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I was a patient person.
Standing in the kitchen, I slowly stirred my tea and stared out into the snowy landscape beyond the window. Earlier that morning, there had been a snowstorm warning, and it looked like it was going to hit by New Year’s. Jax had assured me it wouldn’t affect the party, but honestly, I didn’t care. I just wanted to spend time with them and the kids and try to reinsert myself into the life I had come to love.
“Summer?” Theo approached from the lounge and flashed me a soft smile when I turned to face him.
“Hey, want some tea?”
“No thanks.” He shook his head and leaned on the counter next to me. “Luke and Jax are going down to the resort to put some final touches to the party.”
“It’s getting close,” I smiled, squeezing out my tea bag and tossing it in the trash. “Doesn’t feel real after everything else.” Speaking of—“Do we know what’s happening with Marina and… Felix?” Saying his name out loud to Theo was still an alien sensation. That dark part of my history was now common knowledge amongst all of them; it was as scary as it was reassuring.
“A little. The police got in touch last night to get some more data from Helix, and they told me that when Marina was confronted, she turned on the waterworks and put the sole blame on Felix. She claimed he coerced her, and she was too scared to say no.”
“That can’t be true,” I scoffed. “I mean, Felix was determined but there’s no way he did all of this by himself. He wouldn’t even be able to get the drugs without her help, surely?”
“We know that but… Marina is rich. She’s an heiress so even if they try to slap her with something light, she’ll be able to buy her way out of it. Her family won’t let anything circumstantial stick.”
“So we’d need something solid?”
“Maybe.” Theo shrugged. “But the only witness is Felix, and when they find him, his version of events won’t matter. They’ll bury him.”
“Deserved but… after everything she’s done, what she’s put Jax through? She’ll just get away with it?” I couldn’t believe that was going to be the outcome. They both deserved to go down for this, and at the very least Marina deserved a mark against her name for what she had put Jax through.
“Rich people, eh?” Theo scoffed dryly. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I have one final meeting with the caterer, but we could hang out after?”
I nodded, distracted by the thought of Marina getting away with this. Typical of people like her. Theo leaned down to kiss my cheek, and I turned, catching his lips in a kiss instead. A note of surprise rose up from his throat, and when the kiss broke, he was smiling.
“Definitely hanging out later,” he grinned.
As Theo left the kitchen, I turned back to my tea and resumed stirring, but my desire for the drink was gone. I had beenuselessagainst Felix. I’d fallen for his threats and walked into his trap, but I couldn’t let Marina get away with her role in this. A swell of confidence rose in my chest, and I grabbed my phone, abandoning my tea and strolling out onto the deck. The cold barely touched my skin as I swiped through the directory and located Marina’s number.
Two rings in, she answered. I flicked my phone on speaker and hit record.
“Hello.”
“Who is this?”
“It’s Summer. I wanted to congratulate you.”
“Oh.” Marina’s light voice turned bitter in seconds. “What on earth are you going on about? Aren’t there laws against you contacting me?”
“Since when did you care about the law?” I scoffed. “There’s nothing to stop us chatting. I just wanted to say congrats.”
“For what?” she asked suspiciously.
“For what you and Felix pulled off. Very clever. Shame it didn’t work, but I admire the creativity.”
“Darling, I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” Marina replied sharply. “Felix was a—a handsome man in a bar that tricked me andblackmailedme, forced me into giving him information. I’m nothing but a victim in that man’s schemes.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped hotly. “We both know he isn’t smart enough to come up with something like this on his own. His only desire was to hurt me, and you’re saying he chose to do that by hurting Jax? Planting drugs? That’s a lot more complex than anything he’s capable of.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t know,” Marina said softly, “I barely know him.”
“I know him. I suffered under him for years, and I know that he’s a man that talks with his fists, not subtle schemes like this.” I forced a breath as my heart started to race. “But having money means you can get away with anything right?”
“It has its perks,” Marina replied, “but as I said, I am as much a victim as anyone in all of this. My name is being dragged through the mud by that foul man.” Her voice gave a fake shudder, and my grip tightened around my phone to the point that the edges dug into my palm.
“True. I suppose you’ll have to shell out quite a bit of money to make sure that tracing the drugs doesn’t lead back to you,” I said casually.
