A ripple of unease travels through me.
It’s as if she’s a minefield. One wrong step will set her off, and I don’t want Raven in the blast radius when that happens. I have to tread lightly.
As I try to choose my words carefully, Scarlett becomes impatient. “This girl is just a passing ship. A piece of ass that kept you satisfied while I was away. I waited for you. I did all of this for you.” Her words are directed at both of us.
Trying to decipher her implication, my eyes narrow. “What is ‘all of this’?”
She looks at me like I should already know the answer. “My friends. They were supposed to get rid of her for us.”
“The man with the grenades at the library. The woman who almost threw Noah out the window. The man with the bomb who almost blew us all up. That was you?” My voice resonates louder with each word from my mouth.
“Of course it was me, silly. Who else would it be?” She chuckles.
Another thought pops into my mind. “Did you visit Amos in prison?”
She nods. “That was fun. You should’ve seen the look on his face when he realized it was me.” She sighs to herself as if it’s a fond memory. “Priceless.”
I can’t hide the horror on my face, but she doesn’t take notice.
“And Daddy had to pay for everything he’s done. He would hurt me all the time. And then I found out he had terminalcancer, and I couldn’t just let him die like that. It had to be me. Don’t you understand? I was protecting us.”
I’m not sure I believe her. She’s twisted reality so much and convinced herself of her own lies. She talks as if we wanted her to kill Raven.
I stare intently into her eyes, searching for a semblance of truth. “If he was hurting you back then, why not tell us?”
Scarlett pouts. “I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me.”
Lie.
My nails dig into the palm of my hands as I tighten them into fists and lean to look directly at Trey. “And you helped?”
Trey’s voice is ruthlessly hard. “You two were always the favorites. I joined the military, I worked my way up to be a demolitions expert, I even made lieutenant colonel. But not once did either of you, Amos, or Jed ever give me the recognition I deserved.”
I will not take the blame for something that isn’t my fault.
“We haven’t heard from you since you left! How were we supposed to know?”
The vein in Knox’s forehead beats faster. “And what about our dad, Amos? Why did you have to frame him? He’s been innocent this whole time.”
Scarlett’s words are cold and exact. “Amos Montgomery is a pervert. He was always trying to touch me when you weren’t looking. And I know what he did to you. Always hitting you with a belt.”
There’s no way she could’ve known that. We never told her, and Amos was smart about where he hit us.
“I did it for you,” she repeats again.
Keeping her gun on me, Scarlett leans into Knox. “I’m so sorry they ruined your pretty face. I know a good plastic surgeon in LA that can fix you up.”
Knox winces. It’s imperceptible to everyone else, but I see it. I know him. And no one treats my brother like that.
“What about Noah? He’s just a kid, and you almost had him killed.” My words are ground out in a strangled tone.
My shoulders pull back as a menacing heat pulses through me. Knox is the one with a short fuse, but it’s me who loses it. Bitter resentment spews from my mouth. “Fuck. You.”
Scarlett rears back as if I slapped her.
“I know you haven’t been waiting for us in the sense that you implied. You weren’t even faithful to us when we were all sixteen. You use your body to manipulate and get what you want. It’s not going to work here.” I look her up and down with a scowl. “Been there, done that. I’ll pass.”
Scarlett’s face turns an ugly shade of red as her breaths become strained.
