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He remembered that morning clearly. He’d had only a few seconds after he woke up to question what was happening before Parker stormed into his room. Mariah had been pawing at him, his mouth felt like a dirty sock was stuffed in it, and he only had his briefs on. He had no recollection of what happened the night before.
“You’re one hundred percent sure you didn’t drink too much that night?” his father asked.
“Not possible, not for Conner,” Finn said. “He pretends to be this chill, funny guy, but he’s a closet control freak like the rest of us.”
“The thing is, I don’t really remember crashing. I had a few beers, hung out with Hannah most of the night, then walked her to her car. When I got back to the party, I did a celebratory shot with Parker and went to bed.”
“Sounds right. You were always a good sleeper,” his dad said.
“So this begs one question: why would Parker’s girlfriend crawl in your bed naked and lie?” Rory asked, eating a second brownie.
“We call that entrapment in court, and it’s a dirty trick that if done just right can work. But only the most cunning people can ever pull it off,” his mom said, leaning against the archway of her now-open office door.
“Why though? Parker’s girlfriend and I were like oil and water. She was snobby and conceited. We hated each other.”
“Maybe that’s why she wanted to set you up. You rejected her, and she wanted to hurt you,” his mother said, grabbing a bowl from the fridge.
With her other hand, she carried over several plates and spoons before sitting next to his dad.
“What about Parker? Why would she do that to him? It doesn’t make any sense,” Conner said. “She hurt him more than me with two betrayals.”
His mom passed out each plate with a brownie, a large dollop of whipped cream, and several berries.
Conner took a big bite as a consolation prize after a horrible day.
“My guess is she used you as the easy out. She probably didn’t plan on dating Parker after he graduated. Snobby women might not find the prospect of dating a fireman as appealing as a financial idiot savant,” Rory said.
“Any chance Parker bragged about your success with the stock market and fake money sector?” Finn asked, polishing off his brownie in two bites.
His brothers teased him mercilessly about working when they knew he had majored in finance and had stumbled into a major success in cryptocurrencies. He’d been an early investor in companies that developed methods of securing what was largely considered fake money. Within a month, he had made more money than he knew what to do with and was recruited by a few investment firms. But his heart was in law enforcement. He just enjoyed a cozier lifestyle than the average underpaid first responder.
“That seems like an awful lot of work,” his dad said. “Maybe she just wanted to trick Connie into being her new boyfriend.”
“No way,” Conner said.
“In my court, jealousy is the number one motivator for a crime, then greed,” his mom said. “But it sounds like this girlfriend of Parker’s is the only one who can tell you why she set you up and clear your name.”
“I had this plan to expose Mariah’s fake persona in order to get her to confess, but I’m not sure it matters anymore. Parker wants to believe I’m the bad guy.”
“But you need to know. You can’t worry about what Parker will do with the information. You owe it to your friendship and yourself to find out what really happened,” Finn said.
Conner looked at his brother, and for the first time realized he had let his anger with Parker overshadow his need to get to the truth.
“Set a trap, let the mouse waltz right in, then wham,” his dad said.
“Wham, release the fierce attack dog?” Rory said as laughter bubbled in his chest.
“Oh no, Biffy is our baby now,” his dad said as his mom rolled her eyes.
“Conner, maybe you can let your dad consult on your plan to trick this woman into telling the truth. He needs a new project,” his mom said.
“I don’t think your fortress can spare him, but thanks.”
Picking up his dirty plate along with the others, Conner helped clean up. He was still torn up about how his last conversation went with Hannah. He didn’t want to believe they were done yet. She just needed time to realize she couldn’t let her family dictate to her what would make her happy. He couldn’t do that for her; she needed to find her own strength.
If Mariah did accept his invitation to the gala, it would be the perfect location to get her confession. He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Hannah his plan or what he discovered about Mariah. Parker would be at the gala—but so would Hannah, and he didn’t want to hurt her, even if it was for the greater good.
Then again maybe it would also give Hannah more reason to fight for them.
