AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My hand tightens around Layla’s. Ellen suddenly breaks into laughter. We all stare at her, waiting for her to finish laughing. She drops her hat beside Jacob’s glass and approaches us when it ends.
Her blue eyes hold mine in unmistakable hatred. “I’m glad you have this—” She looks at Layla. “Nobody.”
“Yeah?” I step forward till our faces are inches apart. I was right. She smells like horses. I see Jacob moving forward as if to protect his wife from me. “Why is that?”
“Because at least you won’t be alone when we take Ruby from you,” she says in a level tone, a wicked smile playing on her lips. “Now, get the fuck off my land before I shoot you for trespassing.”
Layla pulls at my hand as if to tell me it’s time to go. Ellen’s icy stare leaves mine and settles on Layla. She shakes her head at Layla as if she’s disappointed, then returns to Jacob.
I start out of the house and turn around to regard them. Ellen drinks from Jacob’s glass, and he stands behind her like a silent guardian. They watch me with contempt, and I smile to annoy them more.
“I’ll see you in court.”
With that, I leave the house with Layla’s hand in mine.
Chapter seventeen
Layla
“What the hell are you doing?” My hand tightens around the phone as Mom’s cold voice comes on.
“Mom—”
“Don’t mom me.” Her voice sounds like a warning. “I asked you a question: What the hell are you doing?”
I peek around the corner for any sign of Tristan, but the coast is clear. The air outside Tristan’s mansion feels charged with tension as I crouch behind a wall to answer Mom’s call. We hadn’t been home for fifteen minutes when the call came in.
I made up some bullshit excuse and left Tristan in the living room.
Mom’s mad; I don’t need a speech therapist to know that.
“What are you talking about, Mom?” I try to sound as ignorant as possible.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” she spits out, her voice laced with accusation. “Defending Tristan? Embarrassing me and your dad like that?”
I take a deep breath, the chill in the air settling into my bones. “Mom, you don’t understand. It’s all part of the act.”
An awkward silence hangs between us, the weight of my words settling in the spaces between our breaths. I hear Dad clear his throat in the background, and I realize the phone is probably on speaker.
“An act?” Ellen’s laughter is bitter, a cruel sound that echoes through the phone and sends another chill through me. “You expect me to believe that? You held the man’s hand! Are you fucking him already?”
“Mom!”
“Ellen.” I hear Dad mutter in the background.
The worst part is I feel stung even though she’s not wrong. Tristan and I have made love, and the truth is I can’t stop thinking about doing it again. I shuffle uncomfortably on the gravel and glance around. Tristan may be searching for me already.
“Look, Mom, I know what I’m doing, okay?” I sighed. “Isn’t this what you wanted? You wanted me to grow close to him and gather evidence against him, right? What better way to do that than to make him think I dislike you as much as he does?”
Mom stays silent for a minute, and I know she’s considering my words and seeing the sense in them. However, they feel false. I don’t know if I’m getting close to Tristan because I have to or want to. When I stepped up to defend him, I wasn’t thinking of Deanna or Ruby. All I wanted to do was fight for him. It was instinct and I wasn't sure where that came from.
“I know what I’m doing,” I insist, my voice hard like I’m trying to convince myself too.
“You didn’t answer the question,” Mom says bitingly. “Are you fucking him already?”
“Of course not!” I say through gritted teeth and stand up, my knees hurting.
“Get back to us with some information soon,” Dad says in the background. “We’re counting on you. Don’t let us down.”
