Very slowly and carefully, I slide out from under Galen, shoving a pillow under his head and another one in front of his torso. He curls around the pillow, and he looks so young even with his long muscular body, ink creeping up his arms, and the ring in his nose. I press a kiss to his temple before I pull on the hoodie and leggings I removed before bed and slip my feet into my Vans.
I try Alisha’s bedroom first, but the master suite is empty, so I pad downstairs to the kitchen.
She’s sitting at the long wooden table, nursing a bottle of water when I arrive. She looks up, not surprised to see me. “I imagine you have questions.”
“I do.” I walk to the coffeepot, filling it with water and switching it on. “I think I’ll need coffee for this conversation.” We don’t talk as I wait for the coffee to fill. We just stare at one another, sizing each other up.
“Want one?” I ask, holding up a mug.
She shakes her head. “I’m good with water.”
“Is it safe to talk?” I inquire while pouring myself a black coffee.
“I disabled the camera in here. It’s safe.”
I take the seat across from her.
“How much do you know?”
“What Galen knows,” I admit.
“Which is?”
“You had an affair with my father. You got pregnant with his baby. Took his money to abort it and kept it a secret from my mom, your former best friend.” I glare at her, wanting her to see how much disdain I hold her in. “Used the money to fuel your party lifestyle, leaving your kids to fend for themselves. Your daughter died in your son’s arms, and he hasn’t stopped beating himself up over not saving her ever since. That about sums it up.”
“How did Galen find out? Did Sinner tell him?” she asks. The glass shakes in her hand, and her body trembles.
“Why would Sinner tell him?” I narrow my eyes, immediately suspicious.
“Because he set the whole thing up, and I feared one day he’d tell my son everything.”
“Which is?” I hiss, setting my mug down and straining forward. “What did that asshole do?”
“What hasn’t he done might be an easier question to answer.”
I drill her with a look, and she cracks a slight smile.
“You have her spirit you know. Giana is a fighter too.”
She clearly doesn’t know my mom as well as she thinks she does. “I didn’t come down here for compliments. I want answers.” I slam my hand down on the table. “I want to know why my father, the man I adored above all men, turned out to be a liar and a cheat. I need to know if any of it was real. And I need to know all the ways that bastard Sinner tried to ruin my family.”
“I will tell you what I know, but my son can’t hear this.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t know the half of it, and if he finds out, I’m afraid of what he might do.” She reaches across the table, and her bony hand lands on top of mine. Her palm is sweaty, her fingers trembling.
“I can’t promise I won’t tell him because we have a rule about not keeping secrets, but I can promise I will keep him safe. I will stop him from doing anything that might endanger his life. We will stop him. Sinner will not harm a hair on Galen’s head.”
“Do you love my son, Harlow?”
“I … I don’t know,” I honestly admit. “I have strong feelings for him, but things are complicated between us, and we’re still working it out.”
“Nothing can happen to him.” Tears fill her eyes. “He is all I have left.”
My eyes probe hers for the truth, and I see it there and the love shining brightly for him. “Then fight harder! If you die, it will break him for good. Don’t you see that?”
“I want to,” she sobs. “I want to so much, but you don’t understand. These thoughts in my head, these voices whispering in my ear, theyneverstop, they never leave me alone, and I’m haunted by all my failings, and I just need to make it stop.” She reclaims her hand, rubbing it back and forth across her chest. “It’s never been about not loving my son enough, because if that was all it took, I would be clean and sober.”
