Something dark flashed in Chris’s eyes. He took a sip of beer. “Trevor doesn’t want me to snap my fingers—hewants to snap my neck.”
Jay frowned. “Meaning?”
“The will has three conditions. First, I can’t waive the money without it going to charity. Second, the money will only go to me after two years. Third, the money will go to Trevor and Andyimmediatelyif I were to die during those two years.”
Jay’s head spun. The beer gushed unpleasantly in his stomach. “Was he really that sick in the head?”
“Robert was a practical man.” Chris sounded surprisingly steady, although cold. “He wanted results, and he didn’t tolerate failure. For a while, he thought he found what he was looking for in me, but I left him the first chance I got. Apparently, he’s never forgiven me.”
“Did he really expect you to stay there after all the things they did to you?” Although, in truth, Jay didn’t have a real grasp of Chris’s life with the Mitchells. Hell, he knew practically nothing. But he remembered vividly the haunted look in Chris’s eyes when he’d talked about his adoptive family back in the cabin.
“Robert fully expected me to stay with him and his family. The way he saw it, they had swept me away from a miserable life and given me a better one. Everything was a reasonable price to pay for the chance to be Robert’s pupil and a part of his family. When I left, he told me that after two failed sons, he couldn’t believe he was going to have a third one. I told him that I had never been, or ever would be, his son.” Chris took another sipof beer. “By writing his will this way, he’s either going to make Trevor and Andy regret failing him, or me.”
“Chris, you’re a lawyer. They don’t pay you so much for nothing. Find a legal way to get rid of that damn money.”
“I spoke with the Mitchells’ lawyer today. The man is exhausting, but he agreed to help me search for a possible creative solution.”
“Good.”
Chris shook his head. “He’s unlikely to find anything, but it gives me a bit of time to figure something out.”
“Any ideas?”
He shrugged. “To leave the city with Melissa and the twins and to change our names. Nothing drastic.”
Jay snorted. “At least you’re not freaking out.”
“Freaking out?” The look in Chris’s eyes was downright chilling. “Trevor and Andy are going to kill me, Jay. There’s no other way for this to go.”
“Is that so?” Jay shook his head. “IfIdidn’t kill you after prison, no one else is going to.” Already, a primal part of his brain kicked in, making the wheels in his head spin faster.
“Do Melissa’s parents still live in Massachusetts?”
“Yes.”
“Can you make her stay with the twins there for a while?”
Chris narrowed his eyes. “I can think of something.”
“Do that. Let’s get them out of the way as soon aspossible. What about going to the police?”
“I have no proof. Trevor is too smart to threaten me on record. And if I get him arrested, he’ll become more desperate and unpredictable.”
Jay could see how that wouldn’t play in their favor. “Okay, so no police for now. Once your family is out of the house, you’re either moving in with me, or I’m moving in with you.”
Chris leaned forward like he hadn’t heard him right. “What?”
“You need protection, don’t you? It might be best for me to move in with you for a while; you saw how small my place is.”
“Are you really willing to do that?”
That question irked Jay. “Are you thick or something? Your life might be in danger. You think I’m not going to take it seriously?” And hehadpromised to take care of Chris’s monsters. Although, to be fair, he’d mostly wanted to calm him down after Dima attacked him, and he definitely hadn’t counted on being called into service so goddamn soon. “Did you tell Ethan and Anthony about this?”
Chris shook his head. “No, I don’t want to.”
“Didn’t the four of us agree to stop with secrets?”
“I know, but Ethan is finally starting a new job tomorrow, and he doesn’t need my shit to deal with. If I tell Anthony, he won’t keep it a secret from Ethan. I didn’t even want to dump this on you.”
