Liz and Lauren worked together to return the dogs to their kennels. Samson laid down and watched, completely exhausted but happy, too.
“Thanks for that,” Liz told her friend when at last they headed back inside. “It was nice to have a break, if only for a little while.” She didn’t have the heart to tell Lauren how thoughts of the mystery had remained with her the entire time.
“Of course. You are welcome here any time, Liz. I mean it.” Lauren put an arm behind Liz’s back as they walked toward the cabin.
Liz looked over at her friend and saw her face light with an idea. Sure enough, a second later, Lauren asked, “Hey, are fried moose steaks okay for dinner?” She shrugged, but continued to wear a huge grin. “Yeah, it’s not the healthiest, but it is the tastiest.”
Liz laughed and waited as Lauren opened the door into the kitchen. “Sounds perfect.”
Lauren stepped into the doorway and froze. Liz watched as all the lightness evaporated from her body, leaving behind only the heaviest part—the part that Liz constantly found herself buried beneath these days.
Shane’s voice rose from within the cabin. “Hey, honey. We’ve got some company.”
Fast footsteps crossed the floor—not Shane’s because he still needed a cane to get around. His gait was slow and shuffling, while these steps were quick and light, cat-like.
“Nice to meet you again,” a familiar voice said, bringing with it the scent of pine and ink. Dorian.
“I...” Lauren faltered, still worn out from the run and unable to muster her usual fight.
“Shane let me in,” Dorian said with a cough.
“I can see that. Well, can we help you with something?” At last Lauren moved into the house, allowing Liz to enter behind her.
“Not you,” Dorian answered and gave Liz a hesitant smile. “But she can.”
Tired as she was, Liz now lived with anger, confusion, and betrayal day-in and day-out. If Dorian had come for any reason other than to give her the full story, she would lose it right here in this quaint little kitchen.
“What do you want?” She growled. She didn’t care that she sounded like a raged beast. No, she needed him to know that she meant business. That she would fight to the end to defend herself, to find the truth.
“Come to think of it,” she continued, “how did you know I was here? Did you bug my phone? Put a tracker on my car? I thought your stalker days were through.” Liz let out a bitter laugh. How had she not thought to check for all these things? Maybe it because she wasn’t used to living in an action thriller film. Where was Bruce Willis when she needed him?
Dorian drew closer, a remorseful expression crossing his face. Gone was the pomp, the pride, all the things which had made her hate him in the first place. Now he was just a man broken by secrets he had no right to bear. “You told me,” he said gently. “Well, your GPS did. In the message, the one where you said you hated me.”
Liz flinched. She would burn that infernal GPS the moment she got a chance. “So you thought instead of calling me back, you would just drive the two hours and pay me a visit? What if I don’t want to see you?”
Shane cleared his throat from across the room. “Uh, Lauren, maybe we should give them a minute.”
“Are you going to be okay?” her friend asked, concern evident on her face as she looked toward Liz.
“Yeah, go.” Liz sighed. “But don’t go far. I still don’t trust this guy.”
Dorian frowned, but didn’t say anything more until the Ramseys had left the room.
“Well?” Liz asked, crossing her arms.
“I’m sorry. I really thought Ben would talk to you.” He really did look apologetic, but sorry didn’t change what had happened. It didn’t erase his part in any of this.
Liz grew more livid by the second. She didn’t like this version of herself, the one that was always angry, that trusted no one. She sighed again, but it did nothing to lighten her load. “Turns out you don’t know my father very well. You don’t know Warwick, and you definitely don’t know me.”
“I want to. I’m trying to.” He ducked and ran his hands through the curls on the top of his head before looking up at her again, his intense green gaze locking her in place. “I know you went to see him. Warwick, I mean.”
Liz eyed him suspiciously.
Dorian cleared his throat before continuing, almost as if he were choking on some invisible object. She kind of wished he was. “I went to his hotel earlier today to offer up a deal. They said he had left, that his daughter was looking for him, too. I knew it had to be you.”
“What kind of deal?” Had Dorian possessed the power to stop this all along? If so, why hadn’t he exercised it? Why had he let this terrible game of secrets and lies continue?
“No, you don’t get to ask the questions. Not yet. Not until I tell you what I came to say.” Dorian’s voice was suddenly angry. It caught Liz off guard. “But what I don’t get is why you would endanger yourself like that. Don’t you value your own life?”
In truth, Liz didn’t know the answer to that question anymore. These past couple weeks had been a special kind of hell. If this is what life would be like from now on, she almost wished Warwick would release her to the next plane. “You said he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Maybe I was wrong. I don’t know.” He hung his head. His lips moved, but no more words came out.
“What are you doing here, Dorian?” she asked again. “Tell me the truth, or get out.”
“He’s your father!” Dorian shouted suddenly, visibly thrown off-kilter. “Warwick. He’s your real father.”
He expected this to be a revelation, but she just stared at him slack-jawed. Now that she had figured out everything for herself, someone was finally willing to talk to her. Of course. “I know.”
“So Ben told you?”
“No, he wouldn’t even admit to knowing the man.”
“Then how?”
“The Internet is a wonderful and mysterious thing. Also, I’m not an idiot. I know how to put two and two together.”
“I know you’re not dumb. You’re also not cruel, and you don’t deserve any of this.”
Liz laughed bitterly. She didn’t back away when Dorian placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What else do you know?” he asked.
“Whatever you’re about to tell me.” She turned to him and tried to smile, to show she knew he was trying to help, that she appreciated it. But somehow she just didn’t have the strength to raise the corners of her mouth in what had been an easy, natural gesture.
Dorian smiled instead. It was soft and slight, but it was there. “How do you know I’ll tell you anything?”
“Because you drove two hours, because you’re here, because for whatever wild and crazy reason, you actually seem to care. Now get talking.”