I follow my older brother from the dining room, but pause just outside the door. Levis didn’t follow immediately. I turn just as he reaches the threshold with a severe frown.
“Why was Loren carrying around a knife?” he asks, eyes on Myro.
“Because he’s crazy,” Myro mutters, glancing at the door we left.
“The real reason,” Levis insists.
“Come on, Lev,” Jessica says. “You and I both know that he’ll cut someone who hurts his family. He had almost everyone he cares about in one place, all of whom were being verbally attacked. What do you think?” She grips his arm and pulls him down the hall toward those who left first. They didn’t go far.
I look at my brother. Myro meets my eyes. “Why do you think they really returned?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I wondered before, but now I really want to know.”
“Have the triplets looked at this contract that Dad mentioned?”
“If they haven’t, I’m sure they will when we ask them to.” He grips my elbow and leads me away. I don’t want to leave Dad in there with them, but I remind myself that he has a knife in his hands. Loren’s knife. His favorite weapon.
18
BREK
I gotta be honest—I’vemet a lot of the Van Dorens, and this is probably the first time in two years that I’ve met mean ones. Which I think is saying a lot since this entire property becomes bursting at the seams with Van Dorens during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thanksgiving is next week, so already, there are some making their way here. We’ve mused that those who arrive really early are looking for prime bedrooms. Thanksgiving isn’t as crowded as Christmas, but it’s no deserted oasis either.
It’s been a week since the would-be dinner with the grandparents. I’m not sure if someone sent out a call for solidarity, but the rest of Jalon’s brothers arrived two days after that dinner. Uncle Auden is here, as is his son, Rhodes, with his pack of wolves and new boyfriend who’s made of fucking sunshine.
I’m already sitting by the lake when Honey Bee and Levis join me. I see Loren’s car pull up a minute later, and Oakley climbs out. Then Briar. Haze is the last to pull up a piece of grass.
We’re all facing the big house.
“Well?” Haze asks. “Developments? Insight?”
“Everyone was issued a formal apology,” Levis says. “Very formal. The grandparents signed out the conference room that’s diagonal from my office, and one by one, all the Van Dorens went in, were there for twenty minutes, and left. One by one means the triplets went together.”
I snort. Of course, they did.
“Have any of your Van Dorens mentioned what was discussed for twenty minutes?” Honey Bee asks.
Haze, Briar, Oakley, and I shake our heads.
“Noaz is weirdly tight-lipped about it,” Briar says.
“Oak?” I ask.
Oakley sighs. “I know why you think Loren would be the one to talk, but he is entirely indifferent on the subject of his grandparents, which I think speaks louder than anything he could actually say. He loves his family. His grandparentsdo nothave the same loyalty.”
“Brek?” Levis asks. “Anything from Voss?”
“No. I haven’t asked, though. The only thing he said was if I were ever alone with Axl for whatever reason and either of his grandparents shows up, I’m to leave with his baby. No questions asked. I don’t have to speak or listen to whatever they have to say.”
“Are you ever alone with Axl?” Honey Bee asks.
I shake my head. “No. Which I think is in line with what Oakley noted about Loren. Far more telling than anything they could have repeated, right?”
“Speculation?” Honey Bee asks. “Who has a hypothesis? Haze, you find anything interesting while going through the Van Doren archives that could be useful?”
“No. Not more than what we learned at the not-dinner. Jalon’s parents left the estate when Noaz was three. They left all four younger sons in Jalon’s care. The only real note of the event is that they signed overeverythingto Jalon before leaving for a life of leisure and travel,” Haze answers. “I’ve made a more concentrated effort to look at the activities of the Van Dorens in the late eighties and early nineties since last week.” He shakes his head. “If there are skeletons hiding, they can’t be found in the archives.”
