, knowing there was someone else involved makes me question so much of my life. The things I thought I had in common with my dad, the things I didn’t… I can’t help but wonder how much of me is my bio dad and how much is the man who raised me.
There's one thing I'm sure of, though. Even with him gone, and now Marcus, I'm going to do what I need to do. A few weeks ago, I might have seen this as my chance to run, to get out. But right now, the need to make a difference, to make the changes that need to happen in this town, is burning through me.
"I'll take my place, Marcus. I'll make you, my dad, this town proud. I promise."
The lump grows until I can barely breathe around it and the backs of my eyes burn, but more than anything else, determination surges through me.
This is my chance. My time.
Ourtime.
I stand with urgency.
"Sleep well, Marcus." With one final look at his face, I march from the room.
Both Phillip and Harrison stand when I step out.
