Perhaps both.
He closes his eyes and grips the paper, scrunching the edges in his fist. His knuckles turn white, and he breathes hatred as he says, “Nerrock.” His eyes flash open, hitting us. “Where did you find this son? Should your girlfriend be here for this kind of conversation?”
Konnor jolts towards Ben, poking him in the chest. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t you dare even look at her. She stays as long as she wants.”
“You want her to know everything, then?”
“She knows a lot more than you do!”
Ben’s gaze holds me for a moment, full of uncertainty. He is silent for a few beats, heavy breathing the only sound. “Fine. Everyone sit… Sit, and I’ll explain.”
Konnor huffs. “You don’t get to make demands now. Tell me why you have been lying to me. Tell me what that means.” Konnor motions towards the document laying on the wooden office desk.
Someone places their hands on my back, and I jump. The person behind me wraps their arms around my shoulders protectively. Peering down, I notice blonde hair on his forearms.Jaxon.Although I already assumed it was. Somehow knew it was.
“Everything okay in here?” Jaxon asks. “Should Blesk and I go downstairs?”
Konnor turns towards us. “No, Jax, she should stay. I want her to stay.” He looks at me—or rather, the person wearing Konnor’s face looks at me. “Do you want to stay?”
I nod, startled by how feral he appears. “Yes.”
“Mind if I stay?” Jaxon asks, eyeing Konnor and his father, the tension palpable and haunting. If things get out of control, I know I can count on Jaxon to step in.
Like he did with Erik.
Jaxon squeezes my shoulders with both hands. “You okay, B? I can take you downstairs?”
Oh, God.“Where’s Elise?”
“She sent me up to check onyou,” he whispers.
Ben shifts his weight, unsteady on his feet. He places both palms on the desk in front of him. “Konnor, son, what do you remember about why Dustin Nerrock gave you up for adoption?”
Konnor snaps around with wild eyes. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you just talk—tell me what I know and what I don’t.”
Someone sucks a sharp breath in behind me, and when Konnor stares at the door, his face falls.
“What’s going on?” Cassidy asks from the doorway. “Why are you yelling at each other?”
Konnor points at the door, taking a single step closer to her. “You should leave, Cassidy.”
Ben stands and quickly approaches his daughter. Konnor noticeably stiffens as Ben passes him, and I think that is one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.
“Cassidy, sweetheart. This is Konnor’s business,” Ben says, “It isn’t something you need to be involved in.”
Her hazel eyes narrow at Ben, and she only digs her heels in further. “If it’s his business, then it’s mine.”
“Sweetheart, it’s—” Ben begins.
“No,” she snaps. “I’m not leaving until I know why my two favourite people are yelling at each other.”
With a deep breath, Ben nods, then moves back to his desk, almost falling into his chair as emotions consume him.
Cassidy crosses her arms, leans on the door frame, challenging Konnor to try to kick her out.
Konnor tilts his head at her, the slightest smile fighting for freedom as he takes in his five-foot-nothing-ballerina sister with lethal eyes. “Fine, Cassidy.”
Ben clears his throat. “So you don’t want me to ask questions, Konnor. That’s fine. But then I can’t distinguish what information you have, and so I’m going to just lay it all on the table, and between the two of us we can sift through the pieces and hopefully come out with a picture that makes sense. I went to school with your mother, Madeline. I’m yet to meet a woman who could summon the kind of infatuation that woman could. She was wild and intriguing and sharp as a razor, with the biggest green eyes and a strange mind. But she was also very insecure and often troubled. She thought too much, and that always led her to the horizon, looking for something more.” He looks down at his desk, moving the paperunder his fingers. “She married Nerrock not long after high school. They had a son.” Ben’s brows furrow. “They looked beautiful together and their son was picture perfect. It wasn’t until later that the rumours started to circulate. You all know what the District is like with gossip. The rumour was that Deakon Nerrock...” His voice falters, his eyes softening on Konnor. “Thatyouweren’t Dustin’s son.”
