“Of course, Taya. I’ll go, too.” I scoop my towel off the floor and move to hang it up in the bathroom. “I mean, if you want me to. I want to help, if I can.”
“Thank you, Ever. Really. Thank you for being so cool with all this. Me. Being here. I know it’s fucking weird.”
A laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it. “You know what’s fucking weird? That it isn’t fucking weird. Like we were friends in another life or something.”
“Okay, right? So it’s not just me?”
“Nope. Trust me. It’s weird, but like . . . not.” I tie my kicks, stand and stretch my hand out to her. “Come on, Julie should be pulling up any minute.” The door closing downstairs makes my point for me.
Stepping off the bottom step into the living room, Taya a foot behind me, I clock Julian’s expression first. I haven’t seen it except in glimpses, but he looks furious. “Hey, babe,” I try for a reassuring smile. “I threw on some clothes. We’re ready. Should we call the sheriff’s office to meet us there?” The second thing I track is that his eyes swing away from mine instead of landing on them, no return smile.Sketchy.Then he turns to Taya.More sketchy.
“Taya, can I speak to Everly for a second? Alone?” He still won’t look at me. “Just, uh, wait in the Jeep. I’ll be right there.”
Taya lets go of my hand that she held all the way down the stairs, sidesteps me and slips silently out the front door, snagging her bag off the entryway table as she goes.
Once the door closes behind her, Julian finally looks at me but doesn’t speak.
I already know what’s coming and I’m not going to help him say it. I don’t move an inch except to raise my eyebrows. I know my resting bitch face is locked in and I don’t care. He’s gotta know that all things Taya are awkward and his behavior is just making it worse.
“Ever, I don’t want you going—in case it’s dangerous. Please don’t be mad.” He takes a step toward me, but I raise my hand up to halt him.
“Fine. Just go. Be careful.” I fucking hate Agreeable Everly. That fucking girl is a pushover. Now isn’t the time for a walk down therapy lane. I can thank my dad for the military ability to compartmentalize. But, goddammit, sometimes I wish I were a more stereotypical dramatic, nagging female. When Julian has the nerve to look hurt that I held off his affection or whatever he intended, I’m super fucking close to finding her. “I’m fine. I’ll go see what Lilly, Noah and Seth are doing.”
“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Thank you, Ever. I love you.”
I think I nod in response. I’m not sure my straight-lipped smile counts as an actual smile, but points for effort in the face of the monumental irritation. I summon my voice.
“I know.” And I do know and believe he loves me. So why is he pushing me away, keeping me from this? I don’t buy the safety thing. He’s gotta know that not including me, especially when it comes to Taya, isn’t going to land well. I mean I’ve heard guys are dumb, but Julian isn’t dumb. I turn my back and move toward the stairs. When my foot hits the first step, I hear the door close behind me. I stop the climb and pull my phone out and text Lilly.
Me:Hey wrud
Lilly:making food come over
Me:omw
Chapter 9
Julian
“It’s strange that nothing else was touched. Only Rusty’s office is ransacked. Like they knew what they were looking for.” Mitch summarizes what he found on his arrival this morning as he leads us down the hall into the den that served as Taya’s dad’s office, concern etched in the fine lines on his face. “It’s why I’d like to install cameras, as I’ve said.”
“Yeah, Mitch, I know.” Taya walks into the den ahead of us.
Mitch motions me to precede him, so I follow Taya.
She turns a slow circle, taking in the half open drawers and scattered papers, ransacked bookshelves and vandalism. “What the fuck?” She says it more to herself but turns her bottle green eyes on me, askance.
Mitch clears his throat, drawing her attention. “I think they were looking for account information. Would you be able to tell if anything is missing from this drawer? It’s where he kept his statements and official documents. Locked, but you can see it’s been pried open.”
“I don’t think I’d know if something were missing. Fuck, I told him he needed a safe. Don’t listen to me, you stubborn ass.” Taya vacillates between talking to us and herself—or her dead father, I’m not sure.
I’m absently tapping my chest as I look around the room. I know it in my gut as if I’d seen it with my own eyes.Fucking Todd.The thought of voicing my suspicions to Taya or Mitch brings a glaze of sweat to my armpits despite the chill in the room. I know I’m going to lie before the words even form in my brain. Snagging my phone out of my pocket, I pretend to get a text. “Guys, I’m sorry, I need to take this. Will you excuse me?” I walk out to the Jeep, retrieve the mail from the console, tear open the envelope from Leva & Goody, Attorneys at Law and read, but I already know what it says.
Leva & Goody, Attorneys at Law
Estate and Probate Division
421 Harbor View Drive, Suite 208
