“He’s here,” Brenda said, wrinkling her nose. “I asked him to help clean up, so I think he went out back to sweep the lawn. You know, the really useful jobs that are needing to be done around this place.”
Jace shook his head. “No idea why you married him. You deserve so much better.”
Brenda stilled, blinking a few times as if she was unsure of what she’d just heard. She finally tilted her head and regarded Jace like she hadn’t seen him before. “I’m sorry. Who the fuck are you, and where is my moody lead singer?”
My laughter burst free before Jace could answer, and he shook his head at me. “Come on, I wasn’t that bad.” He was trying to defend himself, but it was a tough crowd.
Brenda joined me in laughing, her entire body shaking as she leaned over and dropped her hands to her knees in an attempt to catch her breath.
Eventually Jace joined us. “Yeah, okay. Whatever,” he grumbled. “I was a cranky bastard, and I can own it. But… shit is different now. I’m fucking different, and you’re a good person, Brenda. Don’t let Humphrey drain that from you.”
Jace wasn’t different so much as he wasmy Jaceagain. The one I’d fallen in love with, only slightly older, more handsome, if that was possible, and extremely successful. This was the best version of Jace, and I had never been so happy to witness it in all its glory.
Brenda sobered up then, and she looked closer at Jace. Really looked at him. “Fuck, I’m so happy to see you like this,” she finally said, letting out a little sigh. “I’ve waited a long time for that angry kid to fade into the incredible man you are. It’s finally happening.”
The emotionally charged air shimmered between them, and Jace nodded before waving her off. “Okay, okay. Enough of that. Let’s get to business.”
He headed out of the foyer, knowing his way since he’d been here before, and Brenda’s gaze met mine.Thank you,she mouthed, and I didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about.
We were both grateful for the change in Jace.
Themessy housethat Brenda had apologized for was actually fairly tidy. There were only a few pieces of clothing and some toys in the living area where we all sat. Brenda’s house must usually look like a show home.
“How’s everything been?” Brenda started. “Since you made the speech at the hospital?”
Jace leaned forward, his hard thigh pressing hard against mine, and I had to force myself to focus on the conversation at hand. “Honestly, I think it made a difference. The negative comments online have died down, the fans in the streets are being more respectful, and Tess received a thousand cards and gifts to her room, all from those expressing their sorrow about what happened.”
“Do we know why it happened?” Brenda asked.
“We do, actually,” Jace said, before repeating what Grayson had told us all a few days ago. “The chick who stabbed Tess was the sister of the fan who tried to break into Florence’s funeral and got shot by security.”
Grayson had been digging into the reason for days.
“Did she die from her injuries?” Brenda asked. “I’ve barely had time to even breathe the last few days, let alone watch the news.”
“She did,” Jace confirmed. “She blamed us for her sister’s death and became obsessed withDirty Truths, believing all the shit about us and ourdepraved lifestyles. Her friends told Grayson’s investigator that her rage built until she was consumed. She had dozens of plans in place to enact her revenge, but running into us at that restaurant was pure coincidence. She’d worked there for years.”
Brenda shook her head. “So many deaths that could have been avoided. I’m just happy that Tess is going to be okay.”
For that, we were all grateful.
“It does lead us back to the issue of the media, though,” she continued. “To the issue of how toxicDirty Truths,in particular, has become. It has too much inside information, which in turn has given people too much access to you all. Now one girl is dead, Tess could have been as well, and on top of that, you’ve all been attacked late—”
A gasp from the doorway stopped her midsentence.
Brenda swiveled in her chair, hand pressed to her heart as if she expected her baby to be there vomiting everywhere. Only there was no baby. It was a middle-aged man, only a little taller than Brenda herself, with a receding hairline and an unassuming face. He was slim and wore a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. In his hands was a leaf blower, so Brenda wasn’t far off on her assessment of him sweeping the grass.
“Honey?” she said, half out of her chair. “Is everything okay?”
He did look a little stunned as he took a stumbling step into the room, the leaf blower smacking against the door frame as he did. “What did you say aboutDirty Truths?”
Brenda quirked an eyebrow at him, expression confused. “What do you know aboutDirty Truths? Are you secretly a gossip site fan?”
Humphrey paled considerably. “No! I mean, yeah, not at all, but did you say someone died?”
Brenda was upright now, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she regarded her husband. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Humphrey? You’re acting even more scattered than usual, and that’s saying something. What do you know?”
Her husband shook his head and seemed to pull himself together. “Sorry, sorry. I just heard you say thatDirty Truthshas been causing the sort of trouble that got people killed. But maybe I heard wrong. That’s crazy, right? It’s just a gossip site, and there are thousands of them.”
