I have never, andwill never, love anyone the way I love Rebel Hart.
She’ll be my one and only until the day I die.
But I can’t keep hiding the truth just so I can keep her in my life.
I need to tell her.
Slowly, I pull my hand away from hers and admit, “It is.”
She looks flustered by me pulling away and asks distractedly, “It is… what?”
“Something worse.”
CHAPTER
FIFTY-ONE
REBEL
My skin is still buzzingfrom Gunner’s kiss.
Every inch of me is begging to give him a hug.
But I know he’d push me away again.
I stare at the hand Gunner let go of and then back up to the light blue eyes swimming in agony. Deep shadows play across his inky black hair and sharp jawline. He looks like a dangerous, fairy prince. Or a vampire teetering on the edge of sanity, fangs bared to suck my blood.
Except the big secret on the tip of Gunner’s tongue is the one sucking the life out ofhim.
“When my grandfather died, he left a will. And you and your mother were in it,” Gunner says bluntly.
“What?” The word escapes on a puff of air. It mingles with the throaty croak of toads and the shrill cry of cicadas.
“My uncle stole the land my grandfather left for you and your mom.”
Gunner’s words are firm, almost harsh, but from the way he’s staring at the ground and the way his hand shakes slightly, I cantell that the coldness wrapped around his words is not because he’s unfeeling.
It’s that he’s feelingtoo much, and he’s trying his best to repress it the way he always has. To remain in control. To look like nothing bothers him when, in truth, he’s the most sensitive soul I’ve ever met. It’s been that way since we were kids.
I blink slowly. “W-what do you mean?” My brows knit together. “W-what land?”
Gunner glances to the side, his face tightening. “I made a call to Victoria and asked for a favor.”
My eyebrows hike at the mention of his ex-girlfriend.
“She still had access to the law firm’s database in Lucky Falls. She sent me these.”
He turns his phone over and swipes through photos.
Something tells me that Victoria isn’t supposed to be sharing sensitive information like this, but I don’t question it too deeply.
“What is all this?” I ask, swiping through images of documents, land titles, and estate listings.
“Evidence. The one I was looking for, except I didn’t know exactly where to look until now.”
I’m looking at a list of the Kinsey assets along with a handwritten will determining how the assets are to be divided.
“If you look at the original will and the one submitted to the public, you’ll see the dates are mismatched,” Gunner points out.
