Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
We weren’t far off from the house.
“It wasn’t always just me and Dom,” I told him, staring at a dusty pink patch of coneflower out past the path. “We were actually a trio, growing up. It was me, Dom, and our friend Brody.”
Max found a squat rock and sat down on it, peering up at me. “Three of you,” he said.
“We grew up together. Then threw parties together, when we were older. Brody was always there, sometimes instigating things more than I was. When Brody went into the police force, following in his father’s footsteps, it was only a good thing for us.”
Max’s eyes narrowed slightly. “A friend in the police force?”
“A powerful friend in the police force,” I added.
It felt like my heart was slowly turning to stone as I told the story. A story I’d never had to tell anyone before, because everyone involved already knew and everyone else never would.
“I see.”
“Brody McGowan’s father was chief, and then he had a heart attack and died. There were plenty of other people who should have taken over as chief—but instead, somehow, Brody himself ended up landing a position as the youngest police chief the department had ever had, at age 28.”
Max nodded.
“It got me out of a lot. Especially in combination with my father’s connections, there was basically nothing short of murder that Dom, Brody and I couldn’t get away with. I told you about the parties. The fights, the gambling, the sex. I didn’t dabble much in hard drugs, but Brody did, here and there.”
“Never a good thing.”
“No,” I agreed.
I looked over at the clearing of dirt. Behind it, my house. In front of it, a few shrub junipers and flowers.
The spot where my footprints had been.
“Brody liked Lily from the moment she arrived in our world,” I said. I turned to Max, and when I saw his expression darken, I nodded. “Lily never did any drugs. Don’t worry. But you know your sister. She’s charming, and that was no different to anyone here, either. I felt bad about bringing her into my world since day one, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Of course, at first, it was just her curiosity, but eventually, she kept company with us because she was being handsomely paid to do so.”
“I still don’t buy it,” Max murmured. “Maybe she was getting payments from your father, yes, but I know her. She still cared about you.”
“Against her own good common sense, maybe. A little.”
I pulled in a long breath, watching that slight grey strip in the distant sky become a little darker, a little thicker.
“After I found out about my father’s cheating, I wanted more,” I said. “More info. Anything I could fucking get on him. And one thing that Brody was particularly fond of was PI work.”
“He acted as a private investigator?”
“Nothing official. Wasn’t exactly part of his job description. Being a police chief is almost all management, and Brody wasn’t that great at it, even though he faked it well. When I say ‘PI work’ it was more of a hobby for him.”
Max’s gaze was cold. “He liked spying on people for fun?”
“Exactly,” I said. “And when I wanted more shit on my dad, that was fertile ground for Brody to run on. All I asked for was to see what he could dig up, but he dove deep into it. Decided to tail my dad, around his property. Take pictures with a long, telephoto lens. Try to always get past Dad’s security.”
“Creep.”
“Yes,” I agreed.
My stomach turned, remembering the glee on his face as he came to me, that day.
“So,” I said, “there was a day I had been out here on Veil. A day like today. I was riding, I was pissed at my dad after an argument, I felt powerless. Brody came driving over, hopped out of his Porsche, walked over here. He had a grin on his face, I can still remember so clearly. And he showed me some photos.”
Max looked concerned. “Bad photos?”
“Not photos I was expecting,” I said. I clenched one of my fists until my knuckles hurt, letting it go a moment later. “They weren’t of Dad. They were of Dominic. And Lily.”
Max’s expression went blank. “Lily?”
“When Brody was taking photos on Dad’s property, he discovered something else. Dominic had been there for a financial meeting, Lily had been there for obvious reasons. But the two of them were in a side room, and through a window, Brody had seen them… together.”
“Fucking?”
“Not quite. But on the way to it,” I told him.
“Were you hurt?” Max asked. “Your best friend…”
“At that point I knew Lily was on Dad’s payroll. I knew everything with her was most likely a farce. But I wasn’t certain until that point.”
“Dominic was lying to you,” Max said.
My heart sank in my chest. Fresh, like it had been that day.