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When Lund turns and makes his way across the sand, I barely notice. It’s all I can do to stay upright and process the bomb he just dropped on me.
Maybe she’s duped him, too. It’s possible Stephen has all his facts wrong. But if he was too smart to buy my act, it stands to reason that he wouldn’t buy any Bethany put on, either.
And what if Lund is right? What if Bethany is telling me the truth? What if I screwed up by letting my “logic” deep-six the gut instinct that told me she’s innocent?
Fuck. Right or wrong, stupid or not, I’ve got to talk to her before Stephen takes her away. Before it’s too late. Before the woman I once swore was the best thing to ever happen to me leaves me for good.
I dart up the beach and into the bar. Inside, Andy looks less than thrilled. Samantha glares my way. Ash is giving me a what-the-fuck side-eye. Lund is nowhere to be found. Ditto for Bethany.
“Where did they go?” I look at my pal. If anyone will understand my need to find her and unearth the truth, it will be him.
“Out the back door, to the parking lot.”
I pull his keys from the pocket of my shorts as I take off in that direction. “If she comes back, keep her here and text me.”
“Dude, I don’t think she’s coming back—ever.”
Samantha’s glare only turns more glacial. “I don’t know what you said, but she looks absolutely devastated, you asshole.”
If Bethany has been honest with me from the start, that makes perfect sense. If she hasn’t, why would she bother to put on an act to convince my pal and his kinda-sorta girlfriend that I’ve broken her heart? The obvious answer: she wouldn’t.
Oh, fucking hell. Tell me I didn’t screw up this badly…
But I can’t deal with Ash, Samantha, or any of the others right now. I have to see if I can catch Beth and Lund in the parking lot before they leave.
Shoving my way out the double doors, I stumble onto the porch, under the rusting overhang. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to scan the nearly empty lot. I never paid attention to what kind of car her guy pal drives, so I don’t know whether Lund has already taken her away. But I don’t see either of them hanging around.
But I hear a sudden groan of pain. What the hell? I can’t see anyone, but it sounds as if it’s coming from around the corner of the building.
“Shut up, Junior.”
Barclay Reed. I’d know that patronizing voice anywhere.
What is the fucker doing here? Even if only half of what Bethany told me turns out to be true, he’s a horrible father and an even worse human being. Ultimately, he had at least some hand—if not all—in swindling money that belonged to my father and all the other Reed Financial clients. I hate him. He deserves full punishment under the law. Since I came to Maui for justice, I should start with him.
I’ll figure out how to feel about Bethany later.
“Oh, my god!” She sounds horrified. “What did you do to Stephen? You could have killed him.”
“So what? Listen to me, you ungrateful bitch. I gave you half your blood. I raised you. I educated you. I gave you valuable life lessons on a silver platter. And how did you repay me?”
The wooden boards of the patio creak with someone’s every step. I try to ease closer silently.
“Dad, put the bat down.” Bethany’s voice trembles.
My eyes flare wide. Is the son of a bitch threatening her?
“Don’t you back away from me,” he snarls. “I’m not going to use it on you unless you make me. Lund Junior just needed his mouth shut. Stupid prick. He’s soft and he’s weak if he thinks his father’s greatest sin is in not recognizing his illegitimate black daughter. As if anyone gives a shit about Nia… Stephen would be stupider than hell to disown his father and walk away from his inheritance because of one irrelevant female. If he does, that only proves he’ll never make it in the real world, and I’d certainly be doing everyone a favor by offing him. But that’s not why I’m here. You better explain why my attorney called me today to tell me the evidence the feds have against me is all the shit I stashed in your safe. Did you fucking turn me in?”
“You planted that evidence in my apartment so the FBI could find it on my property and think I was guilty,” she returns incredulously. “What did you expect me to do?”
“I had to have a backup strategy. I would have gotten you the best lawyers on the planet. At the very least, you would have only served a few years. You’re young. You could bounce back. I’m an old man.”
