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“Damn all of this.” I rub my arms against the tension. “I don’t want to do this over the phone.”
“Oh, you’re going to do it over the phone, Brock,” Donny says. “You and Uncle Joe don’t drop a bomb like this on me and the women without finishing it.”
He’s right, of course. I’d never let him get away with the same.
“Who wants to tell the story?” Dad asks.
A pause, and then Rory’s voice.
“I was the adult in the room back then. This falls on me.”
I hear the trembling in her voice, and in my mind’s eye, I can see her bottom lip. She’s probably chewing on it. The lovely rosiness is gone from her cheeks, and she’s probably feeling as nauseated as I am right now. Probably more.
I listen, wishing I could hold her in my arms as she goes through, in a robotic tone, everything she told me the other night.
Dad goes rigid.
Rigid and red-faced.
More rigid and red-faced at each point in the story.
The hairy buffalo that was drugged with angel dust.
Diana’s poisoning, the reward offered by our family.
Callie inadvertently overhearing Pat and Jimmy talking about drugging the punch.
Callie and Rory coming up with an idea to claim the reward.
Rory—my beautiful Rory—putting herself in harm’s way to get the confession.
Then—
Rory, along with Callie, lured by Brittany Sheraton, getting poked with something. Drugged. Passing out.
The two women waking up, surrounded by X-rated photos of themselves.
Finally, Lamone’s return to town, his antics since then.
Rory goes silent.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” I ask through the phone.
No reply.
Then, “She’s okay.” Callie’s voice.
God, I need to be holding her. I need to be telling her this is all okay. That I’ll fix it. That I’ll move heaven and earth to fix it if I have to.
Dad finally speaks. “All right.”
“We’re really sorry, Mr. Steel,” Callie says. “We knew who poisoned Diana all those years ago, and we didn’t come to you.”
Dad lets out an angry growl. Yeah, it’s a growl. This is Jonah Steel when he’s mad. Red with rage. The Jonah Steel that has to be talked down by his calmer brothers.
Except they’re not here.
ButIam, and I’m not going to let him blame Rory and Callie for this.
