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Glancing at Shane, I can see how torn he is at this moment. He killed Luca’s father from what Dad told me, and he’s sitting here now watching Luca attack me for something he’s done.
His friends must not know the truth, and it concerns me that the man who told me there should be no lies between us is letting me take the fall so he can keep his secrets.
Luca stands from her seat.
“Seriously, Brinley. Explain to me why your father is so much more valuable than mine.”
Tears shimmer in her eyes, and a red haze of anger stains her cheeks.
“Ladies,” Gabe attempts to interrupt, but she doesn’t bother paying attention to him with all that hatred aimed directly at me.
“Tell me,” she yells, and I flinch back.
Tanner walks to her and grips her shoulders in his hands. “Our fathers killed your dad. You know that.”
She shakes him off and spins to face him. “Yeah, because Jerry got involved with the governor and wanted whatever is on those servers. He probably led your fathers directly to him.”
Shane shifts in his seat next to me, taking a protective position while swallowing hard.
“It wasn’t Jerry’s fault,” he admits, his voice softer than I’ve ever heard it.
I put my hand on his knee to stop him.
Glancing over at me with a question behind his eyes, I shake my head just enough for him to see it.
Let him keep his secrets, at least until there’s no choice but to reveal them.
First and foremost, my loyalty is to Shane. If he’s kept this from his friends, he must have his reasons. I want to know exactly what’s going on with him before I force him to confess.
Luca wipes away the tears that have fallen from her eyes, her voice flustered and apologetic when she explains, “I’m sorry, but I’ve been thinking about this since we flew down yesterday. Something about that damn state brings it all rushing back.”
The loud crunching of potato chips has me shooting a warning glare at Ames. She has one chip clutched between her fingertips, positioned right at her open lips. When our eyes meet, she shrugs a dainty shoulder, drops the chip back in the bag then hands it off to Damon.
“Just explain why, Brinley. Why finally solving this and putting all of it to rest is less important than your father. Many people have died—”
“My mother died because of everybody,” I blurt out, “isn’t that enough? Have I given up enough yet? At least you got to keep your parents into your twenties. I lost my mom at twelve.”
All eyes are on me, a question written into each expression but Shane’s. But then he already knows the truth. He was standing right there when Dad dropped that bomb on me.
Tanner speaks calmly, carefully, almost as afraid of setting me off that his buddy, Gabe, had been minutes earlier.
“What are you talking about?”
“When snatching me from Shane yesterday, my father claimed my mother is dead because of your fathers. So wouldn’t that mean that I’ve lost in this, too?”
Luca’s eyes water more, and she retakes her seat, Ivy’s arm wrapping over her shoulders in comfort.
My tears are absent, though.
Maybe because I’m still in shock over all of it, or maybe so much time has passed since losing Mom that it no longer pushes me to that point.
I’ve lived just as many years without her as I had with her.
Scratching his head, Tanner’s shoulders deflate. He’s losing steam with every new fact that’s revealed.
“This has been going on for decades, then,” he muses, more to himself than the rest of us.
Not that any of them deserve it, but I help them out with the timeline. Potentially, the reasons for all of this.
