A knock on my car door jolts me out of my melancholic indecision. Maybe Jules is back to deliver more emotionalpunches.
To my surprise, it’s Seth.
“Hey.” He rubs the back of his neck.
“Hi.” I press my hands over my tear-stained cheeks. “I’m—clearly, I’m not fit for company. I’m a blubbering hot mess.”
“I won’t stay long.” He bites his lip. “Listen, I know better than to meddle in my brother’s love life—”
“Yep, usually a bad idea.”
He smiles. “Yeah. That’s the problem. I think I did. I warned him against you the whole time. I wasn’t all that friendly to you, either, especially once I saw how fast he was falling for you. If anything I said or did pushed you to leave…” He swallows. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interfered.”
“Oh, Seth.”
“I just care about him a lot, you know?” he continues. “He’s not just my twin, he’s my best friend. And seeing him so broken before, it’s made me more protective. I know you weren’t planning to come back, but if you ever did…I’ll keep my mouth shut this time.”
“Thank you,” I say, and I mean it. “But Marshal Dawson interfered way more than you did.”
“Yeah, about that.” Seth shifts his weight, his gaze sharpening. “Logan told us about the recording.”
Heat flushes up my chest. “Yeah?” I squeak.
“It doesn’t add up. No offense, but you are a nobody.”
I huff out a surprised laugh. “No offense taken.”
“It doesn’t make sense for him to create that recording just ’cause and then scareyouaway.” He bites his lip. “We think he made that recording to blackmail John Hillerman.”
I blink. “Oh.” I suddenly feel lightheaded, and I gesture for him to make himself comfortable on the cushioned milk crateI use as a chair while I settle down on the bed.
“We looked it up, and John Hillerman was a major town councilman at the time of your…uh.” Seth blushes.
I nod. John once complained about the power struggles between him and the mayor at the time.
“Anyway, the town council still has its meeting notes on its website from that time. John Hillerman pushed to replace the town marshal and appoint Rick Dawson. Hillerman was also head of the budget committee. That summer, the town marshal got a massive budget increase. Ethan still bitches about the Humvee and riot gear purchases. Then, that fall when Hillerman lost the reelection, he left town almost immediately.”
My stomach twists. God, this whole time… Was I just a pawn?
Seth shakes his head. “We think Dawson never intended to prosecute you or Hillerman. He saw an opportunity, and you were collateral damage. Same as now—he saw a chance to use the recording to pressure us into changing the Sierra Trust to include his department. We cut him out after the way he handled your disappearance.” He gives a dark laugh. “Now we know why he handled it that way.”
A sick wave rolls through me—anger, humiliation, grief all crashing together. “God, what a snake.” My voice cracks. “And he’s just…going to get away with it, isn’t he?”
Seth shrugs helplessly. “We have no real proof.”
No proof. No justice. Just me—seventeen, scared, manipulated—and the fallout that wrecked my entire life.
There’s always another way.
That truth rings so clear in my head, the sweetest, surest bell I can imagine. If there’s anything I’ve learned aboutmyself over the last seven years, it’s that I’m determined and adaptable. I can see this problem as clearly as a rock wall, studying the alternative paths, past the obstacles to get where I need to go.
I refuse to run away again.
“No, but maybe there is some way togetsome proof,” I say, thinking hard. “He’s weirdly loose-lipped around me, telling me things he’d never say if anyone could overhear. Maybe we can use that.”
Seth is already dialing Ethan. “Hey, bro, it’s Seth and Sierra on speaker. Is it illegal to record a conversation without them knowing about it?”
There’s a long, heavy pause. “What are you up to?”
