Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Icy shards scatter across the back of my neck. “What?” I grit out.
“I know. Callie, Jesse, and I talked about this one night a while back. We were wondering if Pat somehow poisoned Diana on purpose. It was just a theory at that point, but now…with this new memory…”
“You’re saying he poisoned Diana directly?”
“I’m saying I wouldn’t put it past him, especially now that we know he thinks he’s a Steel. Maybe he knew about his alleged lineage then. I mean, isn’t it strange that only Diana was hospitalized with drugs in her system? We all drank that stuff, and he admitted to spiking it, but I think he spiked Diana’s particular drink with something else. If he’d put the PCP and meth in the punch, it would have either been diluted enough not to make anyone sick, or we’d all have been hospitalized.”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. “Do you know how much Diana drank?”
“I have no idea,” Rory says. “Diana was a freshman, and I was a senior. We didn’t hang out. But there were people there who drank cup after cup of that stuff, but Diana was the only one who ended up in the hospital that night.”
“Jesus Christ…” I wipe the emerging sweat from my forehead with my hand. “Is it possible he knew then? Is it… Fuck.”
“I wish we could just forget about the stuff for a few days,” Rory says.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this sooner,” she says. “It was purely a theory at the time, but now that I remember what he said that night…”
“The Steels get what they deserve…” I echo.
I can’t. I just can’t with this. Rory and I are on a plane to London. Fucking London, where I was hoping, other than talking to Ennis Ainsley, we could actually spend some time together seeing the city and not ruminating on Pat Lamone and everything else.
So damn it, that’s what we’re going to do.
I meet her gaze. “We’re going to put this on hold. Just for now. Just for London. That’s my plan.”
“Can we, Brock?”
Her eyes are so big and brown, and I love her so much. I’ll promise her anything in this moment.
“Yes, we can, and we will.”
“I would like to see London. I mean, I wish we could enjoy it without this stuff always hanging over our heads like a rain cloud. I feel like one of those cartoons, where a rain cloud follows the person around. Or like Charlie Brown when he always gets a rock in his Halloween bag. It’s like bad luck is everywhere.”
I smile then. “This isn’t bad luck, Rory. Not for you and not for me. It concerns my parents, but not even my parents. My grandparents mostly. My great-grandparents and my grandparents brought all of this to fruition.”
“But it does have to do with us, Brock, because we’re caught in it now. We’re the ones whose lives are being upended. We’re the ones who will ultimately suffer and pay the price.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing my money can’t buy,” I say. “You have my word. If it takes every last penny, I will protect you.”
She squeezes my hand. “But I don’t want you to have to, Brock. That’s my point. You and I didn’t do any of this. Well…I did. I’m the one who seduced Pat Lamone, drugged him with Benadryl, and got the confession out of him that put this in motion.”
“That doesn’t make any of this your fault.”
“Doesn’t it? Pat would say he’s the victim.”
“Because you gave him Benadryl? I’d love to see him prove that. You and Callie are the victims, Rory. You’re the ones who got drugged and put on display in photographs. You were violated. Maybe you weren’t raped, beaten, or anything like that, thank God, but you were violated. I won’t let you make light of it.”
She squeezes my hand again. “You’re so understanding.”
“I’m just a man who loves you. You must love me, because you’re still here after hearing everything that’s going on with my family.”
“I’m glad you confided in me. I hate the thought of you going through this alone. I’m glad to be here with you. This is where I belong, at your side, bearing any burden with you.”
I kiss her cheek. “I didn’t think it was possible, Rory, but I just fell in love with you a little bit more.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RORY
We arrive at our hotel around noon London time. I’m sleepy, though not horribly so. Being able to lie flat during the long flight helped, and both Brock and I were able to get some shut-eye.
Still, I’m learning the meaning of jet lag quickly. A nap sounds like heaven. I yawn and lie down on the bed when—
“Nope. No, you don’t.”
“Just a little nap, Brock.”
“You can’t. We have plans this afternoon. We’re going sight-seeing.”