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"I haven't been back to the hotel. Vicky brought me a change of clothes."
His actions only made me more suspicious. It was one thing to not want to talk to the police and another to actively avoid them.
My dad rose to his feet, his gaze pleading as he looked at me. "I love you, Brynn. Maybe I haven't told you that enough or showed you that I care, but I do. I was thrown when your mom died. I admit that. I let you down. I hope you'll give me a chance to make it up to you."
"It is what it is," I said as I stood up. "But running away from the police doesn't make me proud. It makes me worry that you're hiding something else."
He drew in a quick breath, glanced at Vicky, then back at me. "I'm not hiding anything, Brynn."
"Your actions say otherwise."
He thought for a moment, then turned to his wife. "She's right. I should talk to the police inspector before we leave."
"You can call him from LA," Vicky said. "With our attorney on the call."
"No, I'll call him now, from the car." He turned back to me. "So you can believe that I'm not hiding anything."
I would have believed it more if he was willing to make the call in front of me, but I could always find out what happened from Inspector Greenman.
My father moved toward the front door, then paused, looking back at me. "Your mother has told so many lies, how will you ever know what's the truth, Brynn?"
"I'll know it when I find it. I'm not counting on her to tell me the truth. But it's out there, and I'm going to get it."
"Be safe," he said. "I couldn't stand to lose you, Brynn. And Dani would die. Think about that when you're deciding how long you should stay here."
His words sent a shiver down my spine. After they left, I turned the dead bolt and leaned against the door, wondering if I was being fair to Dani to put my life on the line. We'd been born together. I couldn't imagine living without her, and I knew she couldn't imagine living without me.
As I thought about our twin bond, I wondered if that's the way my mother and my aunt felt, if that's why trouble had found them both, because one couldn't stand by while the other was in danger.
My mother said she'd done everything to protect us.
Had she done it for us or for Rachel?
I pushed myself off the door and walked back to the family room. Then I called Kade.
"Everything all right?" he asked.
"Yes, my father and stepmother are flying back to Los Angeles. They're done with this whole situation."
"Just like that, huh?"
"My dad said he'd been through enough hell with my mother. I can't say I totally blame him. He wasn't going to talk to the police or even go back to his hotel, but I think I persuaded him to call Inspector Greenman. We'll see if he actually does it."
"I don't understand why he's avoiding the police."
"It's because he slapped my mom in their public meet and he's afraid someone will try to pin the attempted murder on him."
"Which only makes him seem more suspicious."
"I can't disagree," I said wearily. "But deep down, I think he's just protecting himself. I don't believe he shot her. Anyway, what are you doing? Working?"
"No. I've been reading up on Ian Holden. I looked up his classes, and he's teaching one at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. If we can't get an address for him before that, we should check out his class."
"Sounds good."
"I'm going to do a little work now, unless you need me," Kade said.
I wanted to tell him I was starting to need him every second of the day, but that would sound more than a little desperate. "I'm fine. I can do some cleanup around here."
