by Lexi Blake
“Yeah, well, that’s one word to describe your mother. She’s also incredibly intelligent. If she wanted to meet with Shelby, she would make it happen. You already think she was spying on Shelby’s computer. Why not have someone following her?”
He’d already considered and discarded that scenario. “I’ve had a bodyguard trailing after her since the first incident with Noah. There’s one working here in Austin, and I had another follow her in Dallas. These are men trained by Ian Taggart. If they’d seen someone tailing her, it would be in the report. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary until she walked into that café. My mother followed her in within ten minutes and sat down to talk to her. Shelby didn’t try to run. She didn’t call the police. She didn’t call me. She sat there and talked to her like they were old friends. Now she’s about to walk through that door, and I have no idea what to do about the situation.”
“You should give it time. Don’t blow up on her. Talk to her and find out what Iris wanted. I think some of this might lead back to Noah. I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s too coincidental that Noah’s been alive all this time, but he suddenly gets a note pointing the way to his brother. That was Iris. She did that. We have to figure out why he’s here.”
“I’ve had several investigators working on his background and they’ve found nothing to contradict his story. He actually seems like a nice kid.” But then Shelby had seemed perfect to him, too. Shelby had seemed like the kind of woman who would see past his weirdness and his awkwardness, the type of woman who could love him.
She’d seemed like the type of woman he could love.
How was he sitting here? He wanted to go out there and fucking find her and have it all out right here and now. The waiting was going to kill him, but he swore he would do it. He would let her walk in and work her wiles on him. Patience would win this game. Let her think he really was the idiot. Let her believe her plan was working, that he was so invested in her he couldn’t see straight.
But how would he lie next to her at night knowing she was using him?
“He might be a nice kid, but he also might be Iris’s Trojan horse. Have you thought about that?” Hatch asked.
Was Noah working with Shelby? Had they been working together all along, or had Shelby simply seen an opportunity and taken it?
“Of course I’ve thought about the fact that Noah isn’t what he says he is. I told you I’ve checked into his past. I’ve scoured the computer he showed up here with and found nothing. If he’s hiding something on it, then he’s damn good. If Noah is working with Iris, why is she trying to kill him?”
“Trying to kill him?”
He quickly brought Hatch up to date on what had been happening with Noah. “The good news is if you were in jail, you couldn’t have tried to kill Noah.”
“Getting my ass hauled into jail is the best alibi ever,” Hatch agreed with a frown.
How much longer would it be before Shelby walked in the door? “What does she get out of meeting with Shelby?”
Hatch stared at him for a moment, his gaze more serious than Drew could ever remember. “You never thought it was me, did you? You didn’t think I was the one who tried to hurt Noah?”
“Of course not.” He stood up. Sitting was killing him. He needed to move. He was restless. He hated the feeling.
Hatch shook his head. “Why the unwavering faith in me, son? Do you remember what I was like in the beginning?”
He’d been difficult and surly. He’d told Drew to fuck off, that he wasn’t the man to help him out. He wasn’t good for anyone. Drew could still remember the look in Hatch’s eyes when he’d told him to get the hell out of his room. Sometimes Drew thought Hatch had been waiting to die. “I remember everything, but I also remember you couldn’t kick me out. You were the reason I had somewhere to sleep that first night.”
He’d gotten on a bus for Austin the day of his eighteenth birthday. The ticket drained most of his cash and he remembered how hard it had been to say good-bye to Riley. He hadn’t been sure when he would be able to see his brother next. Any of them. It had been a terrible gamble and if it hadn’t worked, he would have found himself in a strange city with no one who would help him out. Far from home. Far from his family.
He’d found Hatch in a crappy motel he paid for by the week. He’d been halfway through a fifth of whiskey and he hadn’t been happy that Drew wasn’t a hooker named Barbie.
“I was too drunk to kick you out, Drew. I couldn’t physically manage it.”
“You were always rough around the edges, but we made it through.”
“Do you know why I really let you stay?”
Drew paced, glancing out the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of the car coming up the road. “I was persistent.”
“I did it out of guilt.”
He’d known that, too. Sometimes when Hatch had been too drunk to know he was doing it, he’d talked about Drew’s dad. He’d begged his father for forgiveness. “I told you already I forgive you for not coming forward after Dad died.”
“It was more than simply leaving you behind. There was far more to it,” Hatch said. “I prayed this would all be over after we dealt with Patty. Iris being alive was my single worst nightmare. I never wanted to hurt you, Drew. At first all I could see was my own misery, but after a while I realized I could make your life better. I could do something to make up for what happened back then.”
The limo came into view. There she was.
Calm. He had to be calm. It didn’t matter how his stupid heart felt. He didn’t need his heart. He needed his brain, and his brain told him that it was far more important to maintain his place in her bed. It was how he would figure out what his mother was doing. He would smile and kiss her and listen to her lies. He would pretend everything was fine.
“Drew, are you listening to me? We need to talk. There’s something I have to tell you, something that could change everything. I hoped you would never have to know, but it’s time.”
He kind of heard Hatch, but he needed to see Shelby. He needed to look at her and see her through new eyes. Now that he knew the truth, perhaps she wouldn’t look as good to him. Her attractiveness had always been wrapped up in her innocence. She’d seen the world in a way he didn’t quite understand. She’d gone through pain and heartache and still had an openness that called to him.
All lies. More manipulation.
“I have to deal with this.” All his good intentions flew away the minute he saw her. She was getting out of the limo, laughing at something Carly had said. Mia got out of the car behind her. His sister’s face was grim.
What had Mia seen? Did she know something?
Noah was smiling as he opened the gate and offered to help carry the massive amount of packages the women had brought back with them.
“Holy shit!” Bran was coming down the stairs. He smiled as he caught sight of Hatch. “Hatch, it’s so good to see you alive. I was sure you’d finally gone to that great strip club in the sky.”
“No, just jail,” Hatch replied quickly as he stepped close to Drew. “You keep your cool. Take her somewhere private and ask her what’s happening. That woman is good at manipulating people. This isn’t Shelby’s fault. If she was talking to that woman, it’s because she thought it would help.”
“What’s going on?” Bran stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Who’s that woman?”
The door came open and Carly walked in, followed by Ellie and Riley. Bran went to his wife, slipping his hand into hers and tilting her face up for a kiss.
“I bought fewer shoes than Riley,” Ellie was saying.
“When you find a pair of dress shoes that comfortable, you buy a couple of pairs,” Riley replied. He stopped when he realized who was in the room. “Hatch!”
Riley greeted Hatch as Mia and Case strode in, and then there she was.
Shelby,
with her red hair and soft skin. Shelby, who’d taken over his entire life only to shove him back in the dark with her betrayal.
She looked over and her eyes widened when she saw Hatch there. He could have sworn she took a step back, as though she realized how much trouble she was in.
She had excellent instincts because he couldn’t do what Hatch asked him to. He couldn’t be reasonable.
He strode over to her, reaching out to grasp her arm. He leaned over, whispering in her ear. “I know what you did. Did you honestly believe you would get away with it? Did you think I would allow you to play me?”
She gasped, her eyes coming up. “What are you talking about?”
Good. He had her attention. He leaned over so he could whisper in her ear. Even through his rage, the simple act of being close to her had an effect on his body. “Walk into my office and we’ll talk about this, but if you say a damn thing in front of my family, you should understand I’ll destroy you. There will be no discussion or bargaining. You’re going to tell me the truth, and I’m going to explain to you how things will be from now on. Do I make myself clear?”
Now that she was here, his plans changed. He’d thought he could shove her out, but he couldn’t. Even knowing exactly what she’d done to him, he couldn’t stand the thought of her not being close. The idea of never being in bed with her again made him want to rage.
Just because she’d betrayed him didn’t mean he had to give her up. It simply meant the rules of their game were about to change and he would dictate them all.
She looked up at him, those big eyes wide with fear. “You’ve made yourself clear.”
“Hey, Shelby, are you okay?” Noah set down the bags he was holding. His gaze went to the place where Drew was gripping her arm.
He eased off because this would be something else he kept from his family. He was about to enter into a relationship that had nothing to do with love and everything to do with the fact that somehow he needed her. She would stay with him, and he would watch her for the rest of her life. He would never trust her again.
But by God he would have her.
“Shelby and I have something to talk about in private.” He sounded perfectly reasonable. He didn’t at all sound like a man who was about to blow up his world.
“Yes, I definitely think we should talk.” Her lips had firmed, the fear fleeing her eyes to be replaced with pure stubborn will.
He meant to break that will. “We’ll talk in my office.”
“I want to know what he’s doing here.” Noah had gotten a look at Hatch.
Hatch’s hands came up. “I’m sorry for how I behaved before. I was out of hand.”
“Sure you were.” Noah set the packages down. “Did you decide it would be easier to take me out yourself? Since nearly running me over didn’t work.”
He did not need this. “Noah, I told you it wasn’t Hatch. He’s been in jail. I’ll get you the confirmation of it, but it’s not him. He’s an asshole, but he’s not a killer.”
“Noah, I wouldn’t hurt you. Like I said, I had a bad reaction, and one day I’ll explain it,” Hatch said. “I did a lot of thinking while I sat in that cell. I have a lot to make up for, but hurting you isn’t something I would ever do.”
Noah seemed to relax a bit.
“Shelby and I will be back in a while, after we talk.” Drew was ready to get this out of the way. His stomach was in knots.
Mia stepped in front of him. “No. I think we all need to talk, and it won’t be private, Drew. I’m sick of the lies and I want answers.”
“What are you talking about?” The whole room went quiet. Everyone was looking at him, and there was a stillness to the air that made the room feel heavy with anticipation.
Case shook his head. “You should have told everyone. You should have known she would figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” Riley set down his bags and stared at Drew. “What have you done?”
Naturally everyone looked at him. What the hell had happened? He looked down at Shelby. “What did you tell her?”
“What did I tell her? Absolutely nothing, though you should remember I told you I thought this was a bad idea,” Shelby shot back.
Mia reached into her bag, pulling out a familiar envelope. “Shelby didn’t tell me anything, though it doesn’t surprise me that you would bring her in on your plotting. All I needed was this. I knew there was something about this letter that bugged me.”
“That’s my DNA test.” Noah looked between Mia and Hatch, who he seemed to shrink back from. “Are you saying it was wrong? I’m not your half brother?”
“I’m saying Drew lied and he knew all along. You’re not my half brother, Noah,” Mia announced.
Shit. He’d been lazy, sloppy. He should have known Mia would never let things lie. “I can explain.”
Noah stepped back. “I’m not a Lawless?”
Mia reached out to take his hand. “Noah, you’re not my half brother. This test proves that we’re full-blooded siblings. It also proves that my mother didn’t die in the fire.”
There were gasps and shocked looks, and Drew knew what it meant to be the villain.
• • •
Drew took a deep drink of Scotch and wished he were anywhere but here.
Not anywhere. He wished it was yesterday and he was in bed with Shelby. He wished he was reaching for her and drawing her into his arms. He wished he had no idea what was going to happen next.
Unfortunately, he was in the here and now, and it pretty much sucked.
The family had moved into the living room. It seemed they wanted to get comfortable for this particular trial.
Drew had zero doubt he was about to be found guilty.
“I don’t understand.” Noah had chosen a seat close to Shelby, as though she might protect him from whatever Hatch would do next. “Your mother died before I was born. There must be something wrong with the test. Maybe they left off the word half in the report.”
Convincing Noah would be so simple. He could nod and agree with him, and Noah would go right back into his happy, ignorant world. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Noah who was questioning him, and Mia would have done every bit of her homework before she even thought to confront Drew. He could now see his biggest mistake had been not picking up the results privately.
Shelby had done this to him. She’d made him soft, lazy.
Why wouldn’t she look his way?
He’d expected her to appeal to his more primitive instincts. He’d expected her to plead with him, to try to stay close. From the moment they’d decided to retire to the living room, she’d moved away from him. Now she and Noah were huddled together like the last survivors on a life raft, trying not to fall into the sea of sharks.
“It doesn’t work that way, Noah,” Mia began. “If we were half siblings, you would share twenty-five percent of your DNA in common with us. You would show up in the testing as having a familial connection, but it would be more like a cousin. That would be all they could tell without parental DNA. This test states plainly that you and Drew are full siblings, and there’s only one way that could happen.”
Riley’s head was shaking, his hand clinging to Ellie’s as they sat together on the couch, sharing it with Bran and Carly. “I don’t understand how any of this happened. What does it mean?”
“It could mean a lot of things.” Ellie rubbed Riley’s back with her free hand, obviously desperate to give her husband comfort. “Did your mother ever donate eggs to a fertility clinic?”
No one was going to comfort Drew. Maybe not ever again. “She didn’t donate eggs, Ellie. The truth is right there. Noah is my full sibling, therefore he is the biological child of Benedict and Iris Lawless. Noah was born eight months after our father died.”
“But that’s impossible,” Carly said.
“It’s not impossible if the woman
who died in that house with your father was actually Francine Wells,” Shelby explained. “The body they found is roughly an inch shorter than your mother was, according to the forensics. They overlooked it because it was an open-and-shut case. Or they overlooked it because the medical examiner was paid to.”
Bran had gone a pasty shade of white. “But if it wasn’t our mother who was killed, then . . .”
“Yes, Bran,” Drew said. “The look on your face right this second is exactly why I didn’t tell you. I thought I could figure this out and you wouldn’t have to know that our loving mother took over the identity of Francine Wells, and she walked away from all of us. She had Noah and lived with Patricia Cain for the last twenty years.”
“Are you talking about Patty? My mom’s friend Patty?” Noah asked.
“Yes, I’m talking about Patricia Cain, who along with Steven Castalano, Phillip Stratton, and Iris Lawless conspired to murder my father and take his company.” It made him sick even saying it. Like it was finally real because the rest of them knew.
Now it all hit him at once. He was the child of a murderer.
How much of his mother lived inside him?
“Then she was . . . ,” Carly began.
“She was the one who shot Bran.” Now that it was out, they all had to face the harsh light of day. “She was the one who nearly killed you both. As far as I can tell, she’s killed a lot of people.”
“No.” Noah stood up. “This is all a lie. My mother was not a murderer. She wasn’t a great mom, but she tried.”
Shelby reached for Noah’s hand. “I’m sorry, but he’s not lying. Your mother is the one who’s lied to you.”
He pulled away, his head shaking. “No. This isn’t true. You’re all trying to trick me for some reason.”
It was obvious it would take far more for Noah to believe. Luckily Drew had some small amount of proof. He strode to the bookshelf. There was a box he kept there. He’d kept it ever since the day he’d found Hatch and discovered the single picture in Hatch’s wallet. At the time he’d been thinking about stealing any money Hatch had in an attempt to get back to Dallas, but he’d found the picture and somehow it had given him strength.