How do you deal with the fact the man you loved killed someone to protect you? And that he’d do it again without remorse or apology?
Cav’s right. I do live in a bubble, and in my bubble, this concept doesn’t exist.
I slip into a cab and head back to Creighton and Holly’s. I don’t know where else to go.
The doorman rings the apartment, and I go up the private elevator.
Holly opens the door and the moment she sees me, her face falls from a smile to a frown.
“Oh hell. What happened?” She pulls me inside, and I follow her to where Creighton is standing near the kitchen counter as he talks on the phone.
“Make the arrangements. I’ll call you back.” He hangs up, his eyes raking over me. “Where is that bastard? I’m going to kill him.”
His choice of words unleashes a peal of hysterical laughter from me, and I sound like a crazy person.
I look to Holly and she shakes her head. She didn’t tell him. But I’m going to. Because at this point, I have no idea what else to do.
I’m attempting to wipe the tears from my eyes when I reply to my brother. “How about no one dies today.”
“What the hell happened?” Creighton’s voice leaves no room for anything but the truth.
“Do you remember Tracey?”
Confusion creases my brother’s brow, and I start from the beginning, spilling everything.
When I finish, Holly is staring at me, looking even more shocked than she did earlier today, and Creighton’s expression is unreadable.
“I think I just wrote a new song in my head. Am I the most terrible sister-in-law in the world if I tell you to keep talking, but I need to write it down quick?”
It seems impossible, but I grunt out a laugh. “No, go right ahead. If you need to write the number-one single to your new album, I Killed a Hitman to Save my Girl and then Left Her for Three Years without Telling Her What Happened, feel free.”
Holly shoots me a smile that looks a little sad, but grabs a pen off the counter and a leather notebook. Creighton is still watching me.
Another thought hits me and I freeze. “Oh my God, did you know?”
Creighton shakes his head slowly. “No. But there’s something missing in this explanation.”
“What?”
“How the fuck Dom knew the ins and outs of that deal, and apparently everything I’ve ever done. He has someone on the inside, and there’s only one person who would know that much. I just never thought he’d betray me.”
Everything inside me goes cold.
“Cannon?” I whisper.
“No way.” This comes from Holly.
Creighton grabs his phone and calls his second-in-command. “Get to my place. Now.” He hangs up without waiting for a response.
We all wait in the most painfully awkward silence of our lives. Holly keeps scribbling, and Creighton and I just stare at each other.
“What do I do? About Cav?”
Creighton’s jaw tenses and his lips flatten into a thin line. He doesn’t speak for several moments as he works out the answer in his head.
“I can’t decide if I want to kill him or welcome him to the family,” he finally says.
“What?”
“How can I fault the man for doing whatever was necessary to keep you safe? Especially when I didn’t even realize there was a threat?” Creighton looks meaningfully at Holly. “I’d kill for her—without hesitation or a second thought. If he loves you half as much as I love her, then I understand his reasoning.”
I freeze in shock for several beats. “Are you serious?”
Creighton meets my gaze. “As serious as murder. Now you have to decide whether you can live with it. Life isn’t black and white, Greer. He protected you, and a dangerous man went to prison. What you do from here is up to you.”
This isn’t the response I expected from my brother. I thought he’d be chairing the railroad Cav out of town and preferably to prison committee.
A long sigh escapes my lips, and I press into both pounding temples with three fingers each. “I can’t believe you’d leave a decision like this in my hands. All I’ve done is fuck up one thing after another.”
My brother’s expression turns even more serious. “If you think I’ve made all the right decisions, then I’m afraid you’ve got me on the wrong pedestal. You’re a smart woman, Greer. All this shit with Cav just tells me one thing—you’ve got no common sense when it comes to him because you’re so damn in love with him. How can I judge you for that? Whatever decision you make needs to be the right one for you. We’ll support you, no matter what.”
A knock on the door sounds before I can respond.
Cannon.
Creighton lets him in, and Holly and I glance at each other nervously. My brother doesn’t wait long enough for Cannon to step into the living room before he fires his question off.
“How long have you been feeding information to Dominic Casso about me, my family, and my businesses?”
Cannon’s eyes widen for only a fraction of a second before he recovers his composure. I expect a denial, but when he opens his mouth, it’s the truth that comes out.
“Since a year after you hired me.”
Oh my God.
Creighton’s fists clench; otherwise there’s no sign of emotion from him. “Why?”
“Because you’re my family, and I’d do anything to protect you, even make a deal with the devil.”
His words sound so much like Cav’s, I’m taken aback. I’d do anything to protect you.
“Are you still giving him information?” Creighton’s tone would make an infantry quake with fear.
“Yes.”
My brother’s jaw muscle ticks while he absorbs the answer. “You’re fired.”
Cannon’s face drains of color. “Crey—”
“I can’t have a leak in my own house. Not from you. Not to him.”
Cannon’s nostrils flare as he crosses his arms. “I’m not going to apologize. I did the right thing. He has connections you can’t imagine. We never would’ve gotten this far without—”
The words of doom. No one should ever intimate that my brother didn’t get to where he is on his own. I think Creighton believes he could part the Red Sea à la Moses through sheer force of will.
“I don’t want to hear it. Get out.”
Cannon’s mouth clamps shut. “If that’s what you want.” The words are spoken low from between gritted teeth.
Creighton nods, and Cannon turns to head for the door. He pauses before he leaves the room. “Don’t be as shortsighted as your brother.”
Right then, I know he’s aware of what Cav did to protect me. He probably relayed the information. My mind races with the possibilities.
What the hell am I going to do now?
We all hear the door shut, and Creighton looks like he’s going to crack molars with how hard his jaw is clenched. Holly, who had already dropped her pen, crosses the room to wrap her arms around him. “I’m so sorry.”
Clutching my bag tighter to my side, I head for the door. “I’m going to go work this out. I’m sorry too, Crey. I wish . . .”
I want to say I wish I’d never met Cav, but I can’t make the words come out. Because they’re not true. Because I love him.
But can I forgive him?