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“He said you wouldn’t let it go. He tried to reason with you.” Brent’s eyes narrowed. “What was it about?”
She came so close to spilling the truth about his great buddy, Aaron. The timing was wrong, or she’d have him in a puddle from screaming the facts at him. “That’s none of your business.”
“Tell that to the investigator.”
“She knows all about it!” The minute she raised her voice, she fought to bring it back down again. Cassie was already out on her porch, pretending to water plants. “It was a fight, Brent. He wouldn’t listen, and I got angry. Typical marriage stuff.”
“Bullshit.”
True, but that wasn’t the point right now. “Did you and your ex get along fine all the time? Now things are supposedly settled. But does that mean you never argue or disagree?” It was a low blow, and she saw when it landed. “Don’t pretend, because I know better.”
“Meaning?”
“I was here for the end of your marriage. Your wife spent every day in tears, and you don’t hear me making accusations and blaming you for her misery.”
He grabbed her arm. She felt the bruising grip through her coat. “Be careful what you say next and who you say it to.”
The surge surprised her. She’d always thought of him as weak and easy to run over.
She put her face close to his, not backing down. “Let go of me or I will call the police.”
“Do it.”
With her free hand, she slipped her cell out of her pocket, careful not to dislodge the note tucked in there. She didn’t want to come up with a fake explanation for that. Not when Brent was in a heightened state she’d never seen before. Just as she started dialing, he let go.
“That’s right. And for the record, you do not have my permission to touch me.” She funneled her anxiety into fury and aimed it right at him. “Do you hear me?”
He blinked a few times, as if he just realized how much control he’d lost. “That was... not right.”
She wasn’t ready to let it go. “Ever.”
“Look, I’m worried about Aaron. Come on. He wouldn’t just disappear without a word. He’d at least tell me or Jared, probably both.”
No apology. So many men who wandered in and out of her life sucked. “None of what is happening right now makes sense, but turning on me isn’t the answer.”
“You know more than you’re saying about Aaron.” He blew out a long breath. “I can feel it.”
“What you feel is impotent.” She hurled that word at him on purpose. Aaron had shared a bit about that part of Brent’s marriage. At the time she’d told him to stop because hesounded almost gleeful about his friend’s bedroom failures, but now she used the information to her benefit. “You want to find Aaron but can’t.”
“Why weren’t you at the search?” Confusion showed on every inch of his face. “Really. It would have been so easy to do that one thing. To stop people from talking.”
Jared asked. Men on the nasty phone calls asked. Now Brent. It was as if the men in this town thought it was her job to go out and cry and wail on cue.
Never going to happen.
“Because we both know he didn’t go missing while hiking.” She knew Ginny saw the car leave the neighborhood because she’d followed up to ask why Aaron took off so early that day. It added a level of intrigue and confusion to the search. Lila wished it would point the spotlight elsewhere, but she knew it didn’t.
Brent leaned his back against the side of his car. “Your presence would have made people feel...”
“Better? That’s not my job.” Neither was this conversation, and her patience for it waned.
He sighed. “The kids are scared.”
The parents should be. Brent acted like he cared about their welfare, and she knew he did on one level. But if he were paying attention and less worried about being Aaron’s buddy, he might have noticed the problem. He might have been able to protect those girls from Aaron’s lies and grooming.
Unless he knew and didn’t care. The thought whizzed into her head and right back out again.
“You should get them a counselor. Let the kids talk about Aaron.” Maybe one of the girls would reveal some of what was on those sickening videos. “They need it.”
