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“Besides the court, this is the only other place that calmed you when you needed to escape,” he answered, stopping behind me. “Those flowers match your hair.”
Tears welled up, and I wiped them away. “You remember our old housekeeper, Susan?”
“Yes.”
“Whenever I was upset, she’d pick these and put them in my room.” I grazed my finger over the soft petals. “They were always my favorite.”
“I know.”
Spinning around, I raised my eyes to meet his. “Does it make you feel better? To know that I paid for what I did to you and Eli?”
He frowned. “You think we’d get joy out of knowing what they did?”
“I deserved it.” I shrugged. “Especially now that I know what really happened.”
“I’m not going to deny that we were pissed about it.” He moved closer, placing his hands on the table on either side of me. “And we still don’t trust you. But don’t think for a fucking second that we’d stoop as low as them by hurting you like that.”
The scent of his cologne washed over me, calming my erratic heartbeat for the first time since I’d had stepped into Richard’s office. I shouldn’t find comfort in him. Not after everything. And not with what I was still planning. But I leaned into him anyway, wrapping myself into the part of my childhood where I felt safe. Even though it wasn’t like that anymore, I could pretend for the next few minutes.
Finding out that William planned on marrying me off only raised the stakes on making sure I got the hell out of this city. I needed to find anything I could use to bring them down before I graduated. I’d made the decision all those years ago when I left Braidwood that I would find a way to leave for good. And I would do whatever was needed to make that happen.
“Tell me what you’re hiding, Kat,” he murmured, making me stiffen. “Wouldn’t you rather have us on your side to help with the families than deal with everything yourself? It was always supposed to be the four of us.”
I raised my head from his chest to look at him. “The four of us? Does that mean you and Eli are ready to trust River again?”
His jaw ticked. “No. But don’t worry, Eli and I plan to talk to him tonight about that.”
“Talk to him?”
“You’re not the only one keeping secrets. We’re going to find out his.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “Am I going to be there when you talk to him?”
His lips curled into a grin. “This is me extending a branch of trust. Now it’s your turn.”
“I don’t trust any of you,” I muttered, trying to back away before remembering he had me pinned between him and the table.
“Why?” He tilted his head to the side. “You know Eli and I didn’t intentionally screw Noah over. What else is there?”
I made sure to meet his eyes. “You tell me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me the rest, West.”
My bluff was based only on my own inability to put my trust in anyone. But the second his eyes darted to my left before meeting my gaze again, my stomach clenched, knowing my instinct had been right. I shoved him back and crossed my arms.
“You’re hiding something else.”
He scoffed at my words. “I didn’t even answer you.”
“You didn’t have to.” I rounded the table with the flowers when he attempted to get close to me again. “You were always the easiest to read. On and off the court. I guess that hasn’t changed.”
Ever since coming home, I’d been able to keep the past out of my head. Keeping it far away, where those emotions couldn’t invade my thoughts. The conversation in Richard’s office just made them all rush to the surface. West knew that. And he was using it to try and get me to spill my secrets. That wasn’t happening.
“Come on, Kat,” he said, losing his patience. “Richard and William are making plans that involve making your life miserable. You don’t want help trying to fix that?”
“Help?” I laughed coldly. “What are you going to do? You’re stuck under their thumb just like me. There is nothing you can do to help me.”
