“I loved her,” he says simply. “I couldn’t imagine my life without her.” He forces the wobble out of his voice before continuing, “Her oncologist mentioned some experimental treatments, but I couldn’t afford them. You’re lucky you don’t remember how she suffered.”
He pinches his nose, briefly glancing my way before focusing on his daughter. “Right around the time your mom was admitted to hospital, I made a breakthrough in my case against Octavius. I knew he was heavily involved in human trafficking, but it took months to find concrete proof.”
He keeps talking, explaining how, instead of using the evidence to put Octavius behind bars, he made him a deal.
Vaughn promised he’d facilitate Grey’s growing business, which coincidentally aligned perfectly with Noretto’s new venture. It’s a deal as old as time: immunity in exchange for cash, which Vaughn used to try and save his wife.
Obviously, that didn’t work. His wife died and word about the cleanest cop in the northern hemisphere accepting bribes somehow got out. It’s unclear how it happened.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t exactly give a shithow, though givenwhofound out, I have ideas. Rhett’s a cunning bastard. I guess he was looking for an angle on Vaughn since the day he arrived in Ohio.
And he found one.
“Rhett reached out to me a few months after your mom passed away,” Vaughn continues, his eyes not veering from Hailey’s face. “I was devastated. I wanted revenge but there was no one to blame... so I found a way to channel my anger...” He glances at me, wiping the sweat beading at his hairline with the back of his trembling hand. “I channeled it all into your father. Call it payback for old times’ sake.”
“Rhett killed your partner, didn’t he?”
“Is that what he told you?” he scoffs, eyeing the glass of whiskey in my hand. “It all happened thirty-five years ago, Carter. I didn’t have a partner back then. I wasn’t even a cop.”
I jut my chin at Koby, motioning at the drinks cabinet. “Get him a whiskey.” No matter what his reasons are he doesn’tdeserve forgiveness, but I can spare a glass of my finest to keep his tongue loose.
Hailey stirs beside me, pulling her feet under her butt and nuzzling a touch closer to me.
“You want wine, pretty girl?”
A nod is all I get.
She listens to Vaughn’s confessions in silence, and once again I’m filled with so much fucking pride. I have no idea where she gets her strength from.
“It was Grandad, wasn’t it?” she asks once Broadway’s handed out fresh drinks. “That’s who Rhett killed.”
“Yes. It’s a story for another day, though. It doesn’t matter how and why I chose Rhett, what matters is that I made him my outlet. I needed someone to blame for my world falling apart so I dug up the old grudge and moved to Ohio.”
“You said we needed a change of scenery.”
“We did.Idid,” Vaughn admits, his tone resigned, eyes darting away from his daughter. “You hated the idea.”
He keeps going, telling us how he started building a case against Rhett the minute he landed in Ohio, that pinning my father became his obsession, something he used to channel his rage and despair. His voice wobbles a few times, then starts to break when he delivers another blow.
He drops his teary eyes down, mirroring his next words. “I couldn’t look at you, Hailey. You reminded me of your mom so much... every time I looked at you, I relived her death.”
She grabs my hand, digging her nails into my flesh like that small connection is the only thing keeping her together.
“I spent as little time at home as I could, working myself to the ground. The months ticked over, but I couldn’t find enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant, let alone put Rhett behind bars.” He downs the last of his whiskey, holding the empty glass in his shaking hand until Broadway takes it for a refill.
“When did you realize Rhett had the pictures?” I ask, steering the conversation back on track.
I want facts not a sob story.
“I was drunk one evening,” he says, leaning back in his seat. Looks like the amber liquid cruising down his throat is working. “I didn’t think I had anything to lose so I went to see him. I told him he should watch his back... he showed me the pictures.” He heaves a heavy sigh. “I was ready to give up, pack our bags and move elsewhere, start over again, but then I got handed a golden ticket. See, after I left Florida, Octavius found himself a new doormat.”
His voice grows thick again and I know he’s about to divulge the worst part of this story. My fingers flex around Hailey’s, the only consolation I can offer. She squeezes right back, inhaling an inconspicuous, calming breath.
“Another cop, he had a daughter. Young little thing. Barely sixteen. And Octavius had a man in his crew who started using. It caused him a lot of trouble.”
“Was it Alex?” Hailey asks, her tone void of emotions.
I’m not sure if she’s this fucking brave, or just in shock, but this lack of emotional reaction isn’t her. She’s not a cold person. She alwaysfeels.
