My brother must have known exactly what kind of sacrifice he was making.
He must have known that he’d be giving up his own life to ensure my safety.
He’d allowed himself ten years.
Ten years to raise me and to make sure that my future was going to be secure.
Had anyone known the truth?
I guess I finally understood why my brother had always avoided relationships.
He’d never had a girlfriend or a woman in his life after that incident with Cole’s father had happened.
Now I knew why he’d never wanted to get involved with anyone while he was raising me to adulthood.
I picked up my phone.
It was late, but I didn’t care.
I couldn’t wait.
Ihadto know.
There was only one person who may have known the truth.
There was only one person my brother had been close to during that time in his life.
“Did you know?” I asked tearfully as soon as Tanner answered the phone.
“Lauren?” he said in a perplexed voice. “Are you okay? You sound like you’re crying. What in the hell is going on?”
“I just want to know if you knew?” I said shakily.
I probably wasn’t making a lot of sense, but I wasn’t rational enough to select my words better at the moment.
“Knew what?” Tanner grumbled, his voice concerned. “You’re scaring me, Lauren. Tell me what’s going on right now.”
I took a deep breath. “Did you know that Keith killed Cole’s father?”
“Fuck!” Tanner cursed. “Where did you hear that?”
Tanner was like a second brother to me, and I couldn’t stand the thought that he’d been keeping the truth from me all these years.
If he’d known, he could have told me the truth a long time ago.
He hadn’t immediately denied knowing, and I was so distraught that a sob escaped my throat instead of an answer.
I was confused, and I had no idea who to trust right now.
“I’m getting in my vehicle,” Tanner said gruffly. “I’ll be at your place in a few. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I think you need me right now.”
I didn’t stay on the phone.
I disconnected, my heart completely broken.
My brother had murdered the father of the man I loved more than anyone else in the world.
I had no idea how to even begin to cope with that.
