by L. E. Bross
“Just have a few follow-up questions. Haven’t had a chance to talk with you yet, so I thought I’d stop on my way home. Is now a good time?”
As good as any. I just want to be sure Trey never comes near us again.
“Sure. What would you like to know?”
“How do you know Trey Stuart?”
His voice is professional, but I can’t help but wonder what he thinks of all this. Trey is his son. Well, not technically I guess, which then makes me wonder if the sheriff knows Peter is really Trey’s father yet.
Has anyone told him the truth?
I realize he’s waiting for an answer and clear my throat. “I met him at school. He’s a friend of Luc’s. Meri is a friend of mine. We went on a double date a week or so ago.”
“Can you think of any reason why he’d want to hurt Riot Panchard?”
“I’m not sure why, but it always seemed like he hated them.”
The sheriff tilts his hat back so I can see myself in the reflection of his mirrored sunglasses.
“Did you see Trey at the track Friday night?”
I open my mouth but hesitate. “See him? No. Meri ran up to us and said he was coming, then we heard the gunshot. We hid.”
“So you didn’t see Trey Reynolds there that night? You didn’t see him with a gun? You didn’t see him shoot Luc Hook?”
“There was a huge crowd, but Meri said he had a gun...”
He shifts and stands upright. “Did you break into William Hook’s safe?”
Ice slides down my spine and I take a step back. “What?”
“It’s a yes or no question, Ms. Darlington.”
His voice is deeper, more aggressive, and I take another step back. “It was just a stupid dare. Luc didn’t believe I could do it.”
That’s the story we decided on in case Trey ever tried to out me. Luc was the one who came up with the idea.
“And did you take anything from the safe?”
My skin tightens and I fight the urge to rub my hands on my arms.
“Was opening the safe the dare, or did you also take something?”
My mouth is so dry that my tongue sticks to the roof. I shake my head. “It was just a dare,” I rasp out.
He stares a moment longer, then nods. “Thank you, Ms. Darlington, you’ve been very helpful. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
He moves around the front of the squad car and just before he gets in, I find my voice.
“Sheriff Stuart? Have Trey been arrested?”
With one finger, he reaches up and slides his glasses down just enough that he’s looking over the top of them.
“I can’t discuss the details of an open investigation, but rest assured, Ms. Darlington, you’ll be hearing from me real soon.”
As I watch him pull away, I can’t shake the dread slowly creeping up my back. If they let Trey go, there’s nothing stopping him from trying again.
What if next time, he succeeds?
~
We’re sitting at the island having an early dinner when Peter walks in. I didn’t have a chance to tell the guys about my decision, because they saw the cruiser leave and peppered me with questions until I was repeating myself every minute.
Then Peter texted and said he was on his way. Conversation turned to what we were going to tell him, what our demands were going to be, and Belle was pushed to the back burner.
It’s time to bring Wendi home now.
“Boys. Ever.” Peter says my name in the most dismissive tone ever, and I fight not to lift my middle finger at him. I catch X’s gaze and he narrows his eyes, telling me to behave without saying anything.
I roll my eyes at him. Like I’m going to risk anything going wrong now when we’re so close.
“Is that Hanna’s lasagna?” Peter says, rubbing his hands together. He looks animated tonight. Like he just closed a big deal. “It’s the best. Tried to get the recipe but it’s a family secret.”
He grabs a plate and digs out a huge piece, then goes and sits at the breakfast table. I set my fork down, appetite gone. Peter unbuttons his suit jacket, flips his tie over his shoulder and cuts off a huge bite that he stuffs into his mouth.
After he swallows he looks up.
“Mmm, so good. I’ll get her to tell me eventually. Secrets never stay secret forever.”
He looks at me when he says it and I swallow nervously. The guys didn’t notice and Peter goes back to eating. Maybe it’s just my nerves making me see things. When he’s done, he pushes the plate back and sits back.
“That shooting is awful business. Never expect something like that in a place like this. Luc’s doing okay?”
I’m not sure who he’s talking to, but when the boys don’t answer, I do.
“He’s okay. The bullet just grazed his arm. A couple of stitches is what he needed. He was very lucky.”
Peter’s gaze slides over me dismissively and lands on Riot.
“You were the target?”
“Looks that way.”
“Why? Why would someone target you like that?” Peter is dancing around the details and it’s starting to piss me off. Trey, his son, tried to shoot his other son. It’s not some abstract what-if scenario.
“Not someone, Trey Stuart. He’s the one who tried to shoot Riot.”
I see the twitch in Peter’s jaw.
“Allegedly. As I understand it, no one’s been charged. Yet.”
I grit my teeth. It’s time to turn the tables and get answers. I glance at the guys and they each nod slightly.
We decided earlier that Baz would be the one, since he decrypted the chip.
“So, we need to talk to you about something,” he starts. “About something we found out…”
An abrupt pounding at the front door stops Baz. Riot’s eyebrows dip down. In all the weeks I’ve lived here, no one has ever come by.
Peter wipes his mouth on a napkin and pushes his chair back.
“Excuse me for one moment. We can continue this conversation in just a few minutes.”
Triumph dances in his eyes as he passes and looks down at me. The guys don’t notice, but unease crawls up my spine with sharp, icy claws. I strain to hear who it is, but the lowered voices are unrecognizable.
“One of the conditions is that Ever stays here,” X says in a low voice.
“Was a given,” Riot says and Baz nods.
I glance at X. He’s the only one who knows about the papers, but after we’re done here, I can tell Baz and Riot. It won’t matter now that I’m giving Peter back his money.
Heavy footsteps sound on the marble and then Peter walks into the kitchen with the sheriff. I don’t miss the way his lips quirk up just a little bit in the corner.
“Did they arrest Trey?” X asks.
Sheriff Stuart keeps walking until he’s right in front of me.
“Ever Darlington, you’re under arrest for the extortion of Peter Panchard and Trey Reynolds and for intent to commit grievous bodily harm.”
The boys explode as the sheriff eases me off the stool.
“Hands behind your back, please. You have the right to remain silent…”
When he takes my wrists, Riot shoves him away.
“Don’t you fucking touch her.”
“Back up, Riot, or I’ll arrest you, too. Ms. Darlington, hands behind your back.”
“What the fuck is going on?!” X yells.
Peter moves so that he’s between me and the boys now.
“I’m sorry but I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. An innocent boy was going to be charged with a crime orchestrated by someone else.”
Metal cinches around my wrists and I wince.
“The fuck are you talking about?” Riot growls. “You’re the one who blackmailed her, you brought her here to fucking steal evidence that Trey is your son.”
Neither the sheriff nor Peter look surprised. I guess the sheriff knew after all.
“I only found out about Trey a few months ago. We’ve been keeping it quiet until after grad
uation to ensure that all of you boys can finish school without a media circus. Somehow, Ms. Darlington discovered the information and used it to better her situation.”
He pulls a familiar manila envelope out from his briefcase.
I’m watching it all with a strange sense of detachment. Like I’m stuck in a nightmare and just need to wake up to make it end.
“She threatened to expose Trey if I didn’t find her sister and give her half a million dollars. It was my own desire to protect my children that made me go along with it. I didn’t want you boys exposed to the scrutiny that would happen once the world finds out I had a son I never knew about.”
“You’re fucking insane,” I croak. I look to the sheriff. “He kidnapped Wendi and put her in some kind of institution. He’s keeping her drugged. I overheard him on the phone...”
Peter takes a step toward me, his face contorted into a mask of pain. “Is that what you told my boys? They think I’ve done something to their mother? Why would you do something like that? We’re grieving, Ms. Darlington. Wendi is missing and you used their grief to get close.” He turns to the guys who are watching with disbelief and anger. “Boys, I’m so sorry I let her do this to us. I should have gone to the authorities as soon as she threatened me. I should have just admitted that Trey was my son.”
The uncertainty on the boys’ faces makes me want to throw up.
“You found the evidence that he paid Trey,” I tell Baz. “It was all right there.”
“It’s true,” Baz says, making me exhale in relief. “We saw the transfers.”
Peter’s face falls and his eyes glisten. “I was trying to hide that from you. I didn’t want you to think badly of your mother, but you should know the truth. Wendi found out about Trey first, and she paid him to stay quiet. She didn’t want him to disrupt our lives. I had no idea I had a child. When I found out, I confronted her and she admitted what she did. It’s my fault she’s gone. I told her that I couldn't trust her anymore. That we needed some space. She was gone the next morning.”
My jaw falls.
“If you give me the chip, I’ll show you the trail that leads back to her. I put it in her watch so no one would ever discover what she did. I didn’t want that to come out.”
“You had me steal the watch. You tried to hide Trey from everyone,” I say, my voice getting hysterically higher with every word. “You paid me to leave.”
His eyes turn steely.
“I was protecting my sons. From you.”
“You stated earlier today that you didn't take anything from the safe, Ms. Darlington,” Sheriff Stuart says. “Yet you just now admitted you stole a valuable family heirloom. How can we believe anything you say?”
I twist around, frantic gaze moving from Riot to Baz to X.
“There’s a note in that folder. Telling me my job is done. To leave and never tell the boys what he did. It’s right there, just look, please, and you’ll see I'm telling the truth. X saw it, too.”
Peter hands the folder over without argument. It should have been my first clue.
Ms. Darlington,
I’ve done everything you asked of me. Please take the money and this custody agreement and leave my family alone now. You got what you wanted and I upheld my part of the bargain.
Peter
I hear the words the sheriff reads and I watch the doubt on the boys’ faces.
“Is this the letter you saw earlier?” the sheriff asks X.
He shakes his head. “I didn’t see a letter, just the contract and check.”
Hysterical laughter bubbles in my throat.
“It was all him,” I say hoarsely. “Peter offered me the deal. He brought me here to steal a watch out of William Hook’s safe.”
“The safe you say you opened on a dare?” the sheriff says. “You did steal a watch, but you never gave it to Peter. You took it and removed the hidden chip, used it to discover confidential information that you then used to further blackmail Peter Panchard.”
“No. I gave it to him like he asked. The chip was proof of what he’d done.”
He pulls a plastic bag out of his vest. Inside is Wendi’s watch. “It was hidden inside a brown boot in your closet. You never gave it back to him. Were you planning to pawn it? The check you coerced from Mr. Panchard wasn’t enough?”
I gasp and my gaze flies to Peter. He wears the mask of a betrayed man. The kitchen is deadly silent.
“I can’t believe you did this. You set me up?”
“You did this to yourself,” Peter says. “I begged you to leave the boys out of this but you had to go and get them involved. You wove your spell around them so they wouldn’t see how duplicitous you are. Was the injury part of the plan? Something that you and Lucas Hook devised maybe? Blackmail me for half a million then go live happily ever after with him?”
“No,” I burst out just as Riot shouts bullshit.
“Tell them the truth, Ms. Darlington. That you were going to leave tonight with your money and custody papers. That you were moving in with Luc.”
A laugh bursts from my lips. Peter has spun every single detail against me and I can’t even begin to defend myself. Not against the truth. Holy fuck, I never saw this coming.
Riot’s furious gaze traps me, demanding I tell him it’s a lie.
I should have told them everything earlier today, that I was giving Peter back his money, that I was going to let Belle stay with her new family. Maybe then they might believe me.
Because now, it looks like I was going to take the money and run.
Luc warned me that Peter was brutal, but I disregarded what he said. I guess I just found out firsthand.
As the sheriff guides me from the kitchen, I meet each of the boys’ eyes. There are varying degrees of anger and betrayal and devastation. Riot grips the counter and drops his head, not looking at me anymore and my heart cracks. He can’t really believe the lies Peter is telling, not after what we’ve been through.
“That’s where you were going to go? To live with Hook?” X asks hoarsely as I pass. I can see the desperation in his eyes, begging me to tell him no. I could admit what I’d decided earlier, but at this point, I’m not sure they’d believe me.
If it came down to it, I would have moved into Luc’s pool house to appease Peter. Not to be with Luc but to stay close to them.
X waits for my answer, and I can’t lie to him. “Yeah.”
His shoulders slump and he turns away from me. Tears spill down over my cheeks. Baz is the closest to the kitchen door and I have to look at him as I pass.
There’s no rage in his eyes. His eyebrows are furrowed and he’s looking at me like he’s trying to see deep down into my soul.
See the truth, I beg silently.
“It’s not how it looks,” I whisper. “I trust you to figure it out.”
Then I’m past him and have no idea if he believes me or not. I never got to see his reaction. My bare feet pad softly on the marble as Sheriff Stuart guides me to the front door.
He doesn’t even let me stop long enough to slip on my shoes.
I drop my head and move down the steps toward the police car. Nausea bubbles in my throat when the sheriff opens the back door of his cruiser. I’ve been in this position before and duck my head as I slide into the seat.
The door slams shut and I wince.
The last thing I see is Peter’s triumphant smile as he stands in the doorway to his mansion. He lifts his hands and fucking waves as we pull away.
I guess he got what he wanted after all.
I’m not part of their lives anymore.
Chapter Five
Peter went back on another promise, too, I learned very quickly.
When they brought me into the station, my previously sealed records were suddenly unsealed.
My past was all right there in detail. Including when I was arrested for kidnapping Belle.
“If you have an attorney you can call them now, otherwise one will be appointed to you first thing in the morn
ing. There’ll be a bail hearing and then a trial date will be set.”
I have no phone, but there is no one to call anyway. The guys, I’m pretty sure they believed the lies Peter was spouting. Why not, most of it was the truth, just twisted to fit his agenda.
I still can’t believe that Peter spun this all on me.
Wait.
“My phone. What about the threats from Trey? And Meri. She warned me about the gun, that Trey was coming to the track.”
“Turns out Meri never actually saw Trey leave with a gun. He was at the track, but he wasn’t the shooter. The threats you claim to have received? There was nothing there from Trey Stuart.”
My jaw drops. Peter really outdid himself. Clearly he planned this to have everything in place like this. “But Luc saw him. He stepped between Trey and Riot and got shot. You can’t hide that fact,” I bite out.
Sheriff Stuart narrows his eyes. “You are not in a position to question anything, young lady. Your rap sheet speaks for itself. You’re a troublemaker who was living with a known gang banger. You saw an easy payday by blackmailing the wrong man. It’s over, Ms. Darlington. You’re looking at at least fifteen years in a maximum security prison. Extortion is a felony. I’ll be surprised if a judge even sets bail considering what a flight risk you are.”
My mouth goes dry. He’s not listening to me. This is really happening.
“I’ll take that one call.”
He hands me the landline that’s sitting on the desk. I stare at it with growing panic. I have no idea what Luc’s number is. Or the guys. They were programmed into my phone. Fresh tears burn my eyes.
“Problem?” the sheriff asks, but I can see he doesn’t really care.
“I don’t know the number,” I admit.
“Huh. Well then, I guess you don’t have a call to make after all. Let’s go. You’ll be booked and your arraignment will be tomorrow. Judge is making a special trip in before church.”
He assists me up by my elbow since my hands are still cuffed behind my back.
“I was set up,” I say for the hundredth time.
Sheriff Stuart snorts. “You think I don’t hear that every single day?”