“Screw her—no, fuck her.” Anna pulled away and stood up—it was the first time I had ever heard my little sister curse. “We’ll stop the wedding! We’ll expose her!”
“Don’t you think I haven’t considered it?” I looked up at Anna. “I was ready to drive to her house on two good tires and beat the makeup off her face—but what good would it do? She’ll ruin my life if I try anything, and if I lay a hand on her—I’ll just end up in handcuffs.”
“We need to call Victoria as soon as she’s in Carson Cove.” Anna nodded. “She needs to know the truth.”
“Oh god no.” I shook my head back and forth. “I can’t tell her—I’ll be the one getting the makeup beaten off my face. If she even thinks I’m worthy of a slap after she hears what I’ve done…”
“She’s going to find out eventually, right?” Anna sat back down. “Think about it—you’re the damn Maid of Honor, sis. She’s not going to believe that you’re there because you want to be. Do you think she’d rather hear whatever crap Alexis comes up with to explain it, or the truth from you?”
“She would probably prefer a lie…” I looked down. “I would…”
“No, you wouldn’t. I want you to actually think about that. The role is reversed. You just found out Victoria has been in the city having sex with dad—okay, don’t picture it, just go with what I’m saying. What would you do?” She squeezed my hand.
“I would be angry…” I stared at the wall. “Really angry…”
“Why?” Anna tilted her head to the side.
“It’s my dad.” I looked down for a moment.
“Would you end your friendship with her? Would you hate her?” Anna leaned forward until she was able to look me in the eye. “What if they were in love?”
“I…” A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it. “I would be upset, but I would try to accept it.”
“Why do you think Victoria would have a different reaction?” Anna shrugged. “Seriously, think about it.”
I didn’t have an answer. From the lips of my little sister came the harshest truth I needed to hear. My friendship with Victoria was either going to end or it wasn’t—lying wasn’t going to change it. Either she found out that I had been involved with her father and hated me for that or hated me for standing at his venomous bride’s side—unless she was willing to forgive me. She would probably forgive me for the relationship with her father a lot faster than she would forgive me for choosing Alexis over her—that’s what it would ultimately come down to. That would be her perception, no matter what.
“Can we call Victoria?” Anna gave me a slight nudge.
“Yeah, I think we have too…” I exhaled sharply.
Victoria might have had hopes of her parents reconciling at some point, but that was off the table completely. The only hope we had of possibly stopping the wedding was figuring out what Alexis had on Bryant—Victoria would have access—she might even be able to get her father to tell her the truth. My relationship with Bryant was ruined—I didn’t think we could salvage it, regardless of what happened in the end, but if there was a way to stop Alexis from carving her way through his empire, then I owed him that much. We just had to find a way to nullify Alexis—or expose her for the heartless bitch she truly was. She had too much power in Carson Cove for me to do that on my own, but Victoria was a different story. Whether she liked it or not, she was one of the privileged—she had resources.
“Victoria?” I tried to hold back my emotions. “Are you in Carson Cove yet?”
“No, my flight got delayed. I won’t be there until tonight.” I heard a sharp inhale, then a loud exhale. “This is so frustrating!”
“I’m sorry.” I looked at Anna, and she motioned for me to keep going—she probably realized I was close to chickening out. “Hey, when you get here. Can you come by my house first? I have something to tell you—it’s about Alexis Devereaux—and your father.”
“You can’t tell me on the phone?” Her tone reflected a hint of annoyance. “I really want to see my dad as soon as possible.”
“Trust me, you’ll want to hear what I have to say first—and it’s gotta be done in person.” I felt another lump and tried to swallow it.
“Okay, I’ll let you know when I land…” Her voice trailed off. “Hey, it looks like they’re about to give us an update—maybe they got me on another flight. I gotta go.”
All I can do now is wait…
* * *
Victoria wasn’t able to get on an earlier flight, so it was already dark before her plane touched down in Carson Cove. My mother had a date—which was fortunate since I didn’t want her to be there when I talked to Victoria. Anna agreed to stay in her room but threatened to come down the stairs with a baseball bat if Victoria tried to hurt me—I didn’t think it would come to that. Truthfully, if she wanted to hit me—I would just have to take it. I was pretty sure she would storm out before she would take a swing, but either option would be understandable. There were some things that were just unforgivable—even if she didn’t turn anger into hatred.
“She’s here…” I looked over at Anna.
“Okay, I’ll be upstairs—waiting.” She narrowed her eyes and squeezed my hand before she walked away.
I couldn’t lay the news on Victoria immediately. There were hugs to be exchanged and happy smiles to go along with our reunion. Mine was fake—hers looked like it took a lot of effort to muster. I didn’t think she would have a smile on her face much longer, not when I hit her with the truth. I tried to stay pleasant as I prepared to execute our friendship in the middle of my living room. I offered her a drink—she accepted—that gave me a few more minutes to spare as I went to the kitchen and poured some wine. I decided to bring the bottle—one more thing that she could hit me with if she raged.
“Alright, tell me what you couldn’t tell me on the phone.” She sat down on the couch and sipped her wine. “Or were you just looking for an excuse to see me before I went protective daughter-zilla on Alexis Devereaux?”
“I wish…” I looked down and sighed. “There’s something I really need to tell you.”
I started at the beginning. I told her about the art show—seeing Alexis with her father—and pretending to be his date. The concern began to register on her face, especially when I told her about the auction and the kiss that was supposed to be so innocent. I didn’t even know if that was a lie—I was attracted to him then—he was attracted to me. She finished her glass of wine when I told her about our first date—and poured another one as what looked like rage started to form in her eyes. I left out the intimate details. She could obviously fill that part in without me saying it. That was as far as I got before she interrupted me.
“You were the mystery woman…” She shook her head back and forth and her hand squeezed the wine glass so hard I thought it was going to break.
“I—yes.” I looked down and nodded. “I swear I was going to end it with him after you told me that your parents might get back together…”
“It was never going to happen. My mother was worried about my sister—anyway, keep going. I should hear it all before I lose my fucking mind.” She seemed to be holding her rage in check, which was surprising.
I told Victoria about Alexis—how she blackmailed me—and how that put me in a tough spot when I already knew I needed to end things. That seemed to intensity Victoria’s rage, because she quickly started to put together the same pieces I had—her father was a victim of blackmail too. It was the only reason he would have agreed to marry a despicable bitch like Alexis Devereaux. All I could do was finish my story and let her seethe—which she did—without saying a word. The silence was scarier than having her lash out at me, because I had no idea what was going on in her head.
“Did you love him?” She narrowed her eyes.
“I—I honestly don’t know.” I looked down. “I really cared about him—I still do. It was… What we had was special—that’s the only way I can explain it. I knew it was wrong, but I was
in over my head before I realized I was drowning.”
“Because he’s amazing…” Victoria exhaled sharply. “Any woman would be lucky to have him—except the one who currently does.”
“I agree. I didn’t tell you because I want you to accept the relationship—nor do I think we’re going to get back together if he doesn’t marry Alexis. I just wanted you to know what you were dealing with before you walked into the venomous bitch’s lair.” I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I didn’t know how to stop them.
“I’m angry—I’m very angry at you.” She took a drink of her wine. “But I’m fucking pissed at Alexis Devereaux, so right now, it’s a good thing you’re the only one in the room.”
“I’m sorry, Victoria…” My tears were followed by a sob.
“Don’t be sorry.” She shook her head back and forth. “We’re going to make her sorry—she messed with my dad and my best friend.”
“I wish I deserved to be called that.” I wiped away a stream of tears.
“You’re still my best friend. This doesn’t change that.” She leaned forward. “I need to see the Taylor Abernathy that used to put every privileged asshole at Carson Cove High in their place—where’s she at? Come on…”
“Give her a few minutes—she’s still processing it.” Anna’s voice echoed from the doorway, and I had no idea how long she had been standing there. “Taylor thought you would be angrier at her than Alexis—I was about fifty-fifty on it myself.”
“Anna?” Victoria jumped up and walked over to hug my little sister. “My god, you’re almost grown!”
“It’s only been a couple of years, jeez.” Anna let Victoria hug her, but then squirmed out of her grasp. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
“Huh?” I looked up in confusion—and then saw someone walk up behind her that I already knew—by name at least.
“This is Bolt.” She smiled and looked at him. “Bolt, the girl that’s crying is my sister, Taylor. This is her—I guess—still, best friend, Victoria.”
“Pleasure to meet you both.” He had a calm, soothing voice—and gave us a polite nod. “My name is Gavin Bolton.”
“Hi…” I wiped away what was left of my tears and shook his hand. “I saw you at the scrimmage game with Carson Cove University—you looked like a star out there.”
“He is a star.” Anna grinned. “Wait—you were at the game? You already knew…”
“It wasn’t my place.” I held up my hands and turned to Bolt. “I’m sorry we had to officially meet under these circumstances…”
“That’s actually why he’s here.” Anna grabbed Bolt’s hand and led him into the living room.
“I don’t understand…” Victoria looked at me and my face obviously had the same confused stare.
“Well, in addition to being the star running back at Carson Cove High—we’re going to state, by the way.” Anna nudged her boyfriend, who nodded in agreement. “He’s also quite proficient with a laptop.”
“My brother showed me a few things.” Bolt nodded. “Bad things, mostly—like how to hack into a database.”
“I’m lost.” Victoria looked at Bolt. “What are we hacking exactly?”
“Devereaux Properties.” Anna sat down next to Bolt as he pulled out his laptop. “I’ve been thinking about what Taylor told me—and if Alexis Devereaux has this much power, I doubt it’s because of her generosity. People hate her—like, everyone hates her.”
“That’s true…” Victoria raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never met anyone that was happy to see her. When I was dating her son, she was always screaming at someone on the phone or yelling at them in her office—except her brother. He seemed to be the only person in the world she could tolerate.”
“Blackmail…” I nodded. “How else could she get my mother fired and have me set up for plagiarism at school—she’s got dirt on people.”
“There’s plenty of it in Carson Cove.” Victoria poured a glass of wine and sat down. “Enough to fill the Grand Canyon twice…”
“But if she has dirt on people, I doubt it’s going to be just sitting on a server at Devereaux Properties.” I shook my head back and forth.
“Where else would she keep it?” Anna looked up at me. “Her cell phone? Her personal computer? That’s too dangerous—especially if it’s the kind of stuff that can coerce people into doing things, they don’t want to do…”
“It’s worth a shot.” Victoria shrugged. “She’s obviously got something on my dad, and if we can figure out what that is, we might be able to put a stop to this wedding before you have to try on a dress…”
“That—would be nice.” I nodded.
Bolt was a good hacker—by my standards at least. He was able to get into the Devereaux Properties database, and access a lot of confidential stuff, but none of it appeared to be helpful. We found a lot of purchase orders, deals that Sawyer King made when he was still married to Alexis, and it was clear that company was doing better than we had heard. In fact, it was quite profitable. That didn’t really make sense to me. Alexis and her brother were co-owners of Devereaux Properties, so half of everything should have belonged to her.
Bolt kept digging until it started getting late—late enough for my mother to get home and wonder why there was a party at her house. Luckily, she didn’t ask many questions after she said hello to Victoria and met Bolt for the first time. I didn’t want to just give up, but it didn’t seem like we were getting anywhere. We were just going in circles.
“I thought she was looking for a rich husband to marry…” I shook my head back and forth. “It looks like she’s—loaded.”
“My dad always said her father squandered the Devereaux fortune, and her brother’s gambling problem is no secret, so—it made sense to me too.” Victoria nodded. “What the hell is she after?”
“I’m sorry…” Bolt sighed. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything useful here.”
“There has to be something we’re missing,” Anna grunted in frustration.
“I’ll keep looking, but if I don’t get home soon, my parents might send a search party for me.” Bolt closed his laptop. “Or Coach Boyd—and I’d rather have the cops after me than him.”
“I understand that,” Victoria chuckled. “Okay, I think we need to call it a night. I’ll approach things cautiously with my dad and see if I can figure out what the hell Alexis is up to—maybe I’ll have better luck at Benson Estate.”
We said our goodbyes, and I hugged Victoria one last time before she left. I felt better with my secret out in the open with her, but I still didn’t feel good about the situation as a whole. Victoria was still my friend, but we had no idea how to take Alexis down—or stop the wedding. I was going to have to play Maid of Honor—and stand next to Alexis while she married the man that could have been mine. Our relationship never got to the point of talking about rings or dresses and it never would. It hurt even worse knowing that Victoria would have approached our relationship with maturity instead of disdain.
I should have cherished the time we had instead of fighting my feelings—I’d give anything to have that chance now…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bryant
“Don’t…” I looked up at Victoria as she stormed into the living room. “You should be at school.”
I knew she was coming in guns blazing as soon as I realized she was in Carson Cove…
“Do you really think I’m going to stay at school when my dad is about to make the biggest mistake of his life.” She narrowed her eyes. “We need to talk about this.”
“We talked on the phone. I told you—I’m marrying Alexis. That’s the end of the discussion,” I sighed. “It’s my life. I get to choose who I want to be with—not you.”
“Then tell me this.” She took a step forward. “Would you rather be with Alexis—or Taylor.”
“Taylor?” My mouth fell open in shock.
“I know everything, dad. So why don’t we cut through the bullshit and talk about wha
t’s really going on here.” She sat down across from me. “What does Alexis have on you?”
My youngest daughter had obviously made a stop on her way to Benson Estate—and found out the truth from Taylor. If she knew that, then there was no reason to hide the rest of it from her. She knew Shaina was in rehab, but she didn’t know about the video, so I showed it to her. Alexis had promised to delete it after we said our vows, but she sent me a link in case I wanted to torture myself with a reminder of why we were headed to the altar. Victoria watched enough of the video to see why it was so bad before she finally shut it off.
“That video would ruin your sister’s life,” I sighed. “I don’t know what she’s going to do when she gets out of rehab, but I don’t want it following her around. Alexis said she would send it to every potential employer, every school that she applies to—anyone that might give her another chance.”
“Who filmed it?” Victoria raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Based on the angle, it looks like some sort of security camera or something—but I didn’t really see one in her apartment when I cleared it out…”
“Okay, then how did Alexis get her hands on it?” Victoria leaned forward. “Shaina was on the other side of the country…”
“Again, I don’t know.” I threw my hands up and sighed. “That doesn’t really matter, does it? She has it—and that’s enough. I can’t let her ruin Shaina’s life.”
“You’ll just let her ruin your life instead?” Victoria scoffed. “How is that fair?”
“What’s fair about any of this?” I exhaled sharply and started to stand. “It’s just money, Victoria. If Alexis wants it that bad, she can fucking have it. Welcome home. I’m going to bed.”
“What about Taylor?” Victoria stood to her feet. “She still cares about you…”
“Taylor ended things—not me.” I shook my head back and forth.
“Do you know why?” Victoria walked over and put her hand on my arm.
Forbidden Kiss: Carson Cove Scandals Page 17