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After a long eye-duel, he raises his hands. “Okay.”
Honestly, I expected more of a fight. But I’m glad he let it go. My head is fucked up enough already.
Learning about Mom’s past and why Chosen has been hanging around has got me twisted. She wants to know who killed her uncle. That’s what she’s been after. Fuck! I would’ve never figured that shit out. It was a hard crack to the face.
“But you need to talk her into letting Lucy testify. You need to explain it’ll help her case. It could help get her out of jail. She needs to understand this shit is important.”
“I’ll convince her.”
“Don’t let her talk you out of it. Don’t put up with any of her bullshit excuses. We know the truth now. We know why she was with him and why she stayed. Whatever her reasons, we have to make her feel like we support and understand her decisions.”
“Don’t we?”
He rubs his forehead. “Shit. I don’t fucking know. It doesn’t matter what I think, what you think, or anyone else. All that matters is that we get Mom out of there.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t matter what we think. We weren’t living her life. We don’t know how she was feeling. We can’t blame her for anything.”
His eyes slant. “I don’t blame her.” He slams his fist on the desk. “I just don’t understand why she did it. Why she shot him when she was so close to being free of him? It’s fucked up and makes no sense.”
He’s been trying to get Mom out of jail for years. We all have, but he’s been the force behind the engine. He’s had multiple lawyers look over her case, but he’s never been this close. He’s the oldest and endured our house of hell the longest. Twelve at the time, he was nearing the next step in his life, preparing to become a teenager, yet he couldn’t save our mom.
We’ve all been through so much. When I was twelve, I fought for my life in basements against my peers. I had to live with the kids I fought. When I took them down in a fight, I had to watch them heal for the next month. The pain I caused was sickening. I hated The Kraken. I thought about slitting his throat on a nightly basis.
“You get that shit sorted out with that reporter?”
I force a grin, ignoring the twinge in my gut from the thought of Chosen. “All taken care of.”
“What’d she want?”
“It had to do with some shit in my past. When I was in juvie.” I glance around the office. “I gave her what she needed.” I round back to Brett’s observant dark eyes. “She won’t be any trouble.”
He stares up at me. “You alright?”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck to soothe the tension.
He sits up in the chair. “I’m thankful she got to Lucy Deetman, though. Why’d she do it?”
“It was all a ploy to get to me,” I say, the truth ripping my insides apart.
“She got you, then?”
“She got what she wanted,” I admit. And now I’ll probably never see her again.
“Well, I’m glad she’s gone.” He picks up a pen and looks down at the papers on his desk.
“I’m not so sure I am.” The words tumble from my head and out of my mouth.
His eyes shoot up to mine. “You like her?”
“What? You mean the way you like tacos or a cold beer after a hard day’s work?” I grimace. “No. I don’t like her.”
His head tilts. “Is it more serious?”
“Fuck.” I scrub a hand over my face. “I don’t know. She’s not like the rest, ya know.”
A smile breaks across his face. “You better be careful.” He points the pen at me. “Cassie wasn’t like the rest, and look at me now. I couldn’t imagine life without her.”
“We couldn’t imagine you without her either,” I tease. Cassie is the best thing for him. “I better go take a shower before I see Mom.” I head for the door.
