Leaning back against the post, I cross my arms. “Why is any of this related to how she died? I heard she was dealing. And it was no secret she was using.”
He wipes down his chin. “Because she tried to call you. A bunch of times. Right up until the night she died inthat fire.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose but it doesn’t stop the surge of anger fizzling under my skin. “Shit.”
“What did she want? And don’t bullshit me about group therapy.”
Telling himI don’t knowis on the tip of my tongue, but my brother will see right through me.
“Drop this, Ev. Nothing good will come of it.” I rub my sternum because fuck it hurts to think back to that party when Trina cornered me. Gone was the good-time girl with the pocket full of pills. She was angry, and that plan of hers was downright reckless. Had focusing on it been an escape from the pain she’d never fully processed?
“I can’t and you know it,” Everett replies. “If she was trying to sell you coke, just say so.”
Frustration burns my eyes. “You think I’d hold back about something as stupid as that?”
“Then what?” he says in that same even, firm tone that makes me want to scream.
What I’m about to say will change everything. I hang my head. “She wanted my help going after Sons of Eden.”
He rubs down his chin. “And you turned her down?”
“Just like I did fifteen years ago.”
“What? You never said anything about it.”
“Why would I? I wasn’t planning to help her then and I haven’t changed my mind.”
There’s a wounded edge to his gaze, like he thinks me keeping this from him is a betrayal. It makes me want to claw my eyes out. “I had a month-old baby, a brand-new career, alife. After all the mistakes I’d made, I was finally in a good place. No way was I going to taint what I had with those old stories. My family deserved better.”
“Is that the only reason?” His brows knit together.
“It’s the most important.” I stare him down. “I had to leave it all in the past. Not just for me, but for you too.”
“I only remember you hiding me under that house.” His voice has lost its authoritative edge. “Then you were back and the firetrucks came. Then you told me to run.”
I beg him with my eyes to stop there. “It was our only chance to escape.”
He heaves a sigh, his gaze drifting to some distant point on the lake. “Trina was supposed to meet someone at that abandoned house the night she died.”
“Any idea who?” I’ll bet Stacy knows, and if anyone can find her, it’s Everett.
He doesn’t answer, but he’s likely already shared too much.
“Do you think Sons of Eden would retaliate if she tried to take action against them?” he finally asks.
Ice feathers my skin, like an arctic breeze. “Yeah, I think it’s possible.” Why else would our silence be so important?
“The M.E. discovered that Trina Guthrie was alive when that fire started,” he says with a grimace. “Which means she was murdered.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Sir,I need you to take your seat,” I say to the man in 22C, keeping my tone firm and drawing all five foot four of my frame—five five in my heels—to its full height.
“It’s anemergency,” he replies, gritting his teeth. He’s wearing a baseball jersey and hat, mesh shorts, and rubber pool slaps. It’s only ten in the morning but I don’t discount the possibility that he’s inebriated.
The plane hits another steep drop. I’m braced for it, but the man is not, and he folds into the seat in front of him, then when the plane jerks back, he collides with me and grabs my ass.
“Hey!” a passenger from the other row says, stepping out ofhisseat.
